Found this at the Goodwill $99
- Thread starter bane.oh
- Start date
century tek
Addicted Member
A 1940's Zenith floor standing radio with short wave? I would grab it in a heartbeat, but that's just me. 
It's for a specific niche, but a classic. Your call.
Dneprrider
Active Member
First ask yourself what would you do with it? I have had several Zenith floostanding radios over the years. Things to consider: They take up space. They are heavy. The power supply capacitors at a minimium will need to be replaced. My 1939 Zenith had lots of crumbling rubber coated wiring inside, which needed tending too. This may need the same attention. It has AM and SW. There are not a lot of good SW stations available to listen to anymore. I am not sure about AM stations in your location. However you can get a quality AM broadcast unit and transmit audio of your choosing to the AM radio. It will not be hi-fi but good all the same. This is not a hi-fi unit, it is a tube radio so it is not advisable to try and turn this into a tube amplifier.
Dneprrider
Active Member
No it is a radio not an amplifier, and it is mono and it needs that Zenith speaker to work. You cannot simply connect it to your stereo 8 ohm speaker. The speaker voice coil is part of the output circuit and is subjected to a high voltage output that would make short work of your stereo speaker.
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analog addict
Glory or Death!
Although invented in the 1930's, FM didn't really exist back when that was built...
I would just for the cool factor: look at that dial!! For a c-note, it would be a fun refurb project.
If you like the radio and have a use for it, then buy it if the price seems right to you. The radio dates from 1936 so it shouldn't have rubber coated wire in it. The radio is not high fidelity as it only has 6 tubes in it and will only receive AM stations. The radio is a black dial Zenith which will increase the value of the radio, but in order to use it, it will need all new caps, most of the resistors replaced, the tubes tested and will need an alignment to get the radio to work properly and be somewhat reliable. I own a Zenith table top radio with the same chassis in it and did a restoration on it years ago and it works fine for what it is. The radio has a single 6F6 output tube in it which is good for about 3 watts output which is plenty to drive the original speaker, but not much else. If you decide to buy the radio and want to restore it, I have the service info for it and I would be glad to help you do a restoration on it.
Yep, an old black-dial Zenith, nice vintage radio, worked on a number of them. Being six tubes its not the last word in performance, and I can see from the dial sag it needs new rubber mount washers and probably the rubber mounts on the tuning cap are shot as well. Too bad about the grill cloth, doesn't look original either. These Zenith consoles were quite collectable 20 years ago, but that market has left the building. It will take new ps caps and all new coupling caps at the very least, anything less than that are you are asking for a fire in your house. If you know how to work on them and want a cool piece of furniture, go for it. But from your questions, I am guessing you don't and it will cost at least a C-note from a local radio collector repair person, make sure they do an alignment after the work, then it will suck in the stations from the Caribbean, pretty cool!
Yep, grab it. I love these old radios'..... Here's mine.
