[Ron Ramirez]

Warning: Long Post - Lots of photos

I admit it. I was seduced by the strange woman known to you as Zenith. I long admired her 9S262 beauty from afar, but until now was able to resist her temptation.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0003-8.jpg]

Now, having brought the strange radio home, I find that she is not all she is built up to be by countless others who have also been seduced by her beauty.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...001-10.jpg]

Let's take a close, in-depth look at this 9S262 chassis, and perhaps some of you who are more into Brand Z than I am can tell me if this is a hopeless case, or not - especially since I have never owned one of these, so I am not knowledgeable about the ways of the Shutter Dial Lady.

You will note the second hand pointer is too short. That issue has already been resolved, with many thanks to John Goller.

You will also note the roughness of the AM band dial scale. The two SW bands look much better than this; like new, in fact.

And, shouldn't there be more than one bracket holding the glass in place?

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...002-10.jpg]

An original Zenith 6T5. Alas, the filament is open, the tube is dead and useless for anything but a static display.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0003-9.jpg]

Look at this kludge of a volume control. It will require another control with a shaft long enough to reach out beyond the escutcheon.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0004-7.jpg]

On the lower right, what is supposed to be an off - on (local) - on (distance) switch has been removed, and a simple potentiometer was stuck in there just to fill the hole.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...e00012.jpg]

How this control looks inside the chassis - notice that nothing is connected to it.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0005-6.jpg]

Shouldn't this piece be round, with a metal collar with set screw attached to it to allow it to be firmly attached to the off-local-distance switch?

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0006-5.jpg]

Does this tone control switch look kosher to you? I was very careful to tilt the chassis as I pulled it from the cabinet, so I know I did not break it.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0007-5.jpg]

Shouldn't this be bolted down, rather than having bare studs sticking through the metal with no fasteners save one?

Also notice part of the bracket to hold the 6T5 in place is missing.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0008-4.jpg]

Underneath the chassis. I do not believe this thing could possibly have been "working" a few years ago. Yeah, maybe a few decades ago.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0009-2.jpg]

I have not yet performed resistance measurements, but the Candohm appears to be bad.

Notice also the yellow electrolytic, the positive lead of which connects to nothing.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0011-1.jpg]

Notice a few more components disconnected on one side.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...0010-1.jpg]

The other side of the chassis, another component or three disconnected on one end.

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...e00013.jpg]

The dial belt will require replacement. How the heck do you replace one of these dial belts, anyhow? It looks like the tuning shaft will have to come out to replace the belt, am I correct in assuming that? I'll be needing some instruction on that...

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...e00014.jpg]

The belt for the motor-driven tuning is gone altogether.

OK, folks, when you are finished laughing, tell me: Is this a parts set, or can it be restored?

[codefox1]

Ron, I'd be on the lookout for another chassis mostly for mechanical stuff, and when you get it, then decide which is the donor and which is the keeper. I'd rip out anything that doesn't seem to be original along with all the caps and carbons, and rebuild. Cabinet seems nice enough, but since it's a Z how's the power tranny?

It might snow again before this fills your room with mellow sound and the smell of old components toasting the air as only they can.

Of course if it were a Philco, we wouldn't be having this conversation, right? Ribs and corn about done, so time to eat. Best

[BrendaAnnD]

It can definately be restored. The most fun part will be undoing the kludge "repairs" done in the past.

Yes, you will have to remove the shaft to replace that belt. Ditto the shaft for the motorized tuning. Good thing these are simple to work with.

I'm pretty sure all the missing/broken parts are available, though a bit harder to find than Philco parts, which are a blessing as far as availability. At least you get to deal with the relative ease of working on a Brand Z set, with all that wonderful room underneath.

I don't envy you the task of finding a usable 6T5, though. OUCH!

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Holy hack job, Ron! Somebody's grubby lil finners were ALL over that one. The 42-400 had a couple of electrolyics dangling on one lead like yours with no tie point to be seen, with wires cut here and there and all, with that section of schematics missing, and I was able to locate the leads. This should be a cakewalk for you! Cool that the dial is motorized. The 8s463 I worked on was manual tuning, but had a weighted idler wheel that made tuning fun. You could start the pointer at the low scale, give that dial knob a lil twist, and the pointer would sail all the way up to the upper end, and stop softly at the spring loaded end. (Or anywhere along the way, if you touched the knob). The candohm on that set looked like yours, but was good to go. Give 'er a test. Should be a good performer when finished. Good luck! I think I replaced the eye tube in that with a 6e5, with excellent results

[morzh]

Ron

(I did not laugh - parole d'honneur)

This chassis may be restored. Whether you want to spend the effort - this is another matter.
Obviously an attempt was made at restoring it and, successful it might be in the past, the job does not look pro or even decent amateur.
I do not know what you paid for the whole thing but parted out it still is worth something - the mentioned tone control switch alone (and yes -- it does look kosher but needs some cleaning) was offered top me at kutztown for 60 bucks (not that I think it is the right price but I would pay 30 bucks for it as mine is broken and then JBWelded). The resistors are there so you don't have to buy them.
the control on the right that is unconnected is wrong I think - it should be the switch for ON/Local - Long Distance. That is (If I read it right) a problem as you will have to find the switch. There is just one pot and it is the one on the left which is the Volume and it is not supposed to have the switch, it should be pot only; the switch is the mentioned one on the right which is not there.

Candohms never survive in Zeniths according to the popular opinion. Mine did have both 11K sections open. So I replaced it.

And the belts also never survive. They are 6 bucks apiece tops. You need two.
Also the idiot who restored it discarded the original caps replacing them with something non-original (originals are orange).


But here are some good news:

1. The cabinet, unless you found some flaws with it by now, did seem to be in marvellous shape and to me that is hard to beat.
2. I saw opn more than one occasion over this year the chassis that is sold alone on eBay, that goes into several radios, 262, 232 and some others. And it did not go for that much money. So if you are patient, within a year you can probably get one, preferably unrestored, and use it instead. And you will have some spare parts
3. You don't need 6T5. No one uses it anymore - it is a museum item, like some Edison Phonograph ser. no 10. Use 6U5, this is exact electrical analog.

[Ron Ramirez]

Thanks to all for the comments. And especially, thanks for not laughing at my folly.

Oh, I have no intention to go shopping for a 6T5 - a 6U5 or 6E5 will be good enough for me. And I assumed I would have to pay Adams Radio a visit via the Internet for belts...

I'm glad to hear the tone control is A-O-K.

Other than a few minor scratches, the cabinet is in very good shape and does not require refinishing at all, but looks just fine as is. The grille cloth is badly worn at the very bottom, but otherwise OK.

Perhaps I should just be patient and watch for a decent parts chassis. After all, I have plenty other radios awaiting restoration...

[Electrothaumaturgist]

Ah, yes. The 6u5. I used the 6e5, but got a whole new socket assembly for that, as the pins were slightly different from Mark Oppat, and wired it in. T'was a snap. (Seems like the 6u5 was pricey, thus the 6e5 mod. Can't remember the exact reason for that, though).

[Steve Davis]

That is a very nice looking radio

Ron, my vote is to restore the chassis. Now, that is coming from someone that never buys anything that is very good! Don't look it the chassis as a whole, but take it one aspect at a time.

I restored a 12S262 a couple of years ago for a lady I work with. I too had to replace the belt and yes, the shaft will have to come out. If I remember right, it wasn't too difficult.

Steve

[morzh]

Ron

Several of us restored 9S262 and several of us put the account threads in here, so you will have some info, and of course, any one of use who's done that already will help you as we already have our share of bumps and bruises. Zenith is not the hardest one to restore. Actually if anything it is simpler than many Philcos - no bakelite caps to restuff, no subchassis, and ample space. The wiring is traditional, no rubber or anything bad.

For Candohm I recommend a terminal strip with screw connections. No, does not look authentic, but then there's no known good way to restuff a Candohm. I guess the very name of it implies one-time use, and then it is discarded

Well, let's see how you treat the lady and whether she reciprocates

[Eliot Ness]

Hey, you've got good cabinet and that's half the battle. I think I'd put it on the back burner while you see if another chassis turns up. You've pretty much identified most of your issues but one that hasn't been mentioned except in passing is your dial. I think RadioDaze sells the decals, and I've seen more than one person who restored their dial, but.... that is a lot of decal to apply and they are white, so you might need to replace more than one set so they match.

With all the missing pieces and the dial issue I'd keep my eye out for another chassis, they're fairly common and not too hard to find. Good luck!

[Arran]

I could be wrong as I am not really into brand Z sets, other then members of the T.O series, but I think that these used ST style tubes much like the 1937-38 Philcos, not metal tubes. Unlike the 1938 Philcos you can fit metal and GT style tubes in there without butchering anything. The original tube shields were also cylindrical and painted to match the chassis, not bare aluminum, so those appear to be missing. None of this really affects the performance of course just the appearance.
The missing eye tube bracket looks like a large cable or conduit clamp like you would find in the electrical department of a home center. I'm sure that I have seen something like that in my junk at one point so I don't think it was special made for brand Z.
I love the way the fitted the extension on the volume control, equally amusing is the U.L approved Scotch tape wrapped around the wires going to the power switch.
Regards
Arran

[Eliot Ness]

Ron, it also looks like someone put a homemade clutch assy on the tuning shaft, below is what it is supposed to look like:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...62_037.jpg]
(picture from eBay seller csco1166)

Here is a link to the Operating Instructions for your 9 tuber (recreated courtesy of Rocketeer):

http://www.enter.net/~rocketeer/radio/ze...anual2.pdf

He also recreated the 12 tube manual if any readers are interested:

http://www.enter.net/~rocketeer/radio/ze...anual2.pdf

There have been several 9-S-262 resto threads but one that stands out is the one by Geoff:

http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread...ht=9-s-262

Unfortunately all of his picture links have gone dead.

[GarySP]

Since time is on your side with this radio, I would agree with the other comments to wait for another chassis to make itself available. I would like to think that no radio is unrestorable, but then again I'm frequently too optimistic. The cabinet does look remarkably good for its age. Having seen some of your other work on this phorum, my money is on you to bring it back to life. Who knows, with a little luck it might sound as good as a Philco when you are done! Take care, Gary.

[Ron Ramirez]

Again, thanks for the helpful, positive comments, folks!

As the common consensus is to find a decent parts chassis - or a chassis in better shape than this one - before proceeding, I will keep an eye open for one.

I also agree with John (Eliot) and others in that this is going to get put "on the back burner" until such time that I do find a decent parts chassis. I'm wanting to get as many cabinets refinished as I can during the summer - and I'll be getting back into that project next week. I've also found a good place to have the amp/power supply chassis of my McMurdo Silver MP VI rechromed, and that set will receive top priority for electronic restoration once I get the chassis back from the chrome shop.

I also noticed out of all the 9S262 threads on here, most have missing photos. So I will be contacting the original posters to see about getting those pictures back. Agreed, Geoff's thread was an especially good one.

John (Eliot), I especially appreciate those links in your last post. I did not know Rocketeer had recreated those owner's manuals. I know he pops in here from time to time, so Larry, if you're reading this...GREAT job!

Looking this chassis over, I can see where I can fix some things, such as the tapped Candohm (with individual resistors attached to a long terminal strip), the volume control (by replacing it with a 2 meg tapped control, adding a shaft extension if needed), the off-on-local-distance switch (by adding a two pole three position switch and shaft extension), and Arran's idea of a cable clamp to replace the missing part of the 6T5 clamp. But I'll still need to do something about that plastic piece which is supposed to go onto the off-on-local-distance switch shaft, and will need an additional clamp for the dial glass. And that's if I decide to just live with the rough-looking AM band shutters.

[codefox1]

This too shall pass. Who done said it? Little by little we can get this one done. No rush, ster 50 years or so of silence