[Tubejunke]

OK, I have an efficiency coil on the way! These things are going like hotcakes to somebody and from the standpoint of a retail purchase of an N.O.S. replacement, there seems to have been FOUR of these in the WWWorld! Wow! Moyer had two about a month ago and had quoted me so in an email. Thinking that I am probably the only person on Earth knocking at a supplier's door for obsolete beyond obsolete TV parts, I didn't react immediately. Should have because they are sold out! I'm thinking that these coils sat around in inventory limbo as long as I have been alive and then sold out two units in a matter of weeks. Interesting to say the least.

At any rate, someone gave me a link to another supplier who just happened to have two as well, but for $13 more. I figured I better jump on in this time or else I may never get this Zenith going due to wishy washy H.O. cathode current. So, as long as U.P.S. doesn't fail me I am good. Frankly, the guy on the phone at this place didn't seem like he cared at all if he sold something or not. Yeah, one of THOSE inside sales guys! Supposedly they no longer really sell to private citizens, so I was sort of out of line even asking to buy their product and have it sent to my house. or that's the feeling I got. He asked me about 3 times what company I worked for. Geez! I kept saying that I work for a company and I am an electronics tech for that company, but I am not buying the part for my employer. So anyway, he finally took my credit card and shipping info. He never read it back to me to insure accuracy, so I hope that works out. Sorry folks, I didn't mean to go on a rant. I am actually happy to announce progress on the Zenith. However, I did a stint once as Inside Sales for an electronics repair/supply place and we were trained to be polite, AND reassure the successful execution of the order through relaying back all of the key data. On the flip, you get a lot of tards most particularly in "parts" related sales. It's sort of the nature of the beast I have learned as I also did auto parts once which is a road that I don't even want to begin to go down here.

So, I throw in the coil and hopefully the crystal replacement for the color will work. That info is in some other thread that I wish that I could locate. I have a bag of common value orange drop caps which I hope will cover many of what I will run into. Might as well replace whatever is left, but I will probably keep the electrolytics. I'm not going to do a play by play with pics and all, but I will definitely try to throw in a few.

I thought about going and picking up that vintage RCA color bar, dot, crosshatch generator that is sitting at the antique mall for another $35, but supposedly you can get DVDs with everything needed for alignment which would be a lot easier. I love old test equipment which A. is necessary and B. is working. Can't say I would ever use old color TV equipment again as I prefer old black and white sets. So the DVD sounds like a plan!