[Jeffhs]

The K731 is one of Zenith's best small AM-FM table radios of the late 1950s-'60s. I have one, an eBay score some years ago, that pulls in stations like a magnet, even with just the line cord antenna. This radio is unique in that the limiter tube also serves as a "third IF" stage, which explains its excellent selectivity. I haven't recapped or done anything else to mine since getting it (except, IIRC, to replace one tube about two years after putting it into service here), but it still plays excellently on the indoor antenna in this area, over 30 miles from most Cleveland FM stations. As I always say about the older Zenith radios and TVs, they don't make them like that anymore. If you have one of these old sets, hang on to it, restore it if you need to and enjoy it. I also have a Zenith H511-Y 5-tube AC/DC radio from 1951 that works well for its age, but to get to that point I had to do some work on it, such as rebending a couple of bent plates on the tuning capacitor rotor that were killing reception below 800 kHz, and cleaning the metal escutcheon plate (the oblong shaped one that has the name "ZENITH" stamped in small capital letters across its length) as it was terribly dirty, probably a direct result of having reposed in its former owner's garage, attic, basement, etc., unused, for years or decades. In fact, when I plugged the set in for the first time after UPS delivered it, the #47 pilot light behind the "Z" in the crest emblem at the top center of the cabinet promptly burned out with a bright flash, probably due to the 3-section filter capacitor having become unformed from decades of disuse. I replaced the bulb, however, and the set worked very well, although at some point two of the tuning cap rotor plates became bent (don't know how), killing the local oscillator from 800 kHz to the lower limit of the broadcast band.

I also have a Zenith C845 AM/FM hi-fidelity radio (the one in my avatar), which was given to me about four years ago by a VK member from Arizona. This radio worked very well out of the box and still works surprisingly well to this day, again with no recapping or other repair work needed.

My third vintage Zenith radio is an R-70 11-transistor AM-FM portable from 1980, another eBay score. This one also worked right out of the box, requiring only three new C-size batteries. It is by far my favorite Zenith portable, brings in lots of stations and sounds wonderful (typical Zenith). It is built like a tank, not like today's plastic headphone stereos and FM scanning receivers found in department stores and discount houses. The R-70 is surprisingly well-built, albeit offshore (Korea); I have been told that it is probably the last "good" transistor portable made by Zenith before the company left Chicago. I had a Zenith 4-mode integrated stereo system in the 1980s, also built to Zenith's standards by its Korean subsidiary at the time, but I left it at my former home and replaced it with an Aiwa AM/FM/CD stereo when I moved to an apartment 12 years ago. Don't know where it is now or even if it still works, although I do know it was used quite a bit by the person I gave it to in '99.