I suppose converter use was a moot point back when these sets were made as cable still wasn't all that popular. Look at how quickly the popularity of cable exploded and then took a steep dive. I was told that my '88 Zenith console was never hooked to cable, and it shows. Looks almost showroom fresh inside and out. There's also the owner-added knife switch on the back for antenna selection.

In our town back then the basic cable abt 30 channels were unscrambled.
Cable ready sets were popular for eliminating the box or adding
extra sets for free. Could also record anything while watching basic.
Basic cost abt $6 back then + $3 if you wanted remote. We made
a fortune selling Jerrold 400 & 450 handunits. Cost $5 and sold
them for $30. The Jerrold 400 box could also be modded in 2
minutes to get all channels by we never did it. That would get a
lot of attention !!!


73 Zeno:smoke:

Funny, my flatty came with a Jerrold 400 box that I still have. Got to find my 450 remote one of these days to find out if it will work with the 400.

Found it already, sweet.