1965 Zenith Black and White Television Resurrection

All tube 12 inch vintage Zenith TV troubleshooting.
Previous video where the set came from
• Rust Collection With V...

[@DavidRLocke]

Those old Zeniths are amazing. But it is surprising how many sets are quite forgiving of abuse. Back when I was a kid in the 1970s I was given (for parts) an old Westinghouse 21" table model b&w that had been underwater in a flooded basement. The basement had a dirt floor, and as a result the chassis of the set was a sea of mud, with only the HOT, damper and a few exhaust tips of other tubes poking up above the surface. Not caring one way or another, I blasted out the mud with a jet nozzle on the garden hose. Tubes clicked and jangled as they were knocked out of their sockets. Miraculously none broke. I used tuner lube in all the controls and sockets, reinserted the tubes and left the set to dry outdoors in the sun for a day or so. I plugged it in a few days later, and to my surprise the filaments lit, there was presently the horizontal dog whistle and the buzz from the vertical sweep transformer. I went around to the front to see a bright raster of snow! Presently there was sound, and a finger on the antenna terminals got me a reasonably clear picture on WFSB channel 3 out of Hartford. I buttoned up the set and gave it to my younger brother to use in his bedroom. It gave him faithful service for 2 years until I found myself with one too many color TVs and handed him one of those.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

Fun story neighbor. Good times playing with that stuff when you're young.

[@彭貝果]

ghhhhhhjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjhjjjjjjjjijioo

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

Its impressive what some soap and water can do to electronics.

[@tig1tig1]

That's freaking amazing. If there was ever a set that deserves restoring, it's that one.

[@RODALCO2007]

That Zenith TV is amazing, that it still works after all those years outside. Great video. Picture is crisp and clear.

[@blackvinylgrooves]

RODALCO2007 To come back to life with a picture that good after fifty years.After spending who knows how many of those years exposed to the elements,that little Zenith is an inspiration to us all.

[@rricci824]

+Roger Kulp Shango was inches away, if not millimeters from tossing that TV in the trash. Would of been a huge shame if he did!!

[@ldchappell1]

"Not out of my league of insanity." I've said that myself a few times when working on computers. I can't believe you got that thing working. You're the TV miracle worker.

[@2N3055A]

This makes me want to find one of these to fix. It also makes me wish I had saved my grandparents Zenith and RCA sets. They got rid of them before I could say anything years ago.

[@chrisvictrolaguy6689]

I just repaired a Zenith tv similar to this one that i picked up cheep from E bay.I watch old tv shows on it every morning with my morning coffee,lol.

[@roberthorwat6747]

Fascinating to watch you follow the schematic and continuity test the circuit. You make it look so easy. Totally absorbing for unworthy bodgers like me. Awesome vid, loved it!

[@cny02253]

One of your best TV videos ever. Take a rusty, hopeless, abused POS and make it a working, rusty, hopeless abused POS with minimal effort- but hey its a Zenith which means lots of substance even when there is no style -as in this case. Doug will love this. Rem oil wonder.

[@BobNchannel]

I remember watching the i love lucy show on a zenith black and white. the new t.v shows, yeah they are searching for anything. i havnt watched tv in 6 years. and i didnt miss anything.

[@shmehfleh3115]

I guess we now know what the world's best-made television is.

[@mottbone]

Yep! Here's time and rust-tested proof.

[@pyeltd.5457]

PYE

[@realgroovy24]

At first I thought it shouldn't be restored when I saw the chassis but now I think it is more than worth it!

[@Andrewausfa]

That looked unsaveable even for you! Excellent stuff, well done.

[@Boozion]

Love it. Great to see it come alive again. I have 1955 zenith 24 inch console that I found on ebay years ago for 40 bucks. The cabinet is in great shape and still powers up. I have the original sales reciept the owners manual with the schematic and some extra tubes it come with. It has the brass knobs and glass window on the front of the crt. Hifi sound back then on it with a two way speaker and phono inputs. I will have to do a video of it here some time soon. Keep up the good work. TV's love you. Bringing old school back alive. ☺

[@stevenking2980]

Would like to see that video. If you upload it, please message me pm and I'll watch and share it!

[@rricci824]

+Gary Sylvester TVs don't love him. He just understands them veru well. The "TV Whisperer" if you will.

[@qwertykeyboard5901]

“Uhhh, i don’t know, the dumpster is waiting...” I need to sprinkle that quote in my life!

[@utah133]

Zeniths always kicked ass.

[@wuloki]

I love this old US technology (I'm german). It's so robust, easy to maintain and long lasting. The west german stuff wasn't bad, but they had a tendency to create really complicated designs, which are hard to maintain and repair. My favorite TV set at home is a NEC from the late 70s imported from Japan. It's a NTSC set cheaply converted to our PAL-B/G (quite obvious, because it has a tint-knob). It never had a single repair as long as I own it (I found it on the trash 10 years ago).

[@woodyofp8574]

I've got a set just like this, that works pretty well after slapping it every so often. Many years ago, I guess, the nameplate came unstuck to the front of it. The quality stayed in after the name came off.

[@matthewblalock4916]

I agree. Philco was just a wealth status. Zenith was built to last.

[@emorris272]

Quality actually did go in before the name went on!

[@gtb81.]

Edward Morris for once a company didn't lie about their quality

[@joevignolor4u949]

It sure did. One of the biggest problems with TV sets that used printed circuit boards was what the heat from the tubes did to the circuit boards and the components mounted on top of the board. Zenith sets had the tubes mounted on top of the metal chassis and the components mounted underneath. It was a lot better design that was more robust and rugged and caused a lot less problems.

[@marcondecarvalho8241]

Boa qualidade!!!

[@joevignolor4u949]

I had one of these B&W Zenith portables in my TV repair shop that I used as a loaner and also as a signal source for troubleshooting purposes. I can remember feeding the video output signal from it into the video amplifier of a color set that had a dead IF strip. The video signal from the B&W portable produced a pretty good color picture on the color set. I can remember flipping the channel selector on the B&W set through the channels and watching the color picture on the color set changing channels.

[@martinda7446]

I was thinking' ''Only a complete nutter would power THAT up''... Holy shit, hahaha!

[@PapiDoesIt]

My dad had a large Zenith TV back when I was in elementary school. It was constantly broken, and he finally got tired of fixing it. So we got a Japanese TV. Twenty years later it still works. I think the American TV manufacturers just couldn't make them as cheaply as the Japanese and still have any quality. They began to build to a price and quality suffered.

[@ferdzrines954]

We have the same as kids in the 80's in Manila. Dad bought it in America during his Navy days in the late 60's. He told it was the 'in' thing back in the day, just like having the latest plasma or whatever flat tv of today. Ours worked like a tank for ages until finally one day in the late 80's the picture got blurrier and blurrier until we can;t see anything on it anymore...it's still there in my parents house though. Stored in the utility room.

[@kevmichael2064]

Wow I Love Lucy on KTTV11...that was on the same station since I was a kid and a teenager...my Mom liked that show... Ricky and Lucy were on in our house everyday. I am 62 years...what memories!!!

[@HD7100]

I have to add- This was a fantastic video. Who could believe that set would actually still work after sitting out in the rain for years. Thanks for the tip on that phase detector diode. I will try to remember that if I ever get to working on a similar set. Gary

[@sethhorst6158]

Wow, someday when I graduate high school, I would love to learn how to maintain and repair old radios and CRT tv's since I have sets that are still working and I hope will still work by the time I die of old age in 2050-60 or 80 or whenever.

[@robertestes4703]

Zenith,a no BULLSHIT handcrafted television.

[@douglashoff95]

I was given one of these by my neighbor when I was a teenager (it was a 16" set rather than a 13)) that had a small square picture in the middle and they didn't want to pay the shop to fix it. Anyway, I took it apart and there was grungy sandy stuff coming out under the filter capacitor can. A Sprague replacement was $5.00 from my local electronics store. A little bit of soldering and I had a TV for my bedroom!

[@Mikej1592]

Lol Lucille Ball at about 38:00 in made my smile, I haven't seen an I love Lucy episode in decades, awesome tv set resurrection by the way

[@rricci824]

+Mikej1592 I don't know if you have cable or satelite, but if you do, I Love Lucy airs every morning on Hallmark channel.

[@Mikej1592]

Rob Ricci I have neither, I watch internet tv only, shows on my time schedule. also I like more Japanese drama and anime than whats on tv in america these days.

[@rricci824]

Do you understand Japanese or are they subtitled?

[@Mikej1592]

+Rob Ricci subbed, but I understand a little Japanese

[@rricci824]

I few months ago, I watched a Japanese show called Q10. Interesting show.

[@HD7100]

Now this would have been a great commercial for the real Zenith company of old. That set looked like it was pulled out from a swamp. Things sure changed when Zenith started making the system 3 sets. The "handcrafted reliability" went out the window with the cheap printed circuit boards and power boards that readily burned out on the first generation of "System 3" sets. I know- I had one. This was a fun video to watch. Gary

[@932stretch]

Actually, the original System 3 Zenith's were outstanding quality tv's. Their picture was exceptional and their reliability was top notch and, as all Zeniths, easiest to repair. Full transformer power supply, Extended Field Lens in-line chromacolor picture tube with the famous Space Command remote control. I know. I sold and repaired Zeniths for many, many, years and I have a 1978 Zenith System 3 which still works perfectly and to this date has never needed a repair. 2nd generation system 3 was somewhat different; outstanding picture, a Zenith trademark, a little more troublesome, still a great perfomer and good reliability. You have to remember that they had fierce competition from Japan but they held their own with an admirable fight to the bitter end being the last American TV made with no help from any other manufacturer or the American Government when Japan started "dumping" their products on the American market at cut rate prices. Zenith's costed more; afterall, we had to pay higher wages to Americans and Americans bought the Jap stuff cuz it was cheaper and nt always better. Just where was the loyalty. Long live the Zenith "lightning bolt". "The Quality Goes In Before The Name Goes On." No truer words ever spoken. A true Legacy, indeed.

[@daylightbigboy]

It's a Zenith, of course it works!

[@jackallen6261]

When the world as we know it ends Shngo066 Will still be making old TVs run again. Thank you sir for all you have done!!

[@Maxxarcade]

This is why I've always loved the old Zenith stuff. They weren't messing around!

[@stevenking2980]

Max hey buddy. Love your vids too. Wish I could get you to rework the power amp board on my marantz 1060. Only one side works, transistor and some resistors fried. How much to fix?

[@teacfan1080]

Amazing that even worked. My dad was a huge Zenith TV fan in the 60's to the early 80's when it came to the tube sets. Even the earlier stereo sound tv's from the early 80's had remarkable stereo sound when compared to later sets. Like you mentioned about style and quality, this set may not be flashy in appearance, but the rusted out guts still seem to work!

[@kurtjakins6396]

I love these old TV's my father had a 68 and he used it in his room until 2010 haha

[@theretrogeek2281]

It's just unbelievable these zeniths,craftsmanship at its best...thanks for the video 👍🏻

[@cipherthedemonlord8057]

Amazing an American made product still working with minimal repair and many years. Sad how we have degraded. Not a TV collector but may have to keep my eyes open for one of these.

[@hannonm]

The Immortal TV set!

[@rricci824]

+Amy Marie I like that name "The Immortal TV Set"

[@ceilingfansandmorecfam2342]

dont goda say that agen ;)

[@josephbeasley5193]

I love you amy slob my knob

[@stirlingschmidt6325]

A very similar Zenith model, with slightly different knobs and gold colored aluminum spkr grille inserts, was our only TV up until maybe 1980. Then Mom and Dad splurged and bought a somewhat smaller, although color SS model - the picture was simply in a different ballpark, as far as quality. They didn't get a console until after I moved away from home, and only then because my great aunt passed away. Even then, they were no fans of just sitting and watching TV - not as much as I was!

[@KerryManderbach]

Dick Tufeld announcing in the Zenith commercial, who did many such things in the 1960s (including the Narrator in Lost In Space as well as the voice of the Robot). I enjoy these resurrection videos, good job!

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

Wow, I'm impressed you got that thing working, with the state it was in I'd not have even attempted to power it up.

[@williefleete]

I'm surprised the rust didn't eat the tuner coils. And the fact the picture came up perfect considering the state of it. Try doing that to a new flat panel. It wouldn't last a stern talking to in a heavy rain fall

[@rricci824]

+william fleete Or a big enough sneeze. I have a Samsung onme in my bedroom that has a bug in it. When I hit mute, it will sometimes shut off and turn itself back on. TOTALLY random.l Sometimes it does it, sometimes it doesn't, sometime a few minutes after I mute it, sometimes a few hours. And when I try to unmute it, sometimes the mutes symbols which moves up and down freezes for a minutes, the the TV will shut off and turn back on. I'd like to get it fixed, but because it's impossible to know when it will do it, I just live with it. I don't know why it freezes, but I have a feeling it has a "watchdog" peice of software in it.

[@mottbone]

Unbelievable surprise to see that set spring to life as it did. Owned several Zenith products in the 70's. Positively no regrets. ...And, yes... TV content these days absolutely suck. Disconnected from cable and satellite a decade ago. No love loss.

[@loranfrank4403]

When the term "they don't make em like this anymore" is a severe understatement

[@selah62]

This TV caught my eye because my uncle had one just like this and parents borrowed it for a short time back '67 until they were able to buy a new TV. My uncle gave that old TV to us back in the early 80's and my brother used it took up his old Atari system. It was still working fine.

[@paulsontag9233]

Very enjoyable video even for a non-techie like myself. Heartening to see that quality mattered to a manufacturer at one time but also sad that today mass producers don't even pretend to make durable things.Loved your "style" vs " substance" commentary at the end.

[@stevedoubleu99B]

Great to see. A lesser mortal would have not bothered. Very pleasing to see that picture appear.

[@zacharyradford1708]

That tv just floors me. Holy crap that is durable!!! This tv deserves another video where you get it back to watchable condition. Clean the cabinet and leave the chassis all nasty!!!

[@notthatdigusted7468]

This 1965 Zenith makes my 1999 Toshiba look brand new with many good years/decades of functionality ahead of it.

[@pneumatic00]

I enjoyed the video where you went and explored the House of Rust and got this set. There's something about those beat up industrial sections of LA, no building over 2 stories, where you can go for miles and miles without any sort of reference, and Gawd help you if you don't have a map, that I like. Wouldn't want to live in one of those sections (even though I loved LA and miss it badly) but they are great to wander through.

[@TheCRTProductions]

That is incredible, I love to think what an LG Flatron (yes, that's a thing, Sony) would look like after a couple decades in the rain (or a few minutes). Now i've been thinking about this Motorola cabinet set that is in a similar condition. I wonder if it is it's time to shine....

[@Thujaplicata1]

I've heard of things like certain old marantz receivers actually surviving through a house fire. Not directly burned. But exposed to heavy amounts of heat and smoke. I've taken old sony crt solid state sets that have been rained on heavily, creating a total mess of stuck on dirt inside. Cleaned it up, made a few adjustments and it worked. Still needed some parts, but it was pretty impressive.

[@tough213]

you are amazing you can get anything to work again from the most crappiest and dirty mud filled tv to a radio that is ripped apart you are a genious

[@DarrellS54]

Back when Zenith was built by Zenith. And RCA`s were actual RCA`s. Now both brands are just that. Brands and nothing else.

[@tomwold8269]

When i was a kid and teenager, we had a 65 curtis Mathews black and white. It was either a 12 or 13 inch. We used it a whole lot from 1965 to 1981. It had a good picture. Then sold it for $10 still working great.

[@ExploringWithCF]

They really did build them tough back then, great vid.

[@Richiecandylover]

Considering the state it was in, and the general look inside the electronics, it's amazing that it even worked at all let alone produce pictures it did! I bet British TV's here wasn't as well made!

[@MattExzy]

You obviously know what you're doing... but holy mother of pearl, this scared the bejesus out of me seeing it flicker on with all of that power flowing and humming.

[@davidjames666]

My old zenith set like this always buzzed. This brings back unpleasant memories. Thanks... ;)

[@notthatdigusted7468]

It is probably a bad capacitor in the audio circuit.

[@damonbravo9896]

David James I had one just like this and it would buzz on scenes that were too bright or when the vhold was off or it needed fine tuning. I used that TV right up into the mid 90s and it was still working but I tossed it when I moved across country.

[@davidjames666]

My grandparents old zenith was replaced with a transistorized model. The new transistor set kept blowing components till the tv repairman told us after the last free fix, he will not work on it again.

[@Zirok1982]

Not even linearity issues? That's impressive. Best caps ever made.

[@vado575]

wow!! they weren't kidding with zenith quality! I still have my zenith tv / tuner / turntable console

[@ciprianwinerElectronicManiac]

Seeing I Love Lucy Show on a Zenith set like that is priceless. Keep up the good work. :)

[@DanOConnorTech]

I bet at some point in that episode Lucy pulls the emergency brake. Great that you got in up and running as well as it is from that base condition. Zenith for the win!

[@rricci824]

+Dan O'Connor *Spoiler alert* Not just once, but multiple times.

[@scottmartin8888]

When he talks about "all new parts" I picture a *paint by number*

[@iamdarkyoshi]

"Its not out of my league of insanity"

[@loranfrank4403]

I assert that the new flat screens aren't able to suffer that type of damage & still function vids like this should inspire the return of the CRT Television with new 21st century technology & components

[@alanmaier]

Indeed - The Quality goes in before the name goes on" - was true.

[@Mike1614b]

for a while. that is

[@HDXFH]

Great fix!!!! Gotta love Vintage TV Sets!!

[@stevenking2980]

Excellent job! Shango and Zenith!!! Great Americans made and designed that television.

[@animalcorvair]

worked for gem city tuner in the 70s rebuilding tv tuners .. we had zeniths like this for heat testing our reworked tuners they were never turned off ..they ran an ran, have one like this in my barn too

[@NJPurling]

I am amazed that pile of rust even showed a picture. I bet the EHT over-wind on the line-output transformer wouldnt last long. It is the last place on earth where you want damp to penetrate.

[@albinklein7680]

Reminds me of that tortured Land Cruiser at Top Gear that refused to die. Badass TV.

[@robertgoodale7204]

That Zenith ad at the beginning is hilarious!

[@38911bytefree]

Just imagine if each airplane flying around your house dropped a Zenith .....

[@craig1974]

I have a few Zenith tube radios from the late 50's early 60's which always seem to work forever without any major repairs. The last one i picked up just needed a tube. I have yet to see one of those radios with a bad filter capacitor.

[@imdafarmergamerboy1650]

Right when the Toyota commercial came on in the video, the Magnavox next to my desk had a Toyota Commercial on!

[@sweettoof9002]

Those old Zeniths are no joke.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

I own that set. It still works and very well. God Bless

[@tennesseepossumpatrol3528]

The same one in this video? Awesome!!!! I have a 68 floor model zenith Service Saver Chassis that belonged to my great grandparents. Still works and I'm 41 and in my lifetime its never been worked on.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

@@tennesseepossumpatrol3528 That's Awesome! Do you put many hours on it? I have a few Zeniths. A have a tabletop color tube set. It still works although there are a few substandard aspects. They really are good quality. I'm a little older than you. I've been fooling around with electronics since about ten. When I was young I liked Sylvania's. I didn't like roundie color sets. I threw them away immediately.... Argh.... All the Zenith items I came across then did not work. I just got an Admiral color roundie early-mid sixties. I sure wish I still had many of the items I got rid of especially when the house was sold. God Bless.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

@@tennesseepossumpatrol3528 PS The same model but not that actual individual set. Works perfectly albeit with the Zenith audio buzz particularly with modern video titling.

[@michaelstorm7552]

when I was growing up my mom and dad had a TV set like that for the kitchen we had the main color television in the family room but if they wanted to watch something they had priority over the color television which means I had to watch the black and white one I especially hated watching The Dukes of Hazzard on it I could not see the General Lee's orange paint but that is the exact same type of television set our family had in the kitchen.

[@ryantoomey611]

Unbelievable. Those old TVs are bulletproof!

[@kareno8634]

I Love the way you work on TVs! Anyone on East Coast (like you) i could Trust my '63-4 ish Small 'Sony of my Owny' BW?

[@audubon5425]

You ever watched "Gidget?" That's her TV. '65 model.

[@sextonmallard3325]

A testament to solid build quality. Must have been a low hour set or maybe again it's the component quality.

[@cpronikkor2603]

Well they say you can't judge a book by its cover, that was amazing. "The quality goes in before the name goes on" indeed. Has anyone tried evap-o-rust or something similar on a fully loaded chassis? it would be a shame to let the dumpster claim this one after all the hell it's gone through to get to you!

[@filipmac1545]

These old TVs just never die

[@jwl9286]

Just to see and learn about the shotkey diodes! Thanks you rock

[@ticn]

Zenith was an amazing company. Their motto was no bullshit, your Zenith video proves that. Too bad nowadays they don't make quality stuff like back in the 60s, in most parts of Europe we get imported from China electronics like those you EOL

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Amazing that rust bucket worked at all

[@brownfranklin]

I had a set very similar to this one but the back covering was black and the bright/contrast/v hold controls were on the side. I think the tube was the same size. It was given to me by a teacher in 1984. I remember watching the Boston Celtics vs. LA Lakers game on it in 1984.

[@juliangerardcascio1111]

It's a Zenith, the Best In Television, back then, better than a Vizio. I wish it was still, Zenith Radio CO.

[@skycarl]

Very cool resurrection. Thanks Carl

[@rotwang83]

Must be the one they dropped from that airplane... Very amazing, this Zenith is build like a tank.

[@gamerkid2004]

It's amazing that it still works

[@Coolkeys2009]

Wow. Sometimes too good to be true is actually true :-)

[@rricci824]

+Coolkeys2009 Somewhere around the 20 minute mark, I started thinking "No fucking way is that TV gonna work....or is it?"

[@notthatdigusted7468]

Actually I have an old Packard Bell CRT TV from probably the late 1960's or early 1970's and it still works perfectly.

[@chilledoutpaul]

awesome video shango thanks for sharing. Paul, UK

[@RONWOLPA]

Impressive , this is a completely rusted 50 years chassis and it does still work ! Zenith has all my respect . There are 2 historic videos that prove when manufacturers advertised quality it was not marketing bullshit : 1- ZENITH RADIO CORPORATION RADIO & TV SETS - 1955 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKLEepuMeNuBpac 2- RCA Television Manufacturing - the New Jersey Plant - 1950's kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpvXnaaapdusZ5I ; Will the nowadays chinese|taiwanese crap tv sets survive as much ?

[@TheCommentator353]

that circuit board at around 9:30 looks like the landfill that TV is destined for.

[@Barnabas45]

The voice in the commercial is the narrator and voice of the robot (Dick Tufeld) from "Lost In Space"