Zenith AM/FM G730 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

tankdonovan · #1 11-19-2005, 11:57 AM

Today I bought a Zenith AM/FM G730 at an estate sale. It looked to be in pretty good shape. A little dirty and the end of the cord was missing. No way to check it out but,.. what to heck only $15. Got it home and cleaned it up and to my surprise it looks excellent. On the 10 scale it would be a 9. Really nice! With it looking so good I just had to know if it worked. Replaced the cord end and again to my surprise it worked!! I`m listening to it now. Sounds good. I mean really good. Not as good as my Pioneer[Vintage 70`s] set up but very good for a radio of this age. The dial does not light up. Does anyone know if it should? Would it be hard to replace?
I have been buying/selling/collecting Vintage 70`s HiFi for a number of years now. I have a feeling this radio may be the start of something new. After all, I grew up on AM radio.

Sandy G · #2 11-19-2005, 01:45 PM

Tank- If it is like most of the older sets, it'll use a type 47 lamp-you can get 'em at about any RatShak-Where in Chattanooga are you? I went to a certain disreputable boy's reform school on the side of Missionary Ridge 1971-75. I miss Chattanooga even yet....-Sandy G.

tankdonovan · #3 11-19-2005, 01:57 PM

Sandy G,
Thanks for the info. I`ll see if I can change the lamp.
I live on the other side of Missionary Ridge. In East Ridge. So you went to McCallie? The Chattanooga area is a great place to live.
TankDonovan

Sandy G · #4 11-19-2005, 02:19 PM

Yeah, hell, I remember when WFLI, WGOW, & WDXB ALL played Top 40...And they finally put up an FM station, WSIM, around 94, they even were QUAD. "Dixbee" had Chickamauga Charlie in the morning, & Johnny Walker at nite...Aww, man, them were the days ! You could "almost" pick up WFLI here at night-sundown B4 they cut their power-"1070 WFLI, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga..." I'm Fast Jimmy, & it's 8.30 at the new WFLI...."-Sandy G.

tankdonovan · #5 11-19-2005, 03:51 PM

WFLI! Wow!! Chattanooga`s first station[1961 or 1962] to play the fairly "new music" Rock n Roll! It`s now a talk station and so is WGOW. Do you remember WFLI`s Tommy Jet? Well, he`s still kicking. Doing oldie parties and some DJ work. I`ve not heard him since GT 108 stop playing the oldies about 4 months ago. WSIM was the first FM station I ever listened to. In `71 or `72. That is were I discovered Jimmy Buffett. WSIM is now Jet 94. I now listen mostly to KZ 106 Classic Rock station.
TankDonovan

Chad Hauris · #6 11-19-2005, 10:14 PM

Some of these Zeniths use a 28 volt dial lamp bulb which gets its voltage from a dropping resistor off the AC line.

Sandy G · #7 11-19-2005, 11:25 PM

Yeah, isn't WDXB a gospel/religious station? Guess they're trying to make up for their wicked ways. Somewhere, I've got a tape from '72-73 that has Fast Jimmy announcing the call letters, the time,& breaking into "The Horse" by Cliff Nobles...I can imagine I was looking out toward Lookout Mtn..it was a beautiful spring afternoon...Ain't nothin' like Chattanooga in the spring...I need to dig that tape out & play it, & go back again to that majickal time...-Sandy G.

Tom Bavis · #8 11-20-2005, 11:04 AM

I have a G730 as well and it doesn't appear to have a dial light - I searched through my Sams but I didn't find it - it's in #478.

Nolan Woodbury · #9 11-21-2005, 01:24 PM

Tank,

No dial light on the G730, which uses the same C705 chassis as the C730; the 'square' version with the same face, dial, knobs and grill cloth.

These are some of my favorites; great (!) sound and a classic styling that appeals to me more than anything else. Well, in table radios anyway. Wonderful reception too.

Now that you have the beauty, go for the beef. Find a H845 and prepare to be amazed. As for service and repair issues, you're in good hands here-

tankdonovan · #10 11-21-2005, 05:37 PM

Thanks for the info.
It does have a classic style. I like the real wood.
I`ll have to find out about the H845.
TankDonovan

Jeffhs · #11 03-05-2009, 10:52 AM

I have a Zenith C845 that works great. Never saw or heard a table model with such wonderful sound and sensitivity as the '845 series has (C/H845). This was one of the very best table radios Zenith made in the late '50s-early sixties. Two speakers, a true tone control, an RF stage that works on AM as well as FM, two IF stages on both bands, and terminals for an external speaker--this is a high-performance, high-fidelity radio for sure. When Zenith halted production of these high-performance sets after about 1965, they broke the mold. These radios (and others in the 800 series) show up quite often on eBay (Zenith must have made a blue million of these in their heyday--I always see at least one in my daily perusings of eBay's antique radios), so you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. When you do, you won't be disappointed.

The model K731 is also a good set that shows up often on eBay (I saw one while browsing the site earlier today). A 5x7" oval main speaker, an electrostatic tweeter, and of course a true tone control, not to mention good sensitivity (even on AM, despite the fact that the '731 does not have an AM RF amplifier stage as does the C/H845), make this an excellent addition to any vintage radio collection. The K731 owes its wonderful sensitivity to the fine design of its signal circuits; the radio has two IF stages and a limiter stage, the last acting as a third IF so this set will bring in stations like a magnet. I have a K731 in an Early American cabinet (this radio was offered in several different cabinet styles) that was an eBay find several years ago. The sound is very good and the bass response is darn near incredible for a table radio of this size. I listen to an oldies radio program every weekend on this radio; honestly, I think the oldies sound better on it (and on my C845) than they would on today's cheap one-chip plastic sets.

BTW, the only difference between the C-845 and the H-845 (except for slight differences in the front panel, specifically the tuning scale and the knobs; also, some models in this series used a slide switch to change bands, rather than using a switch concentric with the tuning control as does the C845) is that the former does not have a dial light, while the latter does. The K731 never had a dial light, although I'm sure one could be added if a neon bulb (with a suitable dropping resistor) were placed behind the dial, or in such a position that it illuminated the track (between the AM and FM dial scales) on which the dial pointer moves. You may have to restring the dial, as some of these radios show up on eBay with broken dial cords.

Kind regards,

anden · #12 03-06-2009, 08:13 PM

Another great Zenith, which I just bought is the C835. It is the last example of the 8 tube big airplane dial sets with wood a cabinet....the Y832, B835, C835 series. The C835 has only one electrostatic tweeter, where the Y832 & B835 has two. It also has the same knobs as the later C845 and H845 and I think it must have been introduced right before the 845's.....maybe 1958?

As stated, there's no way to go wrong with these 8 tube set's - the sound is fantastic.

I have all five (Y832,B835,C835,H845, plus a scarce AM/shortwave model which looks just like a Y832) lined up on a shelf and when they're tuned to the same station at the same time, the audio is amazing !

Prices are still low on these, $15.-$45.....you get a lot of radio for the money!

Something tells me that when the postwar Zenith book is published, the prices are going to go up, so grab yourself one !

toxcrusadr · #13 03-10-2009, 03:24 PM

I think I have a C845 that had silver mica disease, which is very common on these, and I never did get it working. I replaced all the mica caps built into the cans with descrete silver micas and it was dead as a doornail after that. I probably miswired something but in any case it was a royal PIA. I agree they are great radios, just pray you don't have to deal with the silver micas. If you hear thunderstorms when it's playing, you're in for a troubleshooting treat. BTW I have a lot of brown dipped silver micas if anyone needs some.