Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G
...Today. Well, new to me, anyhow...It's one of those ubiquitous Zenith AM/FM K-731/725 sets. This one has a twist-it has BOTH FM bands on it- the prewar 40-48 Mcs, & today's 88-108 one, too. It'll hafta go see Terry, seller said it works, of course it doesn't. Need a case for it, too- the lady didn't pack it well, & that old Bakelite stuff is brittle as hell-broke in 2 places. Ah, well....Don't know what the model # is, just a tiny piece of the sticker is still with us. Me & my old junque...Sheesh !
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Sandy, are you sure your Zenith is a K731 or K725? I ask that because neither of those particular models had the old pre-war FM band, just the standard AM and FM broadcast ranges (550-1600 kHz and 88-108 MHz respectively). The 731 came only in wood cabinets (mahogany and blonde--I have the mahogany version that looks like a TV console, without the legs). The K-725 was housed in a bakelite cabinet, and the stuff does get brittle with age (remember, these radios are at least 45 years old) so you have to be very careful about shipping them any distance--use lots of bubble wrap, packing peanuts and so on so the radio won't bounce around in the box during shipping. That's probably why your bakelite Zenith arrived at your door with a smashed cabinet--the radio wasn't packed well at all (your description seems to point that out rather well). Bakelite doesn't take kindly to abuse, especially the kind of abuse a lot of stuff gets from UPS, FedEx and so on; the stuff will crack and break almost at the drop of a hat, especially Bakelite with 40-50+ years on it. I have a Zenith H-511 (1951 vintage) in the black Bakelite cabinet; the cabinet is definitely showing its age, with a couple of cracks on the left front corner and a crack or two in the molded posts that hold the twist lock fasteners in place (the little devices with prongs and a flat head which hold the back cover on), but other than that, the set seems to be working well--at least it was until recently. The set doesn't power on now. Don't know if I jostled a tube and shook a filament open or what (I had the chassis out of the cabinet to try to restring the dial; when I put the set back together again it wouldn't work worth a darn). It may be that the plug I put on the end of the line cord, one of those plugs with little nibs that bite into the insulation, isn't quite making contact with the wires in the cord; I'll have to check that. I want to replace the line cord altogether (preferably with a polarized one, but I'm not sure how to connect a polarized line cord to a radio that never had one), but that's just a minor job that will take me only a few minutes--when I get around to it.
I'll feel better knowing the radio has a new, safe line cord. The 56-year-old cord now on my H511 still looks like it's in good shape, but I don't trust it.
I've heard of Terry DeWick and his excellent reputation for restoring old radios to working condition. Never had to send any of my radios to him for service (I'm fairly handy with tools and a soldering iron, and I have schematics for almost all my radios, so I can pretty much repair anything that goes wrong with any set in my collection), but it's good to know there is someone out there who knows these old sets inside out and can repair them when they go bad.
Good luck. You have an excellent radio that will serve you well once it is back in working condition. (Why did the seller tell you it worked, when it obviously doesn't?
Some ebay sellers aren't exactly honest, I guess.)