The Perishable Zenith Royal 820

[Paula]

[Note: I just visited this forum after being gone for a long while, and noticed that some of the threads had apparently been lost. This one I happened to have saved, so I thought I would re-post it for the benefit of others. By the way, I still have this radio in my office, where I listen to it every day.]

This radio is something of an overlooked classic. The Royal 820 is a 9-transistor, AM/FM portable receiver, featuring a simulated leather case, and (like many Zenith radios) above-average quality. (It is a direct descendent of the hulking Royal 2000, the first U.S.-made AM/FM portable.) Appearing in 1964, the 820 sold for around $80, and still used a hand-wired metal chassis.

The only reason I became interested in this radio is that I remember that my dad bought one way back when, to take with him on his various outdoor excursions. That particular radio had a hard (but active) life, and I imagine that it was unceremoniously disposed of sometime in the mid-seventies.

I refer to the 820, and similar fabric-covered radios, as “perishable” because of their relatively delicate and essentially unrepairable cases. Genuine leather-cased radios may have fared much better, but the vinyl ones often became so tattered and ratty looking, that they were seldom kept around once their owners got tired of looking at them. Wood can be refinished, metal can be repainted, and even plastic can be wet-sanded and polished, but what can you do with a cloth-covered radio? (...besides re-covering it, a difficult job requiring considerable skill and patience.)

The 820 pictured below was purchased on eBay for $4.99. I was the sole bidder on that purchase, as I was with two parts radios, one selling for $5.00, and the other for 99 cents.
Most of these radios are black, but this one has the less common beige covering:



This one needed a lot of cleaning, but the outside was in above-average condition. I salvaged knobs, antenna, dial scale, and battery case from the two parts radios, and now have a very nice looking (and sounding) radio, in an unusual color. I should mention that all three of these radios worked when I got them, though one had a broken on/off switch. This seems to be a common problem with this model. Of the four examples of this radio that I’ve ever had my hands on, two of them had bad on/off switches.

This radio is a great performer. It has nine transistors (“...uses ‘em all”), has three I.F. stages in the FM section, AFC, and push-pull class B audio output. Here’s a picture of the chassis. Notice the plug-in transistors, the steel-encased output transformer, five-section tuning cap, and seven I.F. transformers:



Here’s a shot of the underside of the chassis:



This is a nice radio to have if you want to take a radio along with you, but you still want something “vintage”. It may be plain-looking (I prefer to think of it as having a “clean design”), but it is a superb performer.

Paula

[maxm]

I have one of those too, in black, that I got a flea market last year for $8. It's a great performing radio, and has Zenith's great hand-wired chassis. The cabinet is beginning to come apart at the "hinge" for the back, but otherwise its in great condition.

[stereofisher]

Did not know about this model. Nice looking set. I may have to raise my limit on portable radios currently at 5. Got 7 so I am two over already. Its hand wired like my Transoceanic 3000 and my Royal 755...may have to get one of these...Its cool looking and no one seems to know about it yet. Its cheap! Eric

[Paula]

Originally Posted by maxm

The cabinet is beginning to come apart at the "hinge" for the back, but otherwise its in great condition.

That seems to be a common problem with this model -- both parts radios I bought had very bad hinge joints. One of them was completely separated, and was being held on with large rubber bands!

That's the main reason I chose to restore the beige one. It had the best case of the three. The hinge is starting to crack at the ends, but is still in pretty good shape:

[Celt]

I had one like that (in black) that was stolen from me during a picnic several years ago. I was the original owner and it was mint too.
Welcome back Paula!

[jpdylon]

That's an awesome looking portable, and WOW and 5 gang tuner! (3fm, 2am right?)

how is it at pulling in stations? that that cap and 3 IF stages, can't be bad at all...

[Sandy G]

Good to see you back, Paula. Think I said it before, but it bears repeating: You do FABULOUS work.

[Charlie]

Wow that radio is super-clean! Looks like it just came off the line! Glad you're back around, Paula. It's been a while!

[Paula]

Originally Posted by Jordan

...how is it at pulling in stations? With that that cap and 3 IF stages, can't be bad at all...

That's what I really like about this radio -- the sensitivity and selectivity. It puts some of my more modern radios with digital tuning and PLL to shame. The sound is not fantastic, with the rather small 4" speaker, but it gets the job done.

To Celt, Sandy, and Charlie: thanks for the compliments and warm welcome!

Paula

[Reel 2 Reel]

Its Good to see ya back Paula...

[stereofisher]

Its listed as a Zenith 76?? but looks a lot like Paula's. I put a bid on it and a GE. I need the case on the GE. It looks like a cool radio and I hope I get it. Paula, is that you on the WABC site on Sat May 13th? Eric

[Paula]

Wow, Eric, that is a nice looking radio you're bidding on. Not sure why they're calling it a 76 -- it's definitely an 820. Hope you win the auction!

Originally Posted by stereofisher

Paula, is that you on the WABC site on Sat May 13th?

WABC site?? I don't think so.

Paula

[Jeffhs]

I had a Royal 820 Zenith about 20 years ago, but a few things went wrong with it (dial cord broke, etc.) and I got rid of it. The '820 was a good radio, wonderful sound for having only a 4" speaker and no tone control. With such great sound, they should have put a tone control in it. Should have held on to mine. Even with the dial cord broken, I would have had a collectible set by now. To make up for the loss of my Royal 820, last year on ebay I scored a Zenith R-70 11-transistor AM/FM portable (1980 vintage) that sounds great as well, even with its 3.5" speaker. This radio has push-pull audio output, four FM IF stages and two ceramic filters, one for AM and one for FM. It is one of the best sounding small portables I have heard in a long time; it's a keeper here for sure. I connected a pair of Sony MDR-24 headphones to the mono earphone jack awhile ago and was impressed with the improvement in the sound. I have a 5" speaker somewhere around here; one of these days I'll put it in a box and run a short cable from it to the R-70. I'm sure it will sound a lot better. Given its push-pull output stage, I believe this radio can perform a lot better than its internal speaker lets it; all it needs is a good pair of headphones or a larger external speaker. The same goes for radios like Zenith's H480 AM/FM/FM-stereo clock radio, also of 1980 vintage. I have one that sounds good through its internal speakers and fantastic through a good pair of stereo headphones; at least it did while the FM still worked (it quit one day about a year ago after I cleaned the slide pots; must have shorted something out somewhere ).


I was browsing ebay a few minutes ago and saw the "Royal 76" stereofisher is bidding on. That radio is in fact a Royal 820. I don't know, either, why the seller refers to it as a Royal 76. Certainly wasn't made in 1976. Oh well. I see this quite often in ebay ads; people with little or no knowledge of radios, antique, vintage or otherwise, just try to describe them to the best of their ability, and sometimes this means getting things wrong like model numbers, model names, etc. I have seen radios advertised on ebay as "parts sets" when the only things really wrong with them, besides the usual bad caps and the like, are little things like dry-rotted line cords. Replace the cord on one of these, use a Variac or a 100-watt bulb in series with it, and you'll at least have an idea of what else has to be done to the radio, etc. to get it playing again. Most ebay sellers are afraid of being shocked (or worse) from bad line cords, so if the old radio or TV they are selling has a cord with crumbling insulation or bare wires, they don't bother testing it; they just sell it untested or for parts. Some item descriptions are extremely vague as to the actual condition of an item. I saw a 1947 Zenith radio-phonograph on ebay tonight with an item description: "Radio works great, phonograph needs service." What type of service? Bad cartridge, missing or worn-out stylus, turntable not turning or turning at the wrong speed...? I guess the seller is pretty much leaving the buyer to determine what type of repairs the phonograph requires to be restored to normal operation because, as I mentioned, many if not most ebay sellers (except, of course, those of us here at AK) know little or nothing about radios, phonographs or anything electrical or electronic. I've said this before but it bears repeating: these are the old sets we AKers can and indeed should save from a certain death in a landfill, if at all possible. Their former owners have given them up for dead in many cases; we can get them working like new again, using our expertise in this field. One person's trash is another's treasure. These old radios/TVs/phonos, etc. worked well when they were new; with some work, we AKers can make them work again, even if it takes some time and effort to find obsolete parts, otherwise often referred to here as unobtainium. To me, there is no such thing. There are always ways of either repairing broken parts or fashioning a replacement that will work, maybe not as well as the original, but it will work anyhow until a correct replacement can be located. In computer circles these techniques are called workarounds; the same term may also be used to describe the methods we use to get a radio or TV, etc. working until we can find a proper component, or to replace obsolete ones. A circuit that has worked will work again. We AKers know this (and how to make a defective circuit work as well as or better than it once did), but most folks who sell old electronics on ebay don't. Their loss is our gain.

Long live AK! I've been a member here almost four years and I've enjoyed every minute of it.