The PHILCO Phorum

Picked up a Zenith "Bug-Eye" TV at a local antique shop for $100-.







I'm not a big TV collector but I thought this set looked pretty neat .

- Geoff

I'm not a big TV collector either, but that is a pretty cool looking television.

+1 looks really cool.  hope you try to get working

Neat! Has that 50s Chevy Bel Air look.

Chuck

That's what I thought too!

I have several old Zeniths around myself. One I bought from Mrs. Henderson's estate auction. She was my grandmothers neighbor. We would go visit sometimes and I was always fascinated by that tv. She bought it new in 1953. It didn't work, but she wouldn't let it go either (or let me touch it). She had used it for sound with another tv, while it had a vertical sweep failure. She burned a line across the tube. I was in technical college at the time of her death & estate auction, so I asked my grandmother if she would bid on it. Back then (1985 I believe), no one collected those old tvs. She bought it for $1! I took it home, and within about 30 minutes I had a picture on that old set! The vertical collapse was from a dirty height control (or whisker). The burned line on the tube did degrade the picture, so I didn't watch it much. Finally, about a year ago, after about a 30 year search for a tube, I hit paydirt on Ebay, a NOS, NIB picture tube for a price I could afford! If I can ever get my bench set back up, I will recap it and slide that new tube in place, and hopefully enjoy that old tv! Geoff, I hope you get that bugeye running, it will be really neat!

Thanks Tim. Hopefully the CRT in mine is good. I have a tester but it's going to be awhile before I start working on this set.

How much do replacement CRT's go for when they come up on eBay?

I think I paid around $125 shipped. It was a 17" tube, which I think is a little harder to find than the 16 or 21" tubes. This one was almost flat top to bottom, curved from right to left, kinda like a Triniton. It was a little odd. 17HP4a I believe. I have seen tubes for more, and some for less. Look to see if yours has a "brightener" connected. If so, that is a sign that your tube is flat. If it doesn't have one of those, the tube may have hopes. There are a few tricks I have learned that I can share to help bring the tube back up some. Read my 16AP4 thread .

Thanks Tim, I will.

 I don't want to be a downer but I think I would have passed on it unless I was able to check the picture tube first. These brand Z bugeye sets are somewhat more collectable then the other steel cabinet portables of that era but I still wouldn't risk buying one with a CRT in unknown condition. One thing that seems to be in it's favor is that it is reasonably clean, and all of the knobs and hardware is present, although it looks like the picture tube escutcheon could use a repaint. After you check the CRT, and confirm that it's good, I would put in an order for some replacement pots for those controls, apparently they were very cheaply made and in addition to the tin whisker problems they often get full of crud thanks to the way they are mounted.
Regards
Arran