Do you still use your old radios - Page 6 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Sandy G · #76 02-05-2006, 02:03 PM

Yeah, those old Zenith Transoceanics are among some of the most-coveted old sets today. One in good shape is still a decent performer, if you don't mind no FM. They were sorta "luxury" items when new, yet they are not too difficult to find today. I have 2, & enjoy both of 'em.-Sandy G.

Randy Bassham · #77 02-05-2006, 09:37 PM

My daily driver at home is a Zenith 845, my Stereo is a Magnavox Concert Grand that has 42 tubes, 8 6V6's per channel for outputs, I play these sets quite abit. The stereo was built in 1961 and is all original except for a few tubes and an updated turntable. I play my Directv/XM radio channels through it for hours on end. I gave the head secretary at work a Zenith AM-FM table set for her office about 15 years ago, she's been playing it now for 9 hours a day 5 days a week since then with no repairs at all, it has all the original tubes, caps and selenium rectifier. When conditions are right I fire up the 1938 Zenith 15U269 and listen to WSM Grand Ole Opry for as long as I can stay up. Listen to my old radios??, Yup...That's what they were built for.....

Jeffhs · #78 02-12-2006, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midnight Blues

I use my tube radios every day. I'm partial to Zenith though. I have a nice original AM/FM High Fidelity(c845)that I use in the kitchen, wonderful sound.

I also have a 600 series Transoceanic shortwave that is just amazing, she pulls in stations from all over the planet (a few satilites too).....

I am also a Zenith fan, having six vintage radios built by the former Zenith Radio Corporation. The oldest of these radios is a Zenith H511(1951); the newest, a Zenith R70 AM/FM transistor portable and a Zenith H480 AM/FM/FM-stereo clock radio (both from 1980). The sets in between are between 1960 and 1963 vintage. My Zenith K-731 is from '63, I also have a Zenith TransOceanic solid-state portable from I would guess 1962, and my newest acquisition is a Zenith C845 from about (again I'm guessing) 1960 or thereabouts. However, every one of these radios work, in some cases not as well as they probably did when they were new, but they still power up and receive stations. I am particularly impressed by the sound of the C845. Fantastic! It even sounds better, IMHO, than my K-731, which I always thought was hi-fi with its electrostatic tweeter and 5x7 main speaker.

Zenith really had a winner times at least ten in the C845. This radio sounds so good it could be the center of a small sound system, as it has stereo speaker inputs and a phono jack. The audio is so powerful I can hear most of the local stations without even turning the volume control up at all--I simply turn it on and most stations are already at normal volume. I hate to think how loud this thing can go; probably could be heard quite a distance away at full volume.

The sensitivity of the C845 is great as well. I live near the south shore of Lake Erie and can hear many Canadian stations as well as if they were locals on this set, and every other AM radio I own. (My personal favorite AM station is a standards station in Toronto, CHWO-AM 740; it comes in like gangbusters here.) I bet my C845 will get stations on FM like crazy from Detroit and southwestern Ontario, Canada (which all my other radios, including the so-so digital tuner in my stereo system, get as well) when the band opens up this summer, as sensitive as I understand it is with that 6BJ6 RF stage. This radio was clearly built for distance reception on AM and FM; they didn't refer to it and other radios they made, from the '20s through about the '60s, as "Long Distance" for nothing. The designation was dropped, however, some time in the '70s, IIRC; my two 1980-vintage Zeniths do not have the slogan anywhere on their cabinets, so I would guess it was dropped by the seventies if not earlier. Was this an early peek at things yet to come at Zenith? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if it was.

Midnight Blues · #79 02-13-2006, 04:13 PM

Jeff I'm with you, that C845 is a fantastic radio. There are times when I just can't belive how good it sounds. I really do use mine every day and I'm never disapointed.
I had the Transoceanic fired up on Sunday and the 19m band was lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed as though I pulled in 50 stations.

In my humble opiniion Zenith sure could build a radio.....

#80 02-18-2006, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midnight Blues

Jeff I'm with you, that C845 is a fantastic radio. There are times when I just can't belive how good it sounds. I really do use mine every day and I'm never disapointed.
I had the Transoceanic fired up on Sunday and the 19m band was lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed as though I pulled in 50 stations.

In my humble opiniion Zenith sure could build a radio.....

I have a C845 that I've been listening to at the office for the past three years. I'm looking for a copy of a SAMS on the C845 since I'd like to get the last of the old paper caps out of it (I think I've pushed my and the Zenith's luck far enough, even though it still plays fine). I tried the one online site that I saw referenced in one of the threads on this forum, but the Deja Vue viewer they use doesn't produce a very readable printout when I tried to get a hardcopy. It would also be nice to get the SAMS so I can see a complete list of all the caps it takes without having to trace through the schematic to find them.

If anyone has one and doesn't mind photocopying theirs for me, I'd be happy to reimburse you for the cost of the copy and mail.

Thanks,
Joe

#81 10-19-2006, 04:13 PM

on my hallicrafters S-80 on a nightly basis. Usually Rollye James, not the political hate shows.

#82 10-19-2006, 04:15 PM

listen to my hallicrafters s-80 to talk radio and pirate activity on weekends

#83 10-19-2006, 04:17 PM

which I am hoping to restore to be able to listen to f.m. Will lack of stereo decoder make this sound awful? Can't sound too awful with a 14 inch dynamic speaker I guess

mbates14 · #84 10-19-2006, 06:58 PM

actually it would sound alot cleaner. stereo is noisey. most likely because of switching noise of the 19khz and 38khz signals.

Jack Lord · #85 10-19-2006, 07:05 PM

I have my grandad's Silvertone Model 5 and it proudly sits on the buffet/credenza in the dining room. I listen it a couple times a week as it works great after a revamp by AKer, Merrylander.

Fran604g · #86 10-20-2006, 08:30 AM

I have: Philco 40-180, 46-420, Hallicrafters S-38, S-38B, S-53A. I don't use any of them anymore, after reading about capacitors in AK. I WILL be going through each and every one of them in the near future!
Thanks AK!

NowhereMan 1966 · #87 10-20-2006, 11:25 AM

I use my grandfather's 1953 Philco (53-656) "All American 5" to listen to Music Radio 77 WABC on Saturday nights. Has good sound too.

Ultra-Hog · #88 10-20-2006, 02:01 PM

I have been an AK member for about six months and I completely missed this forum. I have some catching up to do! I have a bunch of old tube and SS radios. Some work, others are waiting for me to find the time to restore them. I have been a radio nut since I was a very young kid.

I volunteer occasionally at a local thrift type store, time permitting, helping with electronic items that they get as donations. I stopped by today and they showed me three old portable radios that they just received but didn't know what to do with. That's where I sometimes can help them out. I told them that I would check them out for them. I have a couple of Variacs so I can power them up slowly to test them. I have them in a box and will look at them next week, I hope. I will post pictures of them when I do get to them. Maybe someone here can provide information about them for me when I do. At least one of them is a battery/AC tube radio. The others are unknown at the moment. They all seem to be in pretty physical decent condition. They appear to be from the 40s or 50s.

Ultra-Hog · #89 10-20-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midnight Blues

I use my tube radios every day. I'm partial to Zenith though. I have a nice original AM/FM High Fidelity(c845)that I use in the kitchen, wonderful sound.

I also have a 600 series Transoceanic shortwave that is just amazing, she pulls in stations from all over the planet (a few satilites too).....

Wow! I have that exact same radio. It sure doesn't look as good as yours does though. It was my dads radio. It has been sitting around for a very long time. The last time that I turned it on it became immediately apparent that it needs new filter caps. It needs some work but after seeing your picture I know that I am going to dig it out and see what I can do with it.

This is great! How could I have missed this forum??

***Kamakiri*** · #90 10-20-2006, 07:48 PM

This old Motorola has served me faithfully on and off since I bought it at an auction for $1 with my allowance back in October 1977 at the age of 6. My mom had a local radio repairman/neighbor change out the caps and some tubes for me in exchange for a chocolate cake

I play it every morning while I'm getting ready for work.

Also, there's my old Bendix 636C, awaiting repair, which sits on my (messy) desk. Saved up for that one, it was $7.50....same auction, November 1977.