Got a New'Un in...

[Sandy G]

...Today. Well, new to me, anyhow...It's one of those ubiquitous Zenith AM/FM K-731/725 sets. This one has a twist-it has BOTH FM bands on it- the prewar 40-48 Mcs, & today's 88-108 one, too. It'll hafta go see Terry, seller said it works, of course it doesn't. Need a case for it, too- the lady didn't pack it well, & that old Bakelite stuff is brittle as hell-broke in 2 places. Ah, well....Don't know what the model # is, just a tiny piece of the sticker is still with us. Me & my old junque...Sheesh !

[jeffsod]

Sorry to hear your set didn't survive the shipping. Seems that buying bakelite sets from ebay can be a crap shoot if the seller doesn't know how to pack them. I lucked out. I just got a vintage Grundig bakelite and the seller shipped it before I had a chance to mention the extra care necessary. This seller wasn't a radio person per say but definetely took the necessary care. Radio arrived in the same condition it was in before being packed. Now it needs the half inch of dust blown out of the inside The seller said he powered it up and it worked. Looking inside I would say that was risky on his part I have to get some brasso and start polishing now.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

...Today. Well, new to me, anyhow...It's one of those ubiquitous Zenith AM/FM K-731/725 sets. This one has a twist-it has BOTH FM bands on it- the prewar 40-48 Mcs, & today's 88-108 one, too. It'll hafta go see Terry, seller said it works, of course it doesn't. Need a case for it, too- the lady didn't pack it well, & that old Bakelite stuff is brittle as hell-broke in 2 places. Ah, well....Don't know what the model # is, just a tiny piece of the sticker is still with us. Me & my old junque...Sheesh !

Sandy, are you sure your Zenith is a K731 or K725? I ask that because neither of those particular models had the old pre-war FM band, just the standard AM and FM broadcast ranges (550-1600 kHz and 88-108 MHz respectively). The 731 came only in wood cabinets (mahogany and blonde--I have the mahogany version that looks like a TV console, without the legs). The K-725 was housed in a bakelite cabinet, and the stuff does get brittle with age (remember, these radios are at least 45 years old) so you have to be very careful about shipping them any distance--use lots of bubble wrap, packing peanuts and so on so the radio won't bounce around in the box during shipping. That's probably why your bakelite Zenith arrived at your door with a smashed cabinet--the radio wasn't packed well at all (your description seems to point that out rather well). Bakelite doesn't take kindly to abuse, especially the kind of abuse a lot of stuff gets from UPS, FedEx and so on; the stuff will crack and break almost at the drop of a hat, especially Bakelite with 40-50+ years on it. I have a Zenith H-511 (1951 vintage) in the black Bakelite cabinet; the cabinet is definitely showing its age, with a couple of cracks on the left front corner and a crack or two in the molded posts that hold the twist lock fasteners in place (the little devices with prongs and a flat head which hold the back cover on), but other than that, the set seems to be working well--at least it was until recently. The set doesn't power on now. Don't know if I jostled a tube and shook a filament open or what (I had the chassis out of the cabinet to try to restring the dial; when I put the set back together again it wouldn't work worth a darn). It may be that the plug I put on the end of the line cord, one of those plugs with little nibs that bite into the insulation, isn't quite making contact with the wires in the cord; I'll have to check that. I want to replace the line cord altogether (preferably with a polarized one, but I'm not sure how to connect a polarized line cord to a radio that never had one), but that's just a minor job that will take me only a few minutes--when I get around to it. I'll feel better knowing the radio has a new, safe line cord. The 56-year-old cord now on my H511 still looks like it's in good shape, but I don't trust it.

I've heard of Terry DeWick and his excellent reputation for restoring old radios to working condition. Never had to send any of my radios to him for service (I'm fairly handy with tools and a soldering iron, and I have schematics for almost all my radios, so I can pretty much repair anything that goes wrong with any set in my collection), but it's good to know there is someone out there who knows these old sets inside out and can repair them when they go bad.

Good luck. You have an excellent radio that will serve you well once it is back in working condition. (Why did the seller tell you it worked, when it obviously doesn't? Some ebay sellers aren't exactly honest, I guess.)

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by jeffsod

Sorry to hear your set didn't survive the shipping. Seems that buying bakelite sets from ebay can be a crap shoot if the seller doesn't know how to pack them. I lucked out. I just got a vintage Grundig bakelite and the seller shipped it before I had a chance to mention the extra care necessary. This seller wasn't a radio person per say but definetely took the necessary care. Radio arrived in the same condition it was in before being packed. Now it needs the half inch of dust blown out of the inside The seller said he powered it up and it worked. Looking inside I would say that was risky on his part I have to get some brasso and start polishing now.

That's the first Grundig radio I ever saw with just AM, FM and (I think) LW. Most of those sets had at least one shortwave band.

I would definitely get the dust out of the cabinet before you power up that set. With a half-inch of dust in there, it seems to me the radio may not have been used much in the last 30 years or thereabouts. Kind of like my Zenith H511 when I first received it (won it in an ebay auction five years ago). The set had dust in the cabinet like I couldn't believe, and the pilot light burned out the first time I plugged it in after it arrived here. Turns out the pilot-light problem was just a very old bulb and (probably) a deformed filter capacitor; from the looks of the inside of the set, I figured it probably sat in its former owner's basement, garage, attic, etc. for decades without ever being used.

[Nolan Woodbury]

'Course, you've got to realize Jeff that not everyone is wired into these things like we are! Ks, Cs, Bs, Zenith made a bunch of them, but never a K-731 in Bakelite.

Might look nice tho-

In my opinion, none of the bakelite sets sound as good as the wood cabinet models. I'm sure the cabinet has something to do with it, but as Zenith progressed with these radios (and as bakelite's appeal lost popularity) the electronics improved; thus, reception and sound. Well, that's my theory anyway...

Jeff, I've been massively delayed in sending your package; the house is torn to bits (new plumbing) and I'm running in three directions at once. Once I'm free to concentrate, I'll get on it.

That is a beautiful Grundig-

[mr_fixer]

Hi Sandy, I'm sorry your radio broke. Did you tell the seller? If i can see a picture of what the radio looked like. I might be able to find a case at the next Nashville Radio Club Swapmeet. Its coming up in Oct.

[mr_fixer]

Nice Grundig, when i first saw it, I thought it was a Grundig Anniversary Replica. But you have the real McCoy!

[Sandy G]

Thanks to Mr Fixer, found out this ol' guy is a 1948 model 7H820-Z. There's currently one on You-Know-Where, I'm biddin' on it...

[Sandy G]

...An' now I'm the proud daddy of it, too...I HOPE this guy knows more about packin' than that gal in Chattanooga did...Shit, I coulda rode down there & GOT th' damthing....<sigh>

[sean]

I have a Grundig in the same cabinet as yours. Mine is a 1041W with an EM85 eye and SW instead of LW. The paint on the dial glass was peeling off so I created the art to make a new dial and now just have to find a good way of fabricating it. The problem is the dial is so long (15" IIRC) that I can't find clear self adhesive paper large enough to print it on in one piece. Other than the dial the set is finished.

[jeffsod]

Sean it sounds like a challenge to duplicate that dial glass but worth it in the end if you are successful. These radios seem to be very well made. I just picked up another Grundig 3045 that is really sweet. The woofer on the 3045 is huge.