This is a Zenith model 6S128. Very nice set and love that I now have it in my collection. I would have loved to know the history of this set seeing how rough the condition was.
I think that you have done a brilliant job on this radio, considering what it was like when you first got it. I often wonder how many vintage radios end up being dumped and yet could be saved.
Maybe I never worked with such an old radios, but that a lot of original components are still workable enough would not surprise me. Back in 2017 I was helping on the demolishing of an old abandoned house. It was abandoned since mid-80's and was in really bad shape. Because of damaged roof it was very damp in there. Floor literally was covered with a moss carpet, wallpaper were peeling from walls and a lot of furniture was badly damaged. Obviously because door was locked all this time there still was left some old electronic devices, some of which were in disrepair condition, like 1960's TV which lying on the floor because legs of the cabinet it was standing broke, but some was surprisingly well looking, like a 1950's radio in small bedroom which had less damage than rest of house. Back then I had not much experience with tube devices, but already had some collection of 70's-80's transistor electronics, so I decided to try my restoration skills with this radio and took it for myself (I originally wanted to take TV too, but condition of it scared me away because I was not sure could I save anything from it or not). As result after quick visual check and getting sure that there is no obvious shorts I plugged it into power, and it came back to life in a literal minute, on all original parts (it never was repaired or else including presence of all original tubes). Not gonna lie, back then it was a pretty big surprise for me because a lot of later electronics were already requiring some repair when I was getting them, but this radio was working for 30 years, then standing for 30 more years in awful conditions and still was working well, but looks like it just how these devices were made. Since then, except cabinet restoration, all parts I had replaced there were: rubber spacers between chassis and cabinet (original ones dried out and fell apart, power cable (more for safety sake) and one of the speaker wires because I managed to damage it by accident during disassemble process, and it still works more than well!
It is absolutely surprising today that electronics made in the 30s still have the ability to turn on and just work on all original parts. Perhaps it's lack of quality now? Or maybe radios were quite simple designs electronically speaking so not much could go wrong? It's an endless conversation that I have with myself about all the reasons how these sets were built so well. You can see the pride and hard work that went into crafting them.
I went to a vintage radio sale today and my son bought this exact model for $40. It's in very good condition. Can't wait to see him restore it. Yours looks good.
Really a great job and sure loved to watch your work very inspiring and very happy to have run across this video. Thanks for making the video and sharing Super thanks Mike
Hi Jack, first time seeing your channel. Great work on the Zenith; them and Philco are my favorites. On the 'M' designator; this is from piece-parts whereby 'M' would mean you have 1000 pieces (e.g. #M or M#; where '#' means number) ; and 'Meg' is used to denote a million. And actually, these originally-emanate from Roman Numerals where L = 50; C = 100; D = 500 and M = 1000; the don't teach Roman Numerals anymore in school! So if you ever here anyone call a $100-bill a 'C-note' that is where it comes from. Hope this helps & 73...
Nice work! One little tip - I would have also replaced C16, the capacitor to the grid of the output tube, before trying the radio. If that's electrically leaky, it can put positive bias on the tube and cause all sorts of damage.
Nice job! I've worked on several of the console versions of that set. One thing I would recommend is replacing the cabdohm resistor. They'll either open, and cut B+, or short to chassis and take out the power transformer. I even saw one that had caught on fire! I make it a point to change it on every 1935-38 Zenith I restore. Also, I'm not sure if you ever found a replacement for the tone control, but I think I have a parts 8S154 chassis laying around which uses the same part- if it's intact that is. Happy to check for you.
That's very nice of you! I'm always open to donations but can't afford anymore space at the moment. I'm still in an apartment but looking to buy a house in the next year or so. I probably should replace the candohm resistor. I put it off because of the specific values at high watt values which I have to special order. I will get around to it in the future though.
A light restoration was the way to go for now. Like you said as you gain experience you can come back and do a proper restoration. If you haven't check out David Tipton's channel he has great tips on restoring radios. Also there are Bluetooth modules you can get to stream right to the radio. But still you did a nice job. Well done. Joe
Impressive work getting the old girl back from the dead. With water stains on veneers you could try vinegar and lite olive oil mixed 50/50 on the top but oxalic acid ( wood bleach) usually works best. Should spot treat it only to dark areas only and they should disappear as it is mostly bacteria and dirt in the fibers. History lesson ! M was used instead of K because they used the old Roman numeral system at first , so M=1000. Now we use K for kilo meaning 1000. The always wrote Meg for Megohms when they used the Roman M in the parts list and chassis identification. You should add a fuse inline with the new power cord to protect the transformer when you get a chance, just in case. Cody loves his new perch!
I have successfully filled up missing parts of veneer with wood filler. I picked a color that closest matched the wood and once it had dried, I used a graphite pencil to reproduce the grain pattern. After refinishing the whole cabinet, you couldn't see the difference.
Don't know if anyone mentioned it, but I have had great results with repairing speaker cones with a single ply of paper towel and contact cement. The dried cement is rubbery and flexible.
saudações brasioleiras ao mestre ...........um trabalho muito bom, parabens ...........fico feliz de ver a arte e empenho do amigo...............mais uma vez parabens.....abraço
Zenith TV 📺, B & W TV 📺 Radio, Stereo, and all, back in it's day was the very best 👌 👍 you could get 👌 !!!×!!!! VCR,s and DVD 📀 also , nothing anymore like they were !!!!!
Belleza de joya, los radios de tubos creo que fué lo mejor de la rafiorecepcion, buenísimo y aguantadores, solo que suconsumo en energía eléctrica si era un poco elevado. Mis respetos para esos aparatos, me gusta que aún hay personas con esa debilidad.. SERGIO SOSA Méndez, desde Gualan Zacapa Guatemala.
Good job with the resto! RULE OF THUMB (for me, at least)... Take good close-ups of the area that may get spoiled during removal (decals, etc) and any pieces that get chipped or broken. Now you have a starting point for someone with a 3D printer to duplicate the item. Anything can be 3D printed but the artwork has tobe clear and to accurate scale. Remember: Garbage IN = garbage OUT.
man your collection is so cool. i also have a couple of old radios and radio gramophones. i found in them thrift shops and antique shops. but i just use them as furniture because i dont really like working on electronics. im more of a mechanic kinda guy XD. they sure look good tho. problem is here in sweden we dont use AM radio anymore i dont think. so even if i could get one working i probebly couldnt really use it :/
Non-working pieces from this era still are beautiful statement pieces! Really shows the quality build of what some things used to be. Some collectors like to add their own aux input to old radios to hookup their iPhone which I've done a few times. Really gives the music a warm old tone to them.
Hey Jack I was hoping to reach out and see if you could be hired to get my Zenith Porthole Television working again. I had been planning to take the electronics all out and just put a flatscreen in, but I would love to honor the television by getting her playing again instead. Is there some way I could contact you?
They have scratch posts and beds so I think that discourages them from jumping on the cabinets all the time. But otherwise, they’re just good boys. When they jump on the cabinets, they don’t have their claws out. They’ve scratched some other wood furniture before but I just put some restor-a-finish over it and it looks good as new. I’d rather risk it than not having them around when I’m working on things
Hi I used to repair tv's and radio's in the 60's and that residue is from heavy smokers, the tar sticks on the warm surfaces then it atracks dust. it's disgusting stuff
Are there any radio stations... left? Let me qualify that with a... ...Worth listening to. Answer for me, with an AA5 and AA6. Nope. Amazing it's survived that long unmolested, untouched, and unrestored. Which is uper rare by now. In fact, restoring it, you'll probably plummet it's value imho to me anyway. Restored working radios, now a dime a doezen. Diamond in a rough? 100% original. Good luck ever finding one of those. It's like barn finds, they don't exist any more, because peopel find them, restore them, then sell them. No more barn finds. Unicorns now sadly. Like this radio. It's a unicorn. This ain't 50 years ago when these were a dime adozen. It's 2023. Some project for Glassslinger. This is 2023,a nd this is a super rare 100% stock museum piece. Anything you do to it would destroy it's value. IMHO. Because its now.. what do you call it... an anachronism. Something that escaped restorers this long. Only to have you as a newb get in there and start yanking out tubes and desoldering dried out electrolytic capacitors. Kind of like someone trying to retouch up the Mona Lisa because the colors are fading lol.. I just bought the broken 10 commandment tablets on ebay... what a score, came with the ark of the covenant boxed set. A little bit of Quikcrete from Home Depot, and bam, they'll be back together in one piece no longer shattered and as good as knew! Can't wait to show the Jews! Working 10 commandment tablets again.. woo hoo. Just like if Moses had never shattered them...
I would never compare restoring a radio from 90 years ago to "restoring" the Mona Lisa or the 10 commandment tablets...What an odd analogy. Radios are a part of history like typewriters or televisions. Only going back 100 years. There are a lot of these out there that people still have the original finish on and original components. Keeping mine in the condition I found it in wouldn't do it's history justice. I wanted to show it's beauty as it left the factory. I've found many many radios that have never had work done to them.
Sure there are, right wing trump talk shows and religious nut case programs, always guaranteed for a good laugh, I only discovered these gems when I started restoring AM radios!, you got to try 660 if you want to hear some real morons talking!
Видео супер. У меня вопрос почему не использовали пятновыводитель для дерева или на крайний случай щавеливую кислоту, возможно и перекись водорода? Лайк поставил. На канал подписался. Удачи Вам!
The old Zenith slogan:
The quality goes in
before the name goes on
That definitely holds very true here!
I think about that quote very often day to day. They really meant it. Unbelievable now to see how well-built these radios were
absolutely magnificient old zeniths really do look amazing.
"At Zenith the Quality Goes In Before The Name Goes On"
I think that you have done a brilliant job on this radio, considering what it was like when you first got it. I often wonder how many vintage radios end up being dumped and yet could be saved.
Spectacular job! Unbelievable. I think it was stored in a barn. Great treasure. Thanks for a wonderful video.
Great job saving this historical beauty!
Thank you!
So proud of you baby, this looks INCREDIBLE and I know you worked hard on bringing it back to life ❤
Wow, all the old radio shows these old radios played back in 1937. 😎 Great video. Thank you.
That's a beautiful restoration, reminds me of my Montgomery ward radio that i still need to work on, it's in pretty rough shape right now
Maybe I never worked with such an old radios, but that a lot of original components are still workable enough would not surprise me. Back in 2017 I was helping on the demolishing of an old abandoned house. It was abandoned since mid-80's and was in really bad shape. Because of damaged roof it was very damp in there. Floor literally was covered with a moss carpet, wallpaper were peeling from walls and a lot of furniture was badly damaged. Obviously because door was locked all this time there still was left some old electronic devices, some of which were in disrepair condition, like 1960's TV which lying on the floor because legs of the cabinet it was standing broke, but some was surprisingly well looking, like a 1950's radio in small bedroom which had less damage than rest of house.
Back then I had not much experience with tube devices, but already had some collection of 70's-80's transistor electronics, so I decided to try my restoration skills with this radio and took it for myself (I originally wanted to take TV too, but condition of it scared me away because I was not sure could I save anything from it or not).
As result after quick visual check and getting sure that there is no obvious shorts I plugged it into power, and it came back to life in a literal minute, on all original parts (it never was repaired or else including presence of all original tubes).
Not gonna lie, back then it was a pretty big surprise for me because a lot of later electronics were already requiring some repair when I was getting them, but this radio was working for 30 years, then standing for 30 more years in awful conditions and still was working well, but looks like it just how these devices were made. Since then, except cabinet restoration, all parts I had replaced there were: rubber spacers between chassis and cabinet (original ones dried out and fell apart, power cable (more for safety sake) and one of the speaker wires because I managed to damage it by accident during disassemble process, and it still works more than well!
It is absolutely surprising today that electronics made in the 30s still have the ability to turn on and just work on all original parts. Perhaps it's lack of quality now? Or maybe radios were quite simple designs electronically speaking so not much could go wrong? It's an endless conversation that I have with myself about all the reasons how these sets were built so well. You can see the pride and hard work that went into crafting them.
Marvelous job a fine set saved
Great work, and in a 2 bedroom apartment. You're to be congratulated. Love the radio! It's the cat's meow!
I went to a vintage radio sale today and my son bought this exact model for $40. It's in very good condition. Can't wait to see him restore it. Yours looks good.
Nice! The Cat, supervise if its ok restoration haha. Nice vid!! Greets
Really a great job and sure loved to watch your work very inspiring and very happy to have run across this video. Thanks for making the video and sharing Super thanks Mike
Nice job! Another one saved.
Hi Jack, first time seeing your channel. Great work on the Zenith; them and Philco are my favorites.
On the 'M' designator; this is from piece-parts whereby 'M' would mean you have 1000 pieces (e.g. #M or M#; where '#' means number) ; and 'Meg' is used to denote a million.
And actually, these originally-emanate from Roman Numerals where L = 50; C = 100; D = 500 and M = 1000; the don't teach Roman Numerals anymore in school!
So if you ever here anyone call a $100-bill a 'C-note' that is where it comes from. Hope this helps & 73...
Brilliant, amazing restoration Video, have a nice day..
Nice work! One little tip - I would have also replaced C16, the capacitor to the grid of the output tube, before trying the radio. If that's electrically leaky, it can put positive bias on the tube and cause all sorts of damage.
Nice job! I've worked on several of the console versions of that set. One thing I would recommend is replacing the cabdohm resistor. They'll either open, and cut B+, or short to chassis and take out the power transformer. I even saw one that had caught on fire! I make it a point to change it on every 1935-38 Zenith I restore. Also, I'm not sure if you ever found a replacement for the tone control, but I think I have a parts 8S154 chassis laying around which uses the same part- if it's intact that is. Happy to check for you.
That's very nice of you! I'm always open to donations but can't afford anymore space at the moment. I'm still in an apartment but looking to buy a house in the next year or so. I probably should replace the candohm resistor. I put it off because of the specific values at high watt values which I have to special order. I will get around to it in the future though.
A light restoration was the way to go for now. Like you said as you gain experience you can come back and do a proper restoration. If you haven't check out David Tipton's channel he has great tips on restoring radios. Also there are Bluetooth modules you can get to stream right to the radio. But still you did a nice job. Well done. Joe
That turned out great!! Nice job!
Impressive work getting the old girl back from the dead. With water stains on veneers you could try vinegar and lite olive
oil mixed 50/50 on the top but oxalic acid ( wood bleach) usually works best. Should spot treat it only to dark areas only
and they should disappear as it is mostly bacteria and dirt in the fibers. History lesson ! M was used instead of K
because they used the old Roman numeral system at first , so M=1000. Now we use K for kilo meaning 1000. The always
wrote Meg for Megohms when they used the Roman M in the parts list and chassis identification. You should add a fuse
inline with the new power cord to protect the transformer when you get a chance, just in case. Cody loves his new perch!
Wow interesting about the old Roman numeral system. It definitely threw me off at first.
I have successfully filled up missing parts of veneer with wood filler. I picked a color that closest matched the wood and once it had dried, I used a graphite pencil to reproduce the grain pattern. After refinishing the whole cabinet, you couldn't see the difference.
Don't know if anyone mentioned it, but I have had great results with repairing speaker cones with a single ply of paper towel and contact cement. The dried cement is rubbery and flexible.
saudações brasioleiras ao mestre ...........um trabalho muito bom, parabens ...........fico feliz de ver a arte e empenho do amigo...............mais uma vez parabens.....abraço
hello beautiful Zenith brazil
Só antiguidades top irmão, parabéns
Zenith TV 📺, B & W TV 📺 Radio, Stereo, and all, back in it's day was the very best 👌 👍 you could get 👌 !!!×!!!! VCR,s and DVD 📀 also , nothing anymore like they were !!!!!
Nice job
I hope he is Florida By Orlando lol . good work lovely work .
Good job
Belleza de joya, los radios de tubos creo que fué lo mejor de la rafiorecepcion, buenísimo y aguantadores, solo que suconsumo en energía eléctrica si era un poco elevado. Mis respetos para esos aparatos, me gusta que aún hay personas con esa debilidad..
SERGIO SOSA Méndez, desde Gualan Zacapa Guatemala.
Good job with the resto! RULE OF THUMB (for me, at least)... Take good close-ups of the area that may get spoiled during removal (decals, etc) and any pieces that get chipped or broken. Now you have a starting point for someone with a 3D printer to duplicate the item. Anything can be 3D printed but the artwork has tobe clear and to accurate scale. Remember: Garbage IN = garbage OUT.
Hola desde España, es una pena que no tenga traducción ,me gusta mucho su trabajo
Conviene sempre restaurare un radio del genere è bellissima facevano degli oggetti magnifici !
man your collection is so cool. i also have a couple of old radios and radio gramophones. i found in them thrift shops and antique shops. but i just use them as furniture because i dont really like working on electronics. im more of a mechanic kinda guy XD. they sure look good tho. problem is here in sweden we dont use AM radio anymore i dont think. so even if i could get one working i probebly couldnt really use it :/
Non-working pieces from this era still are beautiful statement pieces! Really shows the quality build of what some things used to be. Some collectors like to add their own aux input to old radios to hookup their iPhone which I've done a few times. Really gives the music a warm old tone to them.
Nice job. If your cat approves, it is right!
Did you do an IF alignment?
Nice
A jewel
Jack saunders for speaker 🔊 repair you can use liquid Electrical tape
I was wondering where the link is for the tuner belt?
Hey Jack I was hoping to reach out and see if you could be hired to get my Zenith Porthole Television working again. I had been planning to take the electronics all out and just put a flatscreen in, but I would love to honor the television by getting her playing again instead. Is there some way I could contact you?
Of course, send me an email to jacksaundersisme@gmail.com
In the 1930s "M" is 1,000 just like Roman Numerals used for dates.
M is the roman numeral for a thousand.
🎉🎉🎉🎉
how do you kep the cats from scratching the cabinets? i have cats but i cant let them in the rrom were i have my tvs and radios
They have scratch posts and beds so I think that discourages them from jumping on the cabinets all the time. But otherwise, they’re just good boys. When they jump on the cabinets, they don’t have their claws out. They’ve scratched some other wood furniture before but I just put some restor-a-finish over it and it looks good as new. I’d rather risk it than not having them around when I’m working on things
maybe the wax on the cables are from a really old repair as an insulator.
Duuuude, do you do repairs for others? I have an old.radio that has parts like this. How can anyone get in touch with you?
Of course the radio works...........................it's a ZENITH
Jack saunders do you no ware I can get germanium transistors for my zenith Trans oceanic shortwave receiver I want to restore it let me no?
Hi I used to repair tv's and radio's in the 60's and that residue is from heavy smokers, the tar sticks on the warm surfaces then it atracks dust. it's disgusting stuff
why the jailhouse tattoo on your left wrist?
*IVE GOT AN IPHONE 8 THAT STILL WORKS...!* but my iPhone 6 died...
31:25 Haha that's the same station that played in the 1957 Chevy when demonstrating the radio! th-cam.com/video/lo-qoqhKVXw/w-d-xo.html @ 4:49
😴
Are there any radio stations... left?
Let me qualify that with a... ...Worth listening to.
Answer for me, with an AA5 and AA6. Nope.
Amazing it's survived that long unmolested, untouched, and unrestored. Which is uper rare by now. In fact, restoring it, you'll probably plummet it's value imho to me anyway. Restored working radios, now a dime a doezen. Diamond in a rough? 100% original. Good luck ever finding one of those. It's like barn finds, they don't exist any more, because peopel find them, restore them, then sell them. No more barn finds. Unicorns now sadly. Like this radio. It's a unicorn.
This ain't 50 years ago when these were a dime adozen. It's 2023. Some project for Glassslinger. This is 2023,a nd this is a super rare 100% stock museum piece. Anything you do to it would destroy it's value. IMHO. Because its now.. what do you call it... an anachronism. Something that escaped restorers this long. Only to have you as a newb get in there and start yanking out tubes and desoldering dried out electrolytic capacitors.
Kind of like someone trying to retouch up the Mona Lisa because the colors are fading lol..
I just bought the broken 10 commandment tablets on ebay... what a score, came with the ark of the covenant boxed set. A little bit of Quikcrete from Home Depot, and bam, they'll be back together in one piece no longer shattered and as good as knew! Can't wait to show the Jews! Working 10 commandment tablets again.. woo hoo. Just like if Moses had never shattered them...
I would never compare restoring a radio from 90 years ago to "restoring" the Mona Lisa or the 10 commandment tablets...What an odd analogy. Radios are a part of history like typewriters or televisions. Only going back 100 years. There are a lot of these out there that people still have the original finish on and original components. Keeping mine in the condition I found it in wouldn't do it's history justice. I wanted to show it's beauty as it left the factory. I've found many many radios that have never had work done to them.
Sure there are, right wing trump talk shows and religious nut case programs, always guaranteed for a good laugh, I only discovered these gems when I started restoring AM radios!, you got to try 660 if you want to hear some real morons talking!
تكةمكنظكك😅🎉
좋아요~~!
Видео супер. У меня вопрос почему не использовали пятновыводитель для дерева или на крайний случай щавеливую кислоту, возможно и перекись водорода? Лайк поставил. На канал подписался. Удачи Вам!
Класс! Молодец!