Actually, most of the credit belongs to Zenith for the ultra-reliable chassis design. This set was built like a tank!

I only wish all of their "roundie" sets had used veneer cabinet panels instead of the woodgrain photo finishes used on many of these models. This set's cabinet was a rare exception to that, using a genuine wood veneer, so it was moved up substantially in my restoration schedule for that reason.

The economy Zeniths had the printed finish but the higher end models, even some without Space Command were in very well made cabinets of real wood. They are built like tanks though aren't they?? I love their chassis designs. Even though they get some credit, you still do nice work :)

Hey John, I just found an extra bottom cover for a Zenith roundie. It's yours for postage. :thmbsp:Saw it in the garage just now when I was getting the shop vac to suck up the flooded bathroom from my kid.:thumbsdn:

C'mon John, you know you want that cover. Postage is cheaper than reproducing one :D

He best not wait too long! The guy who hangs out in my bathroom mirror needs one too...

Zenith Model 5119 Chassis 25LC30 Roundie Completed
 

Restoration of the Zenith Model 5119 Chassis 25LC30 VHF-Only Roundie from the New York Road Trip scores has been completed! As seen in the earlier photos, the set's genuine wood veneer cabinet was in pretty rough condition as found. Thanks to Todd K., our Cabinet Specialist, that cabinet has been restored with a Class 1 Rub finish of showroom quality. Although not as dramatic a "two tone" effect as that of the famed Walnut version of the RCA 621TS, this set's cabinet has a subtle contrast between the dark Mahogany of the face, legs, stretcher rail, and routed edges of its top and the red Mahogany of the top and side surfaces.

Many thanks also to Big Dave, our Field Representative, for assisting with this project at several stages. Especially tasks requiring sharp eyes, I refer to Dave. Inspections, Grayscale, Purity, and Convergence among others, since he can spot things in a mirror from across a room that I would need to double-check at close range if I attempted them myself. Dave also performs most of our Service Calls (unless Jamie happens to agree to accompany me for a Road Trip). Dave is only about five years behind me in terms of experience, being about five years younger, and I've been teaching him some of the Oldtimers' Best Practices taught to me by the great "John W." who held Factory Authorized certification with RCA, Zenith, Sylvania, GE, and Magnavox and who was the source of much of my extensive library of Service textbooks and one of my greatest mentors during my early years in the Service trade.

Here are some pics of the set after Final Assembly and Setup.

Mighty nice!

Phil Nelson

Absolutely beautiful.

Way to go!

Gorgeous! Makes me wish I didn't sell mine!! :D Great job, and the top of that cabinet sure is pretty!

Hey Zenithfan1,

Great to see a young buck taking such an avid interest in the old sets.. the same gear we used to cuss at 40-50 years ago when we worked on 'em for a living. :D
Bill(oc)

Thats Great!!
 

Really sharp set.I really need to get me a zenith.
In the meantime,I really enjoy my ctc 20.Here's a pic.

Thanks Bill! Been an "old stuff" lover all my life. I've been interested in tvs since I could stand. In fact, the first time I pulled myself up on something, it was on a '66ish Magnavox. Not much has changed with the old girls, I still cuss at them at times:D
Joe: Nice RCA you got there:thmbsp:

COOL! Haven't seen a '20 in a h*** of a long time, let alone one in full operation. It was a neat bit of reverse-engineering of the CTC-19, the chassis in the first 19" rectangular table model, to drive the 21" round tube. How's the vert. sync on yours? There was a factory-issued field mod to change two half-watt resistors in the sync separator to improve weak vert.hold (forget exact their values). The CTC-19/20 and their descendants sure ate up 6GH8s. :tongue:

I think RCA's in general are 6GH8 killers. lol,

That 20 is a real nice looking set too! Seeing one of those dont come by too often. It's amazing how close the control cover and layout resemble my CTC-17.
Good lookin set you gents have! That Zenith looks like it turned out great!

My Dad used to tell his RCA customers that "4 out of the 3" 6GH8's were bad in their set.

When I worked at Cain Electronics in the early 80's, we'd sell them by the 100's to some shops - YES the '80s! Guess there were still a lot of CTC16-39 sets still out here.

RCA came out with a mod to several chassis to improve the reliability of the 6GH8's in color circuits. I'll see if I can find the literature and post it.

Cheers,