Zenith porthole "Byron"

[John Marinello]

Picked up another super-clean "Byron" late last year, and couldn't resist
bringing her up on a variac...

[DavGoodlin]

Thanks for the great story beginning here John!

Not many sets of this era you can wake up like that.

[cwmoser]

Nice. There is something about a Zenith porthole.

Carl

[ChrisW6ATV]

What a nice find. The CRT looks excellent.

[Electronic M]

Mine works on the original parts too, except for a hand full of drops that were replaced by some repairman decades back.

[hi_volt]

Very nice find. I always liked the portholes......wish I still had mine. I sold it about 30 years ago. Your picture tube looks excellent. Great start for a project!

[TubularTVbob]

Wow, nice looking set! They must be growing on trees over there in Illinois. I had to look for awhile before I found my Zenith porthole. GREAT CATCH!

[Sandy G]

I'm in LUST...(grin)

[wkand]

[QUOTE=TubularTVbob;3094737]Wow, nice looking set! They must be growing on trees over there in Illinois. I had to look for awhile before I found my Zenith porthole. GREAT CATCH![/QUOTE

Beautiful set. This is classic understated

How close to Chicago was this set found?

I wonder how many of the local to Chicago Zenith sets were originally
employee owned?

[truetone36]

Typical Zenith, working so well after sitting unused for who knows how many years. A little TLC and it'll keep going for another 60 years.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by truetone36

Typical Zenith, working so well after sitting unused for who knows how many years. A little TLC and it'll keep going for another 60 years.

This is a subject that I am very interested in. It may be worth a thread of its own, but I know it would turn into a recap thread. Most of us understand that the capacitor is the weakest link in old electronics, so its sort of a given that they get changed out. There are many opinions on when and even how to do this.

I am just interested in talking about what I call "working originals" in both radio and television. I'm sure that much of it boils down to a small set of variables. How long has a set been dormant? What was its condition when it was set aside for a better set? Was it in a humid or a dry storage area? Either way it goes, to me it is like magic when you see something come alive that from an electronics standpoint should not be. It was not engineered to perform for over a half of a century to begin with. Although we did engineer our products for a long life as opposed to today's planned obsolescence which makes sure that even if a product last for more than five years or so that it will still be some kind of a joke that nobody wants.

Over 30 years ago I started picking up 30s-50s radios that were plentiful at flea markets for $5 or $10 and even then was amazed at how many were still operational being 20-30 years old at that time. Then I got my first 50s TV (again plentiful) for $10 at a Goodwill and was blown away and hooked for life. Blown away with what looked like and really is a LOT of things going on, and they must be going on at such precise times. Hooked on the smell (call me crazy) of the tubes making all of this happen. Finally amazed that it had been happening since 1956 and still needed no repair. I still have this Philco that I mention quite often. It still amazes me, and still needs no repair beyond an occasional tube.

The chassis is utterly simple in design and I guess could be compared to something like a Muntz. Just not a lot in there when compared to others I have like older RCA products or DuMonts. The simplicity is probably a big reason for the longevity of life. I look at cars the same way, and it's a shame that America (and later the world) stopped selling the VW Beetle. In the case of America, the movers and shakers have little interest in pushing a product that lasts, is simple in design, cheap to maintain and carries a price tag that everyone (or most) can afford. It's just not the way we do business anymore.

[Electronic M]

The Beetle is a bad example the original generation even when new you could not park in the rain (unless it was tarped) without the engine taking in water and becoming unstartable until dried, and from every account I've heard you need two of them to have a working one....Maybe a ford model T would be a better example.

[Username1]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

The Beetle is a bad example the original generation even when new you could not park in the rain (unless it was tarped) without the engine taking in water and becoming unstartable until dried, and from every account I've heard you need two of them to have a working one....Maybe a ford model T would be a better example.

HA! My sister had always had 2 Chevy's so she always (most always) had at least one running to get to work ! I always teased her on that.....! '82 Camaro and '84 mini blazer, Both needed extensive engine and drive train work since she got them... I think they both are under 130K miles... "You got to have 2 Chevy's so you have one running to get somewhere...."

Me and my brother had Fords.... (Not that much more dependable... but you know the classic ford vs. chevy crap.)

For electronics It's just that some manufacturing processes, or materials just did not stand up to time, or the elements. Some parts were better than others, just like today, some parts despite advances in materials. There are crappy alternatives, and it's showing even faster in some Chinese electronics than in some of the past stuff....

Funny, its like as for the old stuff, if it's 40 year old RCA, think of it as if it was a 10 year old Funi, You better get in there and replace the caps....

If it's a Zenith, you might just be able to run it for another 40 years....

I have a number of old clock radios, the RCA's all needed caps, the Zeniths and Westinghouse sets I just keep using as is....

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

The Beetle is a bad example the original generation even when new you could not park in the rain (unless it was tarped) without the engine taking in water and becoming unstartable until dried, and from every account I've heard you need two of them to have a working one....Maybe a ford model T would be a better example.

I believe it was 1971 or 72 when VW started putting slotted deck lids on the back. Truly a bad design and your engine did get wet if it rained. As far as not starting, if you have good plug wires and a cap that is not cracked, the engine will start and run fine. It's a love em or hate em thing I guess with the old Beetle, but they would never have sold so many millions for about 60 years if you count south of the border production which went on until somewhere around the turn of the century.

My point was that with simplicity you just have less to go wrong because there is less there. I worked in a VW shop as a kid and those cars were unstoppable if properly maintained. NOT a car for todays driver who has no concept of simple routine maintenance. No, these days it's just supposed to run forever like magic and many car manufacturers have come a long way with that concept; particularly the Japanese. There were some Toyota and Nissan trucks in the 80s and 90s that are/were unstoppable. I wouldn't know what I could buy today that is fairly simple and will be around for a few hundred K with little to no trouble. But one thing I do know is that you don't want to get your little computer engine wet or it may never run again!