Zenith Porthole on eBay

[Eric H]

Looks nice, only problem is there's only hole, no port.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-TV-Cabin...item1e59c24691

[sean]

This is the 2nd time I have seen this up on the bay. It has been on the local Craigslist numerous times. I think they originally were wanting $295 or $395 for it and they keep dropping the price. Too bad the TV is missing.

[Jeffhs]

TV chassis is missing and the radio doesn't work -- all the seller says is that the radio dial will light up, but there is no sound. Didn't say anything as to the condition of the phonograph. This would be a great find for someone wanting to restore the radio and phono, though. The missing television could be replaced by (gasp!) a modern flat-panel HDTV (would need a bit of work done to the opening for the original chassis, however, as it was made for a round CRT) or (gasp! again) a vintage b&w portable TV, 19" or thereabouts. If I were restoring this, however, I'd look for a used Zenith chassis (for authenticity's sake) that had a CRT at least as large as the original (I think the TV in this console had a 19" round tube).

If all else fails, the radio and phono could be restored (I would probably replace the record changer with a more modern one, as parts for these older changers are becoming scarce) and use the space formerly occupied by the television chassis for record storage; the result would be a very nice (if large) vintage entertainment center. I don't know if the radio/amplifier chassis has input jacks for anything other than a record changer, but if it does, this could be used with an iPod or other type of mp3 player, a CD player, or, if you don't have vinyl anymore, the output of the CD/mp3 player could be connected to the input jack originally intended for the changer. Since the radio chassis is probably transformer-powered (were there any of these particular consoles made with series-string tuner/amp chassis?), there shouldn't be any problems with shock hazards or ground loops, although to be 100 percent safe I'd check the isolation capacitors for leakage, shorts or opens and replace any doubtful ones.

[John Marinello]

This cabinet was Zenith's best 16-incher in mahogany, as it had real wood doors. It also had the better 10-tube radio, as can be determined by the buttons on either side of the dial. They had a very similar looking combo that had fake woodgrain on the doors, with an 8-tube radio, no buttons. If I had the cheaper combo, I'd buy this one & move the TV guts.