One of the first Zenith cathedrals
 

This model L "Zenette" (It's written that way on the escutcheon) was one of 3 first Zenith cathedral radios offered by the company. Although they were known at this time for high quality sets, they had to follow suite to stay competitive and offer low cost "compact" or "midget" sets. Zenith did not skimp on it. The cabinet is solid as a rock with a thick large back brace, and the performance is much better than my other early cathedrals. Crisp, clear, and sensitive. The cabinet has an appealing simple design with the ornate front trim. I like the rippled veneer pattern on them and the darker toner highlights. The set is all original and is very well preserved.

Nice.

Thanks.
By the way, the grill cloth whited-out in the photo. It's the original, typical gold/black satin cloth that you find on the Gloritones. You can't really see it, but the escutcheon is nice with columns and "Zenette" written out in lightening bolt style.

Very Nice, its interesting that you mention the U. S. Gloritone Cathedrals because I have one that I restored myself and its a pretty decent performer for being an early unit (1932), although my unit could use an IF and RF Alignment but to do that I have to have the unit out of the cabinet and do all of the adjustments from the bottom of the chassis... :sigh: :thumbsdn:

Wow , Zenith got as much mileage out of the Zenette name as Philco got out of the Transitone name , that's for sure !

Here is my 1950s Zenette AC / battery powered portable that uses the 1 volt 7 pin tubes (1U4 , 1R5 , those types) , with a regular sized soft drink can for size scale .

One thing that has always impressed me about Zenith stuff was when I 1st got into this damfool hobby was how often they WORKED... Maybe not perfect, but often you'd get some sign of life outta one.. Even my Porthole, it went to Terry's, & IIRC, it need a few caps, a couple tubes, & it came back to life.. Still works, & that's been a good 10 yrs ago. Bless you, Cdr Gene !

vortalexfan: Thank you. Yes, you'll find that the "cheapie" sets, whether it be a radio or TV, will often perform surprisingly well once restored. I have a Gloritone cathedral, but the first 1930 model 27 that works well, but the early and primitive on/off/volume control is very touchy. I heard it was a first in the industry.

init4fun: "Zenette" was a perfect name for the first "compact" cathedral model, and the small '50's set you have. I like that they wrote it in the typical lightening bolt style.

Sandy G: Very true. I have a 1937 8S154 console that originally was working for years without any signs of resto work. It even had all original "Zenith" tubes. It did eventually need a recapping after many hours of use. The sets, even this so-called "low-cost" Zenette cathedral, is built like a tank. These were the days when someone would buy a major appliance and, with ordinary care, possibly have it for a lifetime! Manufacturers, or should I say the stockholders, decided planned obsolescence would be much more profitable.

The company put the "Zenette" name on their early 1930s lower priced sets, afraid of damaging their reputation for making expensive radios.

Yes Tim. It seems Zenith did like Atwater Kent and reluctantly gave it to having to make lower-priced radios to stay competitive. I must say that this model L that I have is a simple design, but great quality in and out and very good performance. Better than my Philco 70 "Baby Grand". It seems the more established companies always waited a year or so on an innovative product another company put out to see how well it was accepted.

Rider's covers Zenith model s that are obviously model by Belmont!
Depression specials, with resistance line cords and non-AVC superhets, even TRF's.
They also built radios under the Interocean brand, either built by Zenith or the Chicago independents.
And here you thought that Zenith was wrong having Funai build their small TV sets and TV-VCR combinations. :D