Zenith Transoceanic Y600

[MarkM]

I recommend to try cleaning the row of bandswitches. T/Os are fairly notorious for having reception problems caused by them. Even if it's not the cause, I'm sure they would benefit from it. I doubt they would be causing the no volume issue though.

[MarkM]

I believe this set also has a selenium rectifier that should be replaced with a silicon power supply diode & a resistor if it hasn't been already. They really have a way of stinking up a room when they go bad & could be causing low B+ if it's still in circuit as their resistance increases as they age. Just be sure it has new power supply caps as a new diode would likely kill 50 year old caps.

[Bryantenn]

Funken, Before you dig in too far, I would hop over to Yahoo's forums and search for the trans oceanic fanatic group. These guys are serious about Zenith T/O's. All the advice here is good for starters, but you can get really detailed information as well as expert opinions about your problems there. I have two 600's and their input has helped me to rerstore these radios to nearly factory fresh condition.

The fact that your patient was "breathing" when you got it is very encouraging, and means that it fundementally is in working condition. Capacitors, as well as dirty contacts in the bandswitches,followed by selenium rectifiers are all common failure points. Tubes are actually one of the most reliable components in the set. I would pick up a schematic (available on many sites) and check in with the T/O group and then dive into your set. Good luck and enjoy!

Bryan in Tennessee