Quote:
Originally posted by H2s04
All I do is try and try to get my ONLY color set to work. Its a Zenith 24MC32 from 1964. When I found it at the dump, it was all together. I pluged it in, and got a little bit of light, and some sound, thats all. $ power caps later i had a fuzzy picture, and better sound. A week later, i heard a snap, and the picture went blue . I was misinformed to "check the cap on the tube, it might be broken". doing this not only broke the cap, but broke several wires, and the #9 pin. Hawk eye wont even replace the pin. I don't have enough money to buy a new tube, or have it rebuilt hoping that the pin could be replaced. Seeing all these great color tvs has made me more depressed than ever! ARG! Can anyone help with this set?   
That picture was taken on 9/11 2003, the day the set died; which compounded to it all.
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If you can't afford a new CRT, why not look around for a junked TV with the same type of tube as the one you need? Doesn't have to be a Zenith. I would also check at old TV repair shops that were in business when tube-powered TVs were still around; one of them might have a round tube they would let you have for a small price or even for nothing.
I don't recall offhand what type CRT the 24MC32 used, although I think it's a 21FJP/FBP22. Noting your set is from 1964, that sounds logical, as this was the second last year, IIRC, that Zenith (and most other TV manufacturers) made roundies.
Last but certainly not least, I'd look around on ebay for either a junked set or a used CRT. There are usually plenty of old sets there, being auctioned off at very reasonable prices.
Good luck. Zenith roundies (and their later rectangular Chromacolor and System 3 models) were excellent color sets. With a bit of work and a CRT replacement, I see no reason why yours cannot eventually be made to work as well as it should and once did when it was new. Those old Zeniths were built to last, not like the Gold Star sets being sold today with the Zenith label on them (the Zenith name, and the lightning-bolt "Z" on new sets below the CRT, are just marketing symbols today; the original Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago no longer exists). Moreover, your 1964 set will probably make a much better picture than a lot of modern Japanese and Korean-made TVs once you get it working at its peak, as the older TVs had better CRTs (rare-earth phosphors) and, I would think, better color-processing systems than many new sets.
I have relatives who either presently own or have owned Zenith color sets; they have had very good luck with them through the years. One of my great-uncles had a Zenith Chromacolor II 25-inch console of 1970s vintage; he didn't get rid of it until he moved last year. That set lasted over 20 years, though he had the CRT replaced once, IIRC, and some other work done on the chassis at some point. But I swear, that set had a beautiful picture as long as he had it (it was used only on an antenna, never with cable that I am aware of). Just goes to show how well-made the old Zeniths (and RCAs, GEs, Magnavox's, etc.) were until foreign interests got hold of the companies.