Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/08/21/diy-funtime-this-1949-zenith.html
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I love this so much. I wish I could wrap my head around electronic components and could do this sort of thing. I have restored a victrola… but that was basically just replacing rubber gaskets, oiling a spring and polishing and cleaning. Bringing 70 year old transistors and tubes back to life is like magic to me.
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Yes, although it wasn’t vintage and/or antique at the time.
Particularly since the first commercial production of transistors was in 1951. 
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I’ve worked on radios from this era, but never TV’s (vacuum tube powered TVs are frightening beasts). It’s mostly a lot of trace, test, replace in terms of electronic components. Tubes, resistors, capacitors, they all age poorly. The crazy part is seeing how small and more efficient their modern counterparts are; “they just don’t make `em like they used to” is pretty derogatory when it comes to old electronics.
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Ha. Proof I have no idea how any of this works. I’m thinking about this sugar cubes VHS where Bjork described the inside of her TV liking like a city
Which is on YouTube! https://youtu.be/75WFTHpOw8Y
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Some friends and me are trying to restore a vintage democracy. It’s over 200 years old and has not been working very well for a while, but completely broke down two or three years ago.
Like most restoration projects, it’s ultimately a labor of love.
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Ah Lovely
Lotsa good tube restoration videos on YouTube. Mr. Carlson, in particular, is sort of the “Bob Ross” of them:
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wow. thats some serious shit; but be careful with the viewing distance to that tube, hrf3420, to near and to much exposition-time and you will start to glow in the dark…
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Tube stuff isn’t that hard, it’s more about having the right equipment to safely test it, especially any device with no spade plug to indicate live over neutral. Getting shocked from a hot chassis isn’t a good idea but once you got all that down it’s mostly removing old paper/wax capacitors and doing standard manual service stuff. You’d be surprised how much old new stock there is in tubes to make it cheaper in some cases to restore an older American Five radio than buy brand new (assuming you have the stuff I mentioned earlier for testing before restoration).
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That’s really amazing, props to the person that did the restoration. I love the style of that TV.
I didn’t restore it, but I bought this old Zenith radio from someone who restores both the cabinet and the electronics (using components as close as possible to the original).
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“Tubes? You’re older than you said you were!”
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Back before I got more serious about working, and had more time on my hands (of course, it was the 80s and rent was cheap), I picked up some vintage stereo equipment. A Fisher X202b (I think) which needed new tubes. Of course, then you could trot them over to Lafayette Electronics in midtown (Manhattan), put them on the tester, and just replace them then and there.
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How many bands does that have? I really want a vintage multi-band radio but so many are just AM. Really want shortwave, longwave, maritime, etc etc…ALL THE BANDS!!1!!11! (except FM, the young whippersnapper)
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I’ve made some old tube TVs work over the decades, but it gets harder as the old parts are less available. Those old paper capacitors really suck, and most people replace them with more modern polyester caps. Same with the electrolytics in the big cans. Can’t trust NOS (new old stock) ones either.
We have a big cabinet full of the old brown carbon resistors with stripes at our telescope. I should get back into restoring old stuff, just to use some of those resistors.
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1951 WAS 68 years ago so…
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I watch every one of his restorations. He’s also useful if you’re having trouble falling asleep. The calm, measured Canadian tones lull you into slumber.
If you like a more American restorer with the occasional device destruction, Shango66 might be your guy.
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Love. Want.
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