Finally completed my Zenith tube Transoceanic collection - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Electronic M · #1 02-04-2023, 10:18 PM

So for a few years now I've had every major cabinet/chassis change of the tube Zenith Transoceanic family except for the pre-war models...I ended up buying both variants sailboat and bomber at an auction last weekend and driving out to Ohio today to get them (wasn't going to risk FedEx pack and smash).

As a nice bonus I got a coule of free allegedly good 16GP4s simply by mentioning the part number I was offered them... I'll test them tomorrow.

Unfortunately I keep learning the hard way not to trust 80 year old leather handles...I picked them both up by the handle, walked 50', set them on the pavement to open the car door then when I tried to pick them up the sailboat set the handle came off less than 2" in the air...Not enough to harm the rest of radio luckily, but one of those " oh shit! I'm an idiot." moments. So I need to find a new handle now.

At this point I've got every major tube Transoceanic, most of the competitors of the tube era, and a 1000, 3000, and 7000... I'll probably stop collecting Transoceanic sets soon. My 3000 and 7000 are rough, though so I'll be on the lookout for better specimens (once the chrome peels it's game over for looks).

At some point I should do a YouTube video on my collection of these once I finish restoring the ones that aren't, and get the time to edit the obsurd back log of raw footage I've been recording into something fit for the public again.

Titan1a · #2 02-08-2023, 12:05 AM

I just got a TransOceanic H500 refinished. Now I need some black saddle soap.

Electronic M · #3 02-08-2023, 12:03 PM

Finally took some pictures the other day.

16GP4s are good. Haven't tested the radios yet as I don't want to blow the tube heaters if anything is wrong with the electronics. I plan to eventually pull the chassis and restuff caps.

Jeffhs · #4 02-08-2023, 10:12 PM

For Electronic M: I am glad to hear you are preserving those Zenith Trans-Oceanic radios, as they represent a level of general quality in portable radios (those old solid-state TOs, including mine, also weighed the proverbial ton) we will never see again in this age of Japanese and Korean electronics. (I had a Zenith stereo system in the early 1980s which had been built (to Zenith Chicago's standards) in Korea, as stated by a notice on the back cover). I have two solid-state TransOceanics, one of which works but the other is in need of more repairs than I can do on it at this time (I gave up my workshop when I moved to an apartment in 1999; long story and OT for this thread). The TO which still works is still operating every bit as well as it probably did when new (I got it used some years ago, probably on eBay). The only thing wrong with it that I can see right now is the AM broadcast band is dead silent, while all other bands, including FM, work very well. Someone here told me, some time ago, that the silence of the AM band is probably due to a poor or open connection on the AM oscillator coil; I will look into that some time in the future.

As long as my other TO is working, however, I am in no hurry to do anything with the first one. The one with FM is a better one, anyway, so the first one will stay on my to-do list, probably indefinitely. I consider myself very fortunate to have found the matching AC adapter (on eBay, IIRC) several years ago for the working TO, as I am sure these are very difficult to find, unless a generic adapter is used; even then one must be absolutely certain the voltages the adapter provides are exactly correct. As old as the TOs are, finding replacement parts for them could be very difficult. This is basically why I am keeping my first TO, to use as a donor set in case the working one develops trouble.

BTW, I also had a tube-type Zenith TO some years ago. I was able to get it working very well, until I started fiddling around with the chassis (I had a habit of doing things like that years ago; thank goodness I don't any longer). If I had left that older TO alone, it would have been an excellent performer, especially on AM. . . .

Oh, well. Live and learn, I guess. I have since learned to leave things alone in a radio (or anything else) if the device is working well, if not 100 percent. I am a firm believer in the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", the very poor grammar notwithstanding, given the messes I managed to get myself into by trying to modify a radio, or anything else, which was up to that point working perfectly well.

jr_tech · #5 02-09-2023, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electronic M

So for a few years now I've had every major cabinet/chassis change of the tube Zenith Transoceanic family except for the pre-war models...I ended up buying both variants sailboat and bomber at an auction last weekend and driving out to Ohio today to get them (wasn't going to risk FedEx pack and smash).

Nice!

How many models does that include?... I only have 3 different post war tube models and the bomber pre war.

jr

Jeffhs · #6 02-22-2023, 07:42 PM

I have one post-war solid-state Zenith TO in good shape and works well on all bands, except the AM band is dead; probably an open circuit in the oscillator coil (I think the radio was made in '65 or at least some time in the late sixties, owing to the lack of Conelrad symbols on the AM radio dial). The rest of my Zenith radios are post war as well. I also have another post-war TO which is in worse shape yet; that is, it probably plays, but there are the proverbial million things wrong with it, which is why I haven't done much with it yet. I have a Zenith K731 AM-FM table radio which works quite well, and a C845 (its picture is my avatar) which works so well it can probably run rings around any modern set.

Titan1a · #7 02-23-2023, 12:56 AM

Try looking at the IF oscillator transistor. Mine acted like that.

dieseljeep · #8 03-01-2023, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I have one post-war solid-state Zenith TO in good shape and works well on all bands, except the AM band is dead; probably an open circuit in the oscillator coil (I think the radio was made in '65 or at least some time in the late sixties, owing to the lack of Conelrad symbols on the AM radio dial). The rest of my Zenith radios are post war as well. I also have another post-war TO which is in worse shape yet; that is, it probably plays, but there are the proverbial million things wrong with it, which is why I haven't done much with it yet. I have a Zenith K731 AM-FM table radio which works quite well, and a C845 (its picture is my avatar) which works so well it can probably run rings around any modern set.

It's unusual that the AM band doesn't work, but the higher frequency bands do! I would check and clean the band selector switch first before delving into the oscillator circuitry. Comes from experience!

dieseljeep · #9 03-01-2023, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Finally took some pictures the other day.

16GP4s are good. Haven't tested the radios yet as I don't want to blow the tube heaters if anything is wrong with the electronics. I plan to eventually pull the chassis and restuff caps.

Model 7G605, separate oscillator and mixer tube. A better arrangement!

Electronic M · #10 03-01-2023, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Model 7G605, separate oscillator and mixer tube. A better arrangement!

Absolutely! I'm looking forward to restuffing caps (these are probably the only portables worth that level of hassle to me) and getting them going when I have time. I have enough projects to keep me busy for 2 years to pick from, but these are up there on the list.