ZENITH 5S319 TWO-BAND RESTORED ELECTRONICS AND ORIG CAB

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I harvest a winter supply of wood for myself and for the 90-year-old gent who owns the land. A few weeks ago, needing a come-a-long, rummaging around in one of his many treasure -filled outbuildings, I literally uncoverd this old ZENITH piled high with an accummulation of "stuff" and stuffed under an old workbench. Harvey agreed to throw it in with "our" wood deal. The condition was awful and appeared to be nothing more than a "parts" donor. (I have included a pic of the chassis prior to restoration. The cabinet was much worse). Definitely, I was thinking "parts donor" AND kindling. That is until Harv began to tell the story. These "good 'ol boys" ALWAYS have a story which they make you feel obliged to listen to whether you want to or not! Harv bought the ZENITH with proceeds from his very first crop harvested in the fall of '39. REA (Rural Electric Association) had wired the countryside in his area only a short time before so he wanted to be the first of his neighbors to own an ELECTRIC radio. He proudly purchased the best, ZENITH. Shortwave was definitely a plus in his decision to buy this model, but so was price (of course), and 650 WSM, Nashville with the Grand Ole Opry sent a strong clear signal due north to his farm. He had considered what we collectors call THE WALTON by Zenith, but he couldn't justify it and didn't believe in credit (too bad more people today don't follow that philosophy). Following 45 minutes of history, we arrived at the demise of the ZENITH. Harv said that he was listening to a broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry in late fall 1960 and during a performance by his favorite, Ray Price, the old ZENITH sizzled, crackled, hummed and went dark. He said he was so disgusted that it had quit right during the middle of "ol" Ray's performance that he carried the radio out to his shed w it has been in retirement ever since. The pointer was still set on WSM's frequency 650 KC. He told me that he had had it repaired 7 or 8 years previous at a cost of 8 bucks which he thought was "a hell of a lot" and decided this time to buy a new one instead. If you look closely at the picture, you will see "Apr. 7, 1952, and 2 8uf @ 450" written in pencil on one of the IF transformers. That was the repairman's way of keeping track of the work he had performed. The parts were electrolytic capacitors which were replaced as one of the many steps in my restoration process. One was dead-shorted which likely caused the death of the ZENITH back in '60. I just serviced the '60 Zenith console which replaced this radio. He still listens to WSM and the OPRY. Back in 1960, at age 8, I used to attend country auctions and purchase radios like this with my 50 cent per week allowance for 25 or 50 cents and haul them home on my bike. I wish I had bought more and kept the ones I did buy. A few years later, when my allowance was up to ONE DOLLAR per week, I bought a WALTON for two bucks which was as near-mint as any I have seen on Ebay (and I check daily). I later sold it to my college roommate for TWENTY bucks to purchase pre-law books for a legal career which mysterioulsy evolved into a long carrer in broadcasting and broadcasting electronics. That's my very short story, but you are interested the radio, RIGHT! WORK PERFORMED: TOTAL re-cap including filters, ALL resistors checked for value, tubes replaced as needed including NOS 6X5 rectifier, both dial lamps, new cord, new grill cloth, ALL controls cleaned and lubricated, tuner bearing race lubricated for smooth tuner operation, tube sockets cleaned, power source and tube voltages checked for and did check to ZENITH spec, alignment checked on both bands and adjusted as needed. AS A RESULT the radio performs superbly with selectivity and sensistivity on BOTH bands. My shop is in the basement surrounded by block walls. With a 20ft. antenna dressed around the ceiling and the set grounded to the COLD water inlet, I am able to to tune short-wave broadcasts 24 hours a day. Depending upon when listening, short-wave broadc... read more

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