19 inch System 3

[Charlie]

Typically, I don't bother with sets this new, but I found it near my mother's house for 10 bucks. It put light on the screen, so I decided to bring it home.

The label on the back says 1985. I have only one other mid-80's set... a 19 inch Curtis Mathes (all NEC parts inside).

The Zenith did not have the remote, but I was able to program one of my Dish remotes to work it. I would think it's a good idea to use the remote whenever possible being that it has this weird pull-down door that has the main controls on the door. I'm guessing that the door and those controls can wear with time when used regularly.

The set seems to play pretty good. I have a suspicion that the CRT might be a little weak. When setting the controls, I noticed the brightness control has an indentation in the middle, and I assume that's where it was set when it first came out of the store. Today, setting it there produces a very dark picture. I now have the brightness set at about 85-95 percent to make a nice picture. I don't know if I have an adapter for my CRT checker that matches this tube... I will have to check.

I've been watching it all day today and seems to be holding up well. Has good color and contrast. Even if the tube is a little weak, it still plays well as is.

The photos below really don't look that great. The color looks far better in person compared to the photos. Not bad for 10 bucks.