Thirty year old working TV set

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Found a TV set in the basement that seems to work fine. A fifteen inch Zenith.

Trouble is that its a non-cable-ready set (from the eighties-maybe before?) with a twist dial, and rabbit ear antenea (for analog broadcasts-not digital). And a big old fashioned twist dial for the channels.

If this were the year 2008 you could get four local broadcast channels on it atleast. But a couple years ago they told us to get digital converters because the even broadcast is changing to digital. Which most stations have done.

Tried out the set- it gets only static. On channel 6 it sometimes gets the ghostly shadow of some distant Spanish language station ( must be one of the last analog broadcasters standing).



My question: do they sell adaptors for non-cable ready TV sets (sets that dont have that cylindrical jack for coaxial cables) anymore? Adaptors for either cable, and/or for digital broadcast?

Curious as to whether anyone could get use out of the still working set.

I'd love to see it. Can you do a picture of it for us?

twin lead to cable adaptors can still be found, those will give your zenith new life. then all you need is a converter box and to live in a good reception area [usually downtown/inner city] sufficient for rabbit ears.

Im not very facil with taking snapshots and uploading them and posting them.

Must have been remembering some other set from my childhood.

Its not a Zenith, but a Sony Trinitron. The base of the antenae says "AN-16", but that might be the model of the antenna and not of the whole set.

Only a 12 inch screen, but a rather big bulky set, but it has a nice handle on the top for carrying.

If you go to google images and look for a Sony KV1300 you will find a pic of a set that looks alot like it. Zeniths from the same era also look like it. Its got fake wood paneling.

I guessed it was from the 80's,but on the back in tiny print it actually says "manufactured in Japan in October 1975."

Damn! Its prolly worth more as an antique than as a working set!

those Trinitrons had the best picture for their time.

Interesting.

Will have to ask around at Radioshack, or Bestbuy maybe.

It was a good set. And it had sophisticated color control nobs.

referring to the hidden controls- but if you twiddled 'em sans the proper diagnostic equipment your chances of ever again getting a decent [neutral] color palette are small.

i think they do sell the type of converter you are talking about for that TV in order to watch over the air channels

But it might be economically more feasible to just buy a new small TV (flatscreen 19-24" go for as low as $99)

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/digital-analo ... etup-basic

FWIW, my oldest TV is a 1987 Hitachi - I know it works but it's not in use. It has buttons and is a 'stereo' tv which was high end for the day (it's a 19in TV that cost nearly $500 back in 1987)

If anyone is in the Phila, PA area, come visit me and get a free TV (I have a 26in that I don't use either)

A set top box will normally have something called S-Video output, it's a little circular plug with five pins. If your old TV has an S-Video input socket then you're good to go. An alternative is to use the RF Out connection on your set top box and connect this to where the antenna plug normally goes, you will then need to tune the TV to the channel the box uses.

If you want to test your TV try and find an old video game console.

I remember when we threw away our old brown Electrolux fridge , the thing was almost 30 yrs old....the freezer was still working but the fridge itself was kaput. They don't make em like they used to , huh ?

He-Man figures were of better quality too than the new ones......

I just gave to goodwill a 20" Panasonic with a scratched tube face. I suppose it will be reincarnated into various other things.

that is a good tv. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Its got the two screws for the antenna right? just get a coaxial jack from the local electrical supply store and a couple of wires, affix one end of each wire to the screws on the TV and the others to the leads on the coaxial plug. If it does not work then flip the leads. A converter may even have the screw leads on it although I doubt it.

Yep. When I worked in TV in the early '70s, the Trinitrons gave a better picture than even the large Conrac monitors. The Trinitrons were rack-mounted small screens so the Conrac's were still the primary monitors, but they were frequently consulted as a color reference.

what size was the conrac monitor you used?