I picked up a fully loaded Zenith Chancellor roundy combo

[Electronic M]

So I've had a goal of getting a Zenith space command 600 roundy, and getting a loaded roundy combo with tube stereo and remote preferably in a Danish modern cabinet.

Several months ago I found one with everything except the Danish modern cabinet for a crazy price(1500), which I negotiated down to a dumb high price (500), set up a time to see the set and see if the CRT was good, the amp was tube and the condition good enough to merit top dollar, and the seller went MIA on the scheduled day... Only to inform me a few days later they were in the hospital with 'pneumonia'...given no covid vaccines were out yet back then. We assumed covid and let the whole thing fade into memory.



Back on Wednesday a friend found it relisted for $300 in a way that I thought it was a different set/seller. It was 30 minutes away so I went to see it. The new listing also showed the original manuals. If the CRT was good $300 wouldn't have been bad. When I got there its finish was shabbier than the pictures would suggest and I found the neck cover knocked loose from the back. Removing the back cover revealed it had been necked so hard the glass from the base to behind the convergence coils had disintegrated leaving the all neck hardware behind the yoke wrapped around the naked gun...

After seeing that I almost walked out in disgust, but curiousity demanded I have a look at the amp to see if it was tube or Solid State. I was impressed to find a 7 tube 7K31 amp chassis with push-pull 6BQ5s... Probably Zenith's best console amp of that year. And a 12 tube tuner. Still half way wanting to walk away I negotiated down to $150 if he could find the remote and manual he had elsewhere in the house.

The TV chassis is a 25MC43 with UHF and space command 600. The only option this thing didn't get ordered with is the reverb chassis for the stereo (part of me wants to find one). Whats interesting is the TV is a 65 model but the Sam's for the stereo indicates 1963...the cabinet, it's badging and the tuner definitely look 1963. It's interesting Zenith would mix parts from different model years like this.
This set is monsterously heavy to the point I pulled the chassis and yoke before moving it and it still was like carrying a heavy intact TV only console up the stairs of the basement it lurked in. I learned remote Zenith's have a lot more complicated tethering between chassis and cabinet than non-remote sets.

While I was there I picked up a Philco 84 cathedral, a Delco console chassis, knobs, dial bezel/glass and speaker (bottom of the cabinet was gone so I saved what could be saved), and a Kraco cassette to 8-track adapter.

When he pulled out the manual there were other manuals in the folder and I got a free manual for my portacolor out of the deal.


The set had one last surprise...when I pulled the necked CRT (to facilitate unloading the cabinet from my truck) I discovered that the CRT in it was a Setchel Carlson branded CRT!...Now I wish even more that they hadn't necked it. That's the closest to a Setchel Carlson roundy I have gotten.

I plan to salvage the safety glass and stickers and chuck the rest of the ruined CRT.
I have a CRT that was earmarked for a set that's almost used up it's current CRT that I'll probably use...I need to find another good 21FJ/FBP22.

I've got other stuff on my plate at the moment but I look forward to fixing this elephant in the coming month.