The very first Zenith "Transoceanic" radio

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

Not to be contrary, but I see more sailboats on Praybay than bombers. Either way, it's a great score and I'm glad to see some general tube Transoceanic interest here at VK. I don't have either of the WW2 versions, but I have examples of most of the rest of the tube line. My earliest is an 8G005YT which was the last with Loctal tubes. I notice here and there the same model # with Z1 on the end. Not sure what that means, but Zenith did a lot of minor changes throughout the run, so no telling.

I don't have the next model, the G500, which is where 7 pin miniature tubes come into play including the rare 1L6 which by the way some smart individual is making a solid state sub for. As much as I hate solid state junk, this is a great idea and much needed as the original tubes are all but depleted which is (of course) driving prices way up. I'm not looking for a G500 to babysit as it is nearly identical to it's predecessor. Then I have a decent H500 which in my opinion is the ugliest one of the lot, but I do like the new clamps they added for spare tubes. I have a few B600s and all I can say on those is I haven't found one yet that doesn't work at least on the Broadcast band.

The king of the lot is an A600L. L stands for leather as they have the brown leather case. One mystery I've found is that I have seen 2 distinct shades of brown. One is almost reddish orange. Either way it goes, they are hot with collectors as most people didn't bother paying an extra 20 bucks or so to get brown. The smart way to sell one is to part it out as all of the trim and knobs are brown and even harder to find than a complete unit. So if you need a knob or a handle and don't want to pay a couple or three hundred for a complete unit to rob of its knob, then you have to luck out and find someone parting. I see them doing it all the time with the normal black sets on Praybay.

I'm thinking of letting mine go as I just enjoy radios and have 2 other examples of the 600 line. Might pay for some caps, dial string, and a solid state converter tube replacement.

Thanks for your comments and interesting info. If you go by actual production numbers the "sailboat" version is by far the rarer of the two '42 models. Remember too that it's common knowledge that "bombers" have been switched over to "sailboats" with collectors becoming aware of it's rarity. Anyway, with eBay finding rare sets like the Zenith "Walton", Sparton "Bluebird" or multi-tube Scott console radios is as easy as shopping at Walmart, but it doesn't make them any less rare.
I personally like the H500 over the 600 models because in my opinion the airplane style dial gives it a little more vintage look than the big slide-rule style. I have a very nice H500 and it plays flawlessly. I particularly like the brown leather military issue 500 with it's copper-like metal multi color dial, but it's pricey!
I wanted to add too that I have purchased a "batpack" (http://www.batpack.com/) for my '42 7G605. The one thing to remember is that you need to use the extra supplied single D-battery pack for the 7G605. On my set it just looked like two cut wires off the battery plug. I guess they had clips on them originally, but it is necessary to have these going to extra D battery. It's quite an expensive set-up with the cost of the pack and batteries, but the set plays like a champ with no AC line interference!

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

I wanted to add too that I have purchased a "batpack" (http://www.batpack.com/) for my '42 7G605. The one thing to remember is that you need the secondary battery for the loctal tube voltage at 10.5 volts. On my set it just looked like two cut wires off the battery plug. I guess they had clips on them originally. It's quite an expensive set-up with the cost of the pack and batteries, but the set plays like a champ with no AC line interference!

I've seen ones that use a DC-DC converter and something like 6 D cells....I actually started to make my own. I've got a gutted battery shell, and a working DC-DC converter, but the converter makes RF noise. I was going to shield the whole thing and filter out the noise, but mid project I had to move so the project has been shelved for a while (one of these days I plan to complete it). I got the circuit for the project out of a 90's issue of ARC....I had to source new parts for some that were NLA....Given what I've learned since then, I could probably improve on the circuit a good bit.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I've seen ones that use a DC-DC converter and something like 6 D cells....I actually started to make my own. I've got a gutted battery shell, and a working DC-DC converter, but the converter makes RF noise. I was going to shield the whole thing and filter out the noise, but mid project I had to move so the project has been shelved for a while (one of these days I plan to complete it). I got the circuit for the project out of a 90's issue of ARC....I had to source new parts for some that were NLA....Given what I've learned since then, I could probably improve on the circuit a good bit.

Not being skilled in electronics a "plug-in-and-play" unit was the choice for me. This "batpack" unit uses 60 AA's and 6 D's. If you are powering a '42 7G as I am, you must also use the extra D battery with the supplied holder.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Titan1a

They don't make them like this anymore. If they malfunction or break you throw away and buy new. Not my tube sets: not EVER!

Zenith did make their radios to last (at least until the 1980s-'90s, when the D7000Y series, the last "good" TO in my opinion, was made in Taiwan with a PC board), and not just the tube-powered TOs. I have three solid-state TOs here, all eBay finds. One works on all bands (AM and SW), but the dial cord broke; the second is the AM/FM/SW version, which currently works only on FM (I never did figure out why) and was modified by its previous owner to use a rechargeable battery pack; and the third is the same as the second, except my third TO works on all bands except standard broadcast, but the alignment on all bands is so far off it isn't funny. The set's former owner must have been fiddling with the alignment adjustments without benefit of a signal generator and alignment instructions. (I was recently informed by a VK or ARF member that the failure of the BC band in my TO is due to a shorted transistor.) The set uses a standard Zenith 12-volt wall wart with the tiny plug at the end of the output cable, and has the matching jack on the left side of the cabinet, looking at the radio from the front.

You are so right--they don't make them like that anymore (metal chassis, socketed transistors in the SS TOs, etc.), and I for one, being a Zenith radio collector, was sorry to see them go; all the more reason for those of us with well-built tube and SS T/Os to keep our sets in working order. These radios represented a level of build and sound quality we will never, ever see again, especially from Zenith, which no longer exists.

[Titan1a]

Have TO; will travel.

[decojoe67]

I give credit to people who take these outside and enjoy them as intended. My 7G is one the shelf all cleaned and detailed. Still I enjoy how it sounds on batteries. It really evokes the WWII era.

[broadcaster]

You scored a real beauty!

[Sandy G]

These things were fairly expensive, & they often got treated better than stuff today. My Dad had one of the "Soiled-state" versions- It was kept high off the ground where yr Unca Sandy couldn't get to it. Don't remember what happened to it, but I was NEVER allowed to fool w/it..I'm thinkin' the T/O got traded for a contemporary Grundig..