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First Zenith Stereo Console?

JFRogers01

JFRogers01

Active Member
This is my Grand mothers Stereo my Grandfather bought for her in 1959. I know The zenith standard for sereo broadcast was started in 1961. How does this console fit into the history of home Hi-Fi. There not much info from what I can find can anyone here fill me in.I have had if for some 19yrs and my mom got it in 1973. This was my Hi-Fi when i was a kid in the 70's and 80's the cops have been called a few times when i would open her up as a teen. Lot's of tube power!
 

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Now the fixit part

The unit worked un untill 1998. After being in storage for some time it was turned on by another person by mistake. and I beleve the power supply smoked out. In the first photo at the 3 O'clock spot you can see a round dail thing is burned (Resister?) any tips for fixing it would be great Thanks J Rogers
 

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More pick's of her gut's

Here is what she looks like on the inside
 

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You have a very restore-able piece. Generally what happens to these units when they are not used is that the paper wax and electrolytic capacitors dry out in them. This will prevent most if not all operation of the set. Do you recall if the set made a loud HUM the last time it was powered up in 98?

If you have access to a tube tester, I would pull the 5U4 (Or 5Ar4) power supply rectifier and see if it tests good. If so, then there probably wasn't a horrible failure.If it has a fuse on the power supply chassis check it of course.

Using a variable transformer (variac) you can slowly try to power up the unit over a couple hours. I would slowly bring i up to 40 volts, then increase 10 volts every hour. Before you up the voltage each time, put your hand on the tall metal cans (power supply capacitors) on the power supply chassis and see if they are warm. If any are more than room temperature --STOP!!! Do not turn up the voltage anymore. The warm cans signify that the power supply capacitor(s) has a short and you will damage the unit if you try to bring the power up any further.

If the cans aren't warm, continue the 10 volt increments per hour until you get to 80 volts. At this point you should be able to hear a hum, hiss, and possible even some AM radio. If you can hear sound of any kind from the speakers, then the unit is alive. Finally bring the variac up to 90 volts and leave it there. Test all the functions and see what needs the most attention.

At the very least replace all the paper and electrolytic capacitors including the power supply. I would also get a hold of a good tube tester or find someone who has it and test your tubes for low emission or shorts.

Its a really nice console and deserves to be restored
 
Power supply

The unit worked and was playing when smoke was seen and then I turned it off. I pulled the power supply and seen the burned round disk in this pick
 

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That's a nice console unit!

I believe Zenith was already making experimental FM Multiplex broadcasts around that time. I wonder if they made special adaptors for use with units such as your console. I know that Crosby made adapters for their system, long before the final method was chosen by the FCC.

BTW, the current standard was created by combining the Zenith and GE multiplexing systems. The FCC did so, because they were pretty similar in execution.

JFRogers01 said:
This is my Grand mothers Stereo my Grandfather bought for her in 1959. I know The zenith standard for sereo broadcast was started in 1961. How does this console fit into the history of home Hi-Fi. There not much info from what I can find can anyone here fill me in.I have had if for some 19yrs and my mom got it in 1973. This was my Hi-Fi when i was a kid in the 70's and 80's the cops have been called a few times when i would open her up as a teen. Lot's of tube power!
Click to expand...
 
Looks as though you burned out a potentiometer. These can be found if you know the value. As long as the transformer is ok you should do well. Follow the advice of JPDylon. This is a nice unit and I also recomend a restoration. You'll be glad you did.:thmbsp:
 
I was informed by MOM, That this was my Grandfathers pride and joy, Not Grandma's. I also have a matching record cabinet. Filled with everything from the 50's and early 60's. from Glen Miller to Humperdinck to Nat Cole to 50's comedy to The first RCA stereo demo records. Of course Grandpa was a member of the RCA Record club. The whole unit plays stereo from the fm tuner to the record player to the aux tape input. Which i used the most as a teen. It's a real time capsule for the beginning of stereo I Received this unit from my mom when i was young (22). It's been a real chore keeping it around since I have moved more times then I can remember. It sat in an old turkey barn for over 5yrs till I pulled it out in 98. I fired it up when I got it home, It ran fine the next few days. Then one day the potentiometer started smoking and I shut her down. I’m sure heat caused this to happen because of all the dust build up. How do I find the value of the potentiometer. Thxz for the info and encouragement.
Do you all feel I should refinish the cabinet also, it’s a bit nicked up but a bottle of lemon oil really brings out the finish that’s left, Kind of has a patina to it. But It’s audio related, and it seems refinishing doesn’t really effect the value. IMO.
It’s going to be a lot of work. In the last six months I have redone a Pioneer SX-1050, A Zenith table top X334, a set of Sansui SP-X9700. And I’m working on a Marantz 2015 right now. All of them in the junk, till I come by ! I mean you cant leave it there. J Rogers a collector by chance
 
By all means-looking at that unit I can see that it is screaming for a restoration!!
What a beautiful piece . I restored my Grandparents 1938 Zenith Console Radio Model # 9-S-262 . Made in 1938. I restored it entirely in 1980 (Cabinit finish original).
Today it is still beautiful and sounds great. But it was a labor of love to have something they used and listened to back then.
Please post pictures of your restoration during the process. I for one would love to see them.
I also believe that old console stereos will be collectable ---just like the old radios ----it is a piece of history.
GOOD LUCK !!!!! James
 
Sams Photofact folder 575-17 covers this unit, schematics and parts list. I don't think I have it...
 
Sweet console !

I say leave cabinet with the patina, and concentrate on getting the electrics up to snuff . . *probably* a recap, and replacement of the burnt resistors would do the trick . . . .

Zeniths are cool :thmbsp:
 
I like the fact that it's got "tubes and horns". Add the family heritage, and you've got a definate keeper.:thmbsp:
 
JFRogers01 said:
Then one day the potentiometer started smoking and I shut her down. I’m sure heat caused this to happen because of all the dust build up. How do I find the value of the potentiometer. Thxz for the info and encouragement.
Click to expand...

I'll bet it wasn't because of dust. It's time to get a schematic, and see what that pot is hooked to, and what it's value is. It probably smoked because some other part is shorted or "leaking" current.

To get started, you'll want to replace all those paper capacitors. The other guys in this thread aren't kidding about that. Paper capacitors, BTW, are those tubular things that are dipped in wax. They looked in the pictures like they have bubbles in the wax. This is a sure sign they were getting hot, and they shouldn't produce any heat at all. The ones that are used for "coupling" can also destroy tubes, and believe me, capacitors are way cheaper than tubes.

You should replace them with "film" capacitors. They don't make paper capacitors anymore, except for very specialized uses. This is because paper capacitors don't last. I use Mallory 150 series film caps. Sprague orange drops are also good. Get the same value, higher working voltage is ok.

The other thing is the electrolytic capacitors. Those will be the metal aluminum things above the chassis, and possibly below. Sometimes electrolytics can be OK after all these years, but the chances are slim, especially if it's been out in the barn. You might as well get it overwith. They don't cost that much either. You will probably need to add a terminal strip underneath, and use caps that mount under the chassis. It looks like you have plenty of room. I use sprague "atom" caps for this. There are plenty of others that will work. Use the same value, and again, same or more working voltage is OK. On these you can also raise the value a little if you cant get the exact value. Electrolytics have a (+) and (-), so pay attention to that.

When you get the schematic it will probably tell you the value of the pot.

Good luck. I like the console. :thmbsp:

John
 
There are websites that can help you with how to recap old tube units, antiqueradio.org/ is one of them. nostalgiaair.org/ is another along with a site called justradios which sells caps. Give these a try and what ever else you find out there, There are plenty of them. I will see if I have a schematic for this. If the pot is not burnt out you may be able to pull it an get a resistance reading via a VOM meter. Later.
 
Thom said:
Looks as though you burned out a potentiometer. These can be found if you know the value. As long as the transformer is ok you should do well. Follow the advice of JPDylon. This is a nice unit and I also recomend a restoration. You'll be glad you did.:thmbsp:
Click to expand...
Its a 100 ohm 2 watt pot. Its for hum adjustment The schematic used to be in the techperserve zenith SDF283 but I don't know what happened to it
 
Cause and effect

coman61 said:
Its a 100 ohm 2 watt pot. Its for hum adjustment The schematic used to be in the techperserve zenith SDF283 but I don't know what happened to it
Click to expand...
Im woundering what would cause this pot to over heat? Thxz J Rogers
 
JFRogers01 said:
Im woundering what would cause this pot to over heat? Thxz J Rogers
Click to expand...

It could be various things depending on how the circuit is laid out.
The pot went bad because there was too much current draw through
it. It could be a bad passive component like a cap or resistor that’s tied in circuit with it. It would be a good idea to have the tubes checked and see if any of them has a short.
 
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