Scored a 49 Zenith Porthole 28T964R

[Eric H]

Picked this up at a local silent auction, complete except for the channel and volume knobs, cabinet is in good shape with some finish issues, mostly on the front feet but i think it could just be touched up rather than redone.

Chassis is clean, flyback looks okay, there's an old replacement 16AP4 inside that is tired, it checks great at 8 volts, not so good at 6.3 but it will probably make a decent picture, if all else fails I have a NOS 16AP4 in a recapped RC with a shabby cabinet, if it comes down to which set gets the new tube, the Zenith wins.

The finish behind the control doors is much darker than anywhere else, is it possible the rest of the cabinet faded so evenly or were they darker by design so the decals stand out better?

P.S. I do have the power supply but I took it out to make it lighter to move, it was held in with clear packing tape!
Also have the four small knobs, that had all fallen off but were still inside the cover doors, I don't think anyone at the auction realized they opened.

[wkand]

Really nice set. Boy those suckers are beautiful...

[Eric H]

This model is called "The Stratosphere", if it had been the Zenith Stratosphere radio I could retire a few years early.

[cwmoser]

Round picture tubes are better than rectangular tubes because the eye is round.
-- Zenith advertising circa 1950 :-)

[John Marinello]

Eric, What CRT does the tube layout call for, 16AP4 or 16EP4? I know the Marlborough combo unit uses the 16AP4, and seen TV-only consoles call
for the 16EP4. Maybe the earlier sets used the 16AP4?

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by John Marinello

Eric, What CRT does the tube layout call for, 16AP4 or 16EP4? I know the Marlborough combo unit uses the 16AP4, and seen TV-only consoles call
for the 16EP4. Maybe the earlier sets used the 16AP4?

I didn't see a tube chart but the CRT had a tag that says it's an AP4, judging by the depth of the cabinet that's what's supposed to be in it.

[bandersen]

That's curious. My buddy recently picked up a G2951R which Zenith also called a "Stratosphere". It uses a different chassis than yours and 16EP4. Maybe the cabinet determined the model name ?

[bandersen]

Yep, according to Riders vol 3, the 28T964R uses chassis 28F23 with a 16AP4.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Eric H

The finish behind the control doors is much darker than anywhere else, is it possible the rest of the cabinet faded so evenly or were they darker by design so the decals stand out better?

Also have the four small knobs, that had all fallen off but were still inside the cover doors, I don't think anyone at the auction realized they opened.

Perhaps it was refinished, and the refinisher did not realize the doors opened either.....