What does China, Zenith, and Bose have in common?

[pac.attack76]

What in the world is this. At first glance just looked like a cabinet with nothing more but when i saw what it really was, i paid the $25 price tag. and loaded the heavy beast. Sitting on a swivel stand with double doors, this is something around a 27,26" Zenith System 3 with Bose sound system. Rear connections include Computer RGB, Base TAC, Text Printer, etc. How did i miss these? When were they made and how many? Where? Looks like sometime in the 80's. Tag for model number and date appear to be missing.

[Findm-Keepm]

Open it up and get the model number - chances are, I have a service manual for your set....

[Jon A.]

Whoa...

That's just weird enough for me to adopt one.

[zeno]

That is a Zenith "Digital System 3" with bose audio.
They were limited distribution sets, IIRC you had to
stock every model ( Bose ones). Very expensive. The first
27" table model WITHOUT Bose was $1000. Not digital
as in HDTV but digital processing. After the video detector
everything was digitalized. Video, color audio sync & AGC.
Then at the end back to analog. Zenith made the most.
Also Toshiba, NEC, Panny & MGA. I have seen several Toshibas,
one NEC but not the others.

I think the set is a gem but others are down on them
for service reasons. This set is NOT for the faint of heart if
it needs work !! Let us know how it goes.

73 Zeno

[zeno]

WOW
Just noticed Chinese cabinet. SUPER DUPER RARE. I
doubt more than 500 built if that. . Dont remember it in the
catologues. Did you get it in Chinatown, thats where
most went for some reason !

73 Zeno

[jstout66]

Man.. I bet that set was UBER expensive new. I wasn't aware Zenith was doing the Chinese Cabinets that late in the game.
I'd love to get a Zenith with Sound by Bose. I was aware of that option, but only saw one at a thrift, and due to the Bose connection was priced way to high. The set I saw had a bad picture tube, and I don't think Zenith tubes of that era held up that well, so fingers crossed yours is good.
I'm with Zeno... I always thought the AS3's were top notch, but.. they ARE a nightmare to work on, and I know the service people hated them.

[pac.attack76]

Not Chinatown. I'm too far away for that. I'll have to open it and get the model number. The people at SA said it worked but i plugged it in this morning and heard a loud pop and the set came on but the screen is rolled up some inches from the bottom. I can get a picture of it running if needed.

[zeno]

Before powering again pull the vert module &
change all electrolytics & check real good for
cold joints. The vert IC has been NLA for years
so very hard to find. The analogue part of the set
isnt bad but the digital is for many reasons. I am
sure ITT stopped making the chip set soon after
Zenith stopped production. The dig module has been DISCO also
for years.

73 Zeno

[pac.attack76]

Originally Posted by zeno

Before powering again pull the vert module &
change all electrolytics & check real good for
cold joints. The vert IC has been NLA for years
so very hard to find. The analogue part of the set
isnt bad but the digital is for many reasons. I am
sure ITT stopped making the chip set soon after
Zenith stopped production. The dig module has been DISCO also
for years.

73 Zeno

Will do. Had a feeling it was caps. Also ended up with some audio noise associated with red in the screen.

[old_tv_nut]

This chassis was really "bleeding edge" technology at the time. When scouting for a company that could do the digital chips, some suppliers of military aircraft digital radar processors looked at the requirements and ran back home with their tails between their legs. Zenith was learning to calculate needed processing in MIPS instead of analog bandwidth and coil/capacitor count, and the chip makers were learning how many MIPS are in even a standard definition NTSC circuit. It was really pushing the engineering design envelope of "fast, cheap, or good - pick two."

[Geoff Bourquin]

I have seen a couple sets like that, but I don't remember them with those doors. It must be 20 years or more since I saw one. I remember the bass being a little overpowering, but then I feel that way about a lot of Bose stuff. The last one I remember working on needed a bunch of electrolytics, and a new CRT wouldn't have hurt anything either.