Stereo speaker input puzzler - Zenith C845
 

My Zenith C845 radio has a terminal strip on the rear of the chassis, near the phono input and radio/phono selector, marked "Stereo Sp'k's Input". I tried hooking up a speaker to these terminals but got nothing. (The radio's internal speakers work as they should.) However, I am wondering what the function of this "stereo" input would be on a radio that obviously is not designed to receive stereo FM broadcasts in stereo, as there is no MPX decoder or second amplifier. Hmmm. :scratch2:

Thanks in advance for any info on this, as I am downright puzzled as to why a monophonic AM/FM radio such as the C845 would have an external speaker input. The only thing I can think of is that Zenith may have marketed a stereo retrofit kit for these radios that would have allowed them to receive stereo FM; however, I don't see any place on the tuning scales or on the cabinet front where a stereo indicator would have been mounted, and the band switch does not have a "stereo FM" position.

Does the radio have a phone setting? It might have been able to replicate stereo while playing albums.

I'm not sure what you mean by "phone" setting, unless you're referring to the "phono(graph)" position of the radio-phono selector switch near the RCA phono input jack on the rear apron of the chassis.

jeffhs,

Zenith marketed a companion speaker and FM MPX adapter for your radio. That plug was for that device. The device was called a Stereo Companion.

Thanks for the info.

I'm not sure we're on the same page. My C-845 has no plugs on the rear of the chassis except the RCA phono input jack and the AC interlock. What I am referring to (the external speaker terminal strip) is shown in the picture I've attached.

The adapter you mention doesn't ring a bell. The one Zenith FM radio that I can remember having an external stereo FM adapter was their model MH-902 from the 1960s, known as the Zenith "Stereo Multiplexer", which worked with the main receiver to provide stereo FM reception. I was not aware (until now) of aftermarket stereo adapters being available for any of Zenith's other high-end table sets, so it was news to me when you mentioned the "Stereo Companion". That adapter must have been introduced at the same time as the C/H-845 series but before the MJ-1035, the latter being factory-equipped for stereo FM.

Sorry I meant to say Phono. I know some radios were stereo in phono but didn't have stereo receiving capabilities.