1950s Zenith Stacked Combo

[hposter]

Does anyone have any info on this strangely built Zenith Combination..and does it come apart for transport? Thanks!

Oh, and what were they thinking?!?

[Sandy G]

Proof they Smoaked Doap in the Fiddies...(grin)

[Adam]

Is that a flashmatic set? I think I see those 4 sensors in each corner.

[charokeeroad]

The face that only a mother could love.!

[bgadow]

Originally Posted by Adam

Is that a flashmatic set? I think I see those 4 sensors in each corner.

I think it's gotta be. I've seen a number of Curtis-Mathes sets like this, they were ugly, too! I think it would grow on you, though.

[magnasonic66]

There was a Zenith Stratosphere made around 1955 which had the top part of the thing sitting on stainless steel legs, had a better look about it. I think they threw the Stratosphere name on a couple of their other products as well.

[cwmoser]

That is an interesting thought to pursue ... the Stratosphere name on TVs. Zenith also used it with their Porthole TVs - at least in advertising. Mine does not have the Stratosphere name on the cabinet though.

Carl

[CurtisMathes]

Originally Posted by hposter

Does anyone have any info on this strangely built Zenith Combination..and does it come apart for transport? Thanks!

Oh, and what were they thinking?!?

Are you kiddin' me? That's fabulous. A blonde 50s console with a penthouse apartment for the turntable. I'd have it in a minute.

[hposter]

OK..
...so no one here really knows the Model number or Series of this monster....it must really be a rare bird!

I'm surprised there aren't a half dozen just in AudioKarma collections!

[Adam]

Well, the flashmatic puts it in 1956, the 'X' chassis. The only model that's a combo set listed with a remote in '56 is the X2391EQ, with the 22X20Q tv chassis, 12X20 radio chassis, and a 21ACP4A CRT. The 'Q' means it has a remote, the 'E' stands for blond finish. Of course, I'm not 100% sure that's correct, this manual doesn't actually have pictures of the sets in it.

[hposter]

Adam,

Thanks for the insight!

Harry

[WISCOJIM]

According to an eBay listing (Item # 120145269214) one of these sold on July 31st, 2007. It was listed as model X2391Q. The seller is a poster here on VK - "drh4683". Sold for $400 to "zenithdude".

Sam's list an X2391EQ/EQU in folder 314-12.

.

[Jeffhs]

The only Zenith Flash-Matic televisions I've ever seen were in ads, and all of those sets were TV only, no turntable or radio. I think the set in the photo is probably a cobbled-together three-way entertainment unit, as I don't think Zenith ever used the Flash-Matic chassis in any combo -- although I could be wrong. The F-M television was too problematic as it was, considering the false-triggering problems with the sensors at the corners of the CRT mask, the lack of a lockout scheme to prevent such false triggering, et al.

The Flash-Matic was such a major embarrassment for Zenith that the set was only made for the 1955-56 model year, then discontinued. I think Zenith must have lost money hand over fist with the FlashMatic since people usually did not buy another after the problems they experienced with the one they had; that or else or the F-M sets could have soured them forever on anything bearing the Zenith name and/or logo.

However, it may have been a learning experience for their R&D department when it came time to redesign the remote control system. The Flash-Matic, after all, was Zenith's very first attempt at wireless remote control of a television receiver, and the first attempt at anything often results in problems. The lessons learned from the problems experienced by set owners with the Flash-Matic taught Zenith's R&D department a lot about how not to design a wireless remote control; they applied this knowledge to the design of the Space Command ultrasonic remotes that followed. The result was far fewer complaints from set owners over malfunctions, although the SC ultrasonic remote had at least one quirk that annoyed the devil out of folks with dogs: when the family dog would walk in front of the set, and its tags bounced against the collar, creating a sound of just the right frequency to activate the remote receiver, the set could turn on, change channels, et al. in the middle of the night, unbeknownst to the set owner. Imagine watching Johnny Carson some night in the '60s or '70s on your Zenith SC-equipped b&w or color TV, then, when the program ended, you pressed the on/off button on the hand unit to turn off the set; then you went to bed, only to be awakened at half-past five the next morning by a 400-Hz test pattern tone coming from your living room. You get up and hear This is television station W---, returning to the air. W--- is owned and operated by . . ., only to find that the TV had turned itself on some time while you were asleep -- probably because your dog walked in front of the set some time earlier, near the remote transducer.

I'm sure this sort of thing happened more than once with Zenith TVs equipped with ultrasonic remotes, which was very likely why the company switched to IR (infrared) remote control systems by the '80s or '90s -- and why that method of TV remote control became the industry standard shortly thereafter. Infrared remotes, after all, cannot be triggered by anything other than IR signals from the TV's own (or a universal) remote hand unit.

[Tim]

The pictures are lost from this old thread but it sure sounds like this is the same model set:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=118778