[Tubejunke]

I have definitely gone down that road as that or similar issues have been an issue with several of my old sets, but none (or few) of my newer, everyday sets. Basically, each set has it's own properties as to how it will accept say a digital TV converter, or a VCR as a signal source. The Zenith we speak of doesn't seem to be as persnickety as some of the older black and white sets I have and on the Zenith I have swapped baluns, cabling, and tried different sources and they all bear the same result.

My beloved Philco had a tough time when analog signal left our world for the most part. There was never a problem with a set of rabbit ears, but when I got a digital converter or other things that had to be cabled in it simply didn't like to perform. Oddly I get good performance with one lead of the balun connected to the tuner and the other connected to one side of the built in antenna. It would seem that it wouldn't work, but that's how it does work. I have a 1950 RCA that had very low sound until I tweaked the signal process somehow. The picture was perfect with almost inaudible sound.

So, I feel or dare I say I know that I must replace any shorted tube. It may not make the set play perfectly, but I strongly feel that it will help a lot.