1956 Zenith 17X20 black-and-white television resurrection 

62 year old TV and you got it going after being in the weather for at least 30 years. You are the absolute best abandoned TV resurrection expert. Enjoyed every minute of this video.

Watching these desert resurrection videos is like watching a cliff-hanger from a favorite movie serial. No matter how hopeless it first appears, deep down you know it will all turn out fine.

Zenith....The quality goes in before the name goes on.

Would love to see you get it fully working. It's a testimony to American craftsmanship.

I like how you laid out you plan with the schematic before you went step-by-step to find the fault with the components. Solid work! Thanks!

Love watching these resurrections

You probably think it would be a pain to continue working on this TV set, but, I think I voice the opinion of most of your viewers in asking you to try to make it work properly. Not only is it entertaining, it's also interesting to see what you do and why you do it. There's always something to learn from your videos :) So, yes, please do try to make this sad little set work as it must have 40 years ago. thanks for sharing this video :)

The fact that you got that set to show anything at all is amazing. These old sets are not seen anymore. NICE VIDEO

The glowing bulbs at the end are just awesome to watch.

It's come this far, why not take it all the way?

Seems like it really is harder to stop a Zenith than any other vintage TV. Considering it was in direct harsh weather for decades with the components facing upward, it's pretty incredible how functional it still is.

You are a Dream to these really Cool finds! I'm sure they never expected to be Yanked out of Flat Line Graveyard. Flooded, De-Wired, Un-Tubed, Rusted Sun Burnt Beauty ~ with a Very Unique 'Futuristic' Design - Now shows off! You do Fantastic work! i'll vote for part 2 any time Thank You!

Although it is totally baked it would be a shame to throw it in the dumpster. At least parts might be worth saving, maybe you will need a CRT like this at some point. That's a tough little TV for sure!! It's almost a miracle none of the transformers were shorted.

Yeah, I think the Zenith deserves a few more goes, but only if you can get into it. It could be quite a fight. It is amazing how a little well placed effort will net such positive results.

Glad you did this, and the glowing tubes, the money shot, very nice thanks.

Shango, you are one of the best on RU-vid. Thank you for your videos, they provide hours of education and entertainment. You truly are the TV whisperer. I would love to watch a part two and see you make this rusty gold shine.

i think Shango wants to save this tough little TV..incredible how well made it is..and a testament to Shango's ability..try to bring it back i say..

Enjoy these resurrection videos and this one had it all...wildlife, fire, twerkulated controls. The rolling picture at the end reminds me of when we would play with the horizontal controls and tie magnets to the back of the tv to watch ppv channels we weren't supposed to be watching back in the early 80's

Yay! Hour long shango066 video!

Wow! I mean wow!! Hat tip for having the desire and knowledge to bring this relic back....Then when you get it playing, it's like some dystopian novel where the protagonist resurrects ancient technology only to discover that the apocalypse is at hand! Hollywood couldn't have shot it any better!

That weather worn patina on it.... so awesome! Recap it to perfection and matte clear coat that and you have the most amazing tv with a story.

Wow... I love following the investigative trail with ole' Shango! Even better you pick the most hopeless rust & crust fossils as long as the CRT is good! I just LOVE IT, and have learned a LOT. You have the most awesome array of test equipment and "tricks of the trade"... amazing....

Yes, please continue making it work. Old Zeniths are amazing!

Yes a great video, go ahead and push it as far as you can.

Reminded me of that classic Star Trek episode where Spock managed to build a working TV showing the future using bits and pieces all around the place - and at a time before the TV was even invented!

"I wouldn't want to screen burn a beauty like this, It would just be so wrong." Classic.

Dude, you HAVE to get this completely going again!

Thank you so much for yet another amazing resurrection! These are my favorite videos to watch. It's amazing that vintage electronics can take that kind of abuse and be salvageable. Not the case these days. I grew up in the 80's and remember rugged electronics then.

Love your videos. So educational but realistic too. Keep up the great videos.

Thank you Shango, will enjoy this if the kids ever let me!

This is the best channel on RU-vid... I have been looking for content like this since I was 5 years old and my parents told me that you can't fix a broken tv. I send a genuine thank you.

Cool looking tv

Been hoping for this one....I'd like to see a part 2 if you're up for it....thank you for these videos regardless!

It would probably take quite a few capacitors but it would be worth it since it works already that well without anything changed and for that it would be really cool to see working

Holy @#%* this one is funny! This is on par with a Mel Brooks movie. Thanks so much!!

Quality went in before the name went on! Zenith certainly stood up to that fact!

Hi Shango. That is one of the cleanest chassis I have ever seen you work on :) Thank you for sharing, All my best. Bobby

I loved every minute of this video!!!! You are awesome!!!

I was hoping you'd schlep that thing home. The case itself is just interesting looking.

Well done Shango. I spent many years working in a gold mine. All the interesting stuff was in the lower levels of the mine.

I LOVE THIS PLEASE CONTINUE WITH YOUR WORK NEVER STOP !!

I love these challenge /resurrection videos. Makes me smile👍

Great resurrection, thanks for showing the retrace too!

Id love to see that Working and producing a decent picture! Im British, but my god your Zenith stuff is made amazingly well!

After so many years under scorching sun, it deserves a restoration.

please try to get this full on working. it deserves it

Yeah I think you should come back to this sometime. It’s such a cool TV you don’t see ones like this every day.

Thanks for posting these videos. I thoroughly enjoy watching these tv resurrections taking place of what would normally be deemed hopeless. I'm hoping to learn enough to troubleshoot my 1962 Zenith Space command 400 console since the tv picture quit working a few weeks ago. Slowly but surely I'm learning a little more each time I watch one of your videos. That zenith tv coming back to life was amazing!

Thanks for all your time, You are really so much fun to watch and really informative. In my mind, it’s just crazy that the transformers were not shorted, that the fly back transformer even works, that the paper and foil caps hold any charge at all and don’t leak like crazy, and you could get the tuner to tune at all! You are a magician sir, I mean it, a magician.

I would love to see it restored!

This is the second time I have seen an article in Extreme/Tech online Magazine about this issue lately and it answers a lot of questions about the question of a warranty being voided by just opening the case. Those “warranty void if removed” stickers have plagued many a tinkerer over the years, but the FTC said last month that those warnings are illegal. It told six companies, including Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, to knock that off. The full text of the notices has been revealed, and the FTC isn’t fooling around. It gave the companies 30 days to comply with the law or the agency would pursue “legal action.” The original notices went out to Asus, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Hyundai, and HTC. The FTC believes all six companies are violating some aspect of the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which controls what companies can and cannot restrict in a warranty. Specifically, the act states that no product costing more than $5 can have repair limitations in its warranty. That applies even if you have a third-party repair your device or you just want to open it up to blow out the dust. Motherboard got its hands on all six letters through a Freedom of Information Act request. Each one details what’s wrong with the company’s warranty. In some cases, the company threatens to void warranties if certain repair procedures aren’t followed. The most troublesome provision cited by the FTC (and the one that’s gotten the most attention) is the use of warranty stickers. The FTC says you can’t void your warranty by merely removing one of these stickers, which are intended to make sure you haven’t opened up your device. All the companies were given 30 days to fix their warranty issues in the letters dated April 9. So, we’re coming up on the deadline. The FTC letters note that investigators have made copies of the original warranty information on each company’s website and will be comparing that with any new language provided. According to the letters, Microsoft is in hot water for restricting the right of consumers to have third-parties repair their hardware. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s warranty required consumers only to use Nintendo-certified accessories and software. Sony really went for it, designing its warranty to become void if the buyer used non-Sony peripherals or removed the tamper sticker. HTC and Asus had similar provisions to Sony’s. Hyundai required the use of Hyundai parts to keep the warranty intact. These violations probably represent just a tiny fraction of the sketchy warranty terms out there. Hopefully, the FTC follows through on its promise of legal action if the companies don’t comply. That might scare everyone else enough to get in line. Aloha from Maui.

howdy shango YES AN HR LONG!!!!!!!

make it fully work ! this is awesome !

Portable, yes. In early TV lingo, if it has a handle, it's portable. Even if it weighs 800 lbs and is bigger than a sofa.

You have golden hands! I am delighted with the repair work done on this TV. I am also engaged in the restoration of old radio equipment, but I am from you on the other side of the planet.))

Super excited to see a Shango one hour upload, and a resurrection to boot! Please finish it, it deserves it after 40 years on the desert.

Very nice video as usual. So interesting. Thanks for your work and for sharing skills 👍

Classic shango066 video! Life is good!

That was awesome. Your RU-vid channel is one of the best “detective show” series I’ve ever watched! Thank you for making these videos.

By far the best video to date buddy. I really like the way you went step by step, system by system to bring it up. Made total sense doing so, rather than tossing everything in it and going hunting. I'm more into radios and amps.. not so much Tv's. The step by step diagnostics was EXTREMELY helpful. I may just dive into one someday. Keep those vids coming sir!

That's amazing after all those years in the dump.

I really enjoyed watching you bring this back to life.. It would be nice to see a show on it. Thanks .. for the entertainment..

We had already had our Hoffman tv set (our 1st TV) 2 years when your Zenith was built. This is the best video I've seen in a long time. I'd kinda' like to see this little set come all the way back to life.

Super Cool video. I love how you take junk and make it work again. One trick I have not seen you use for testing voltage / flyback is a neon bulb held close to transformer, they will glow if it is functioning. Thanks for the TV and Radio videos. Pure entertainment.

I watched this video expecting the TV would blow up each time another tube was installed. Seeing this video and the one with the transoceanic radio that you got working by spraying it with WD-40 changed my mind about Zenith products. Would love to see another video showing how replacing the leaky, open or out of tolerance capacitors gets the picture of the TV more and more stable.

Great job! I really loved your tutorial and it's great to see this tv comes slowly to life! I would like to see this Zenith produce a clear and steady picture. I loved the last shot showing the tubes as they glow. As a chiled (about 4yo) I used to switch on our Zenith (b&w, assembled in Israel, labeled "Zenith Radio Cooperation Overseas") and run to the back to watch the tubes warm up... What memories!

in my opinion this set deserves a good picture and audio job, being in the open for 40 years and working is a miracle! lol just a few caps! lol

First I have to say, you are absolutely amazing! At this point it would be nice to see the completion of this tv fully working.

Thank you for a Great Enjoying, and interesting video put forth by a Brilliant person, I call Shango!!!!

The story of “The Little TV That Could” makes it worth the effort.

Geez - love this! Doesn't get any better. That little Zenith TV is tough. Simply amazing. Shango - great job .... I hope you get this TV into a decent performance state. Then, keep it as a trophy.

The mind really does boggle at how something so dilapidated can be brought back to even semi-working condition... And only part of it is down to the quality of the Zenith set, a large part no doubt but still a huge investment of time, effort and skill to see results like this. I know it'd be a huge chunk of time to get it fully working, but if you want to do it then go for it & I'll be here watching captivated by every minute. Even the cat fights... Thanks man, you put back my faith in human intelligence.

I like the new explanatory Shango

That set is amazing, baked to death & rained on for 4 decades & you got it back to life without any replacement parts! Was the Zenith slogan @the quality goes in before the name goes on??

Absolutely I want to see more please ! 😁 To add to this I have never seen anyone else be able to bring something in that kind of condition back to working order. Simply put AMAZING!!!!

Very nice work u do I mess with vintage electronics myself but you are the master

First it was the Zenith from "Pile of rust with some TVs in it", then the Philco Ford set, and now this. I'm betting the next successful resurrection will just be a pile of twisted metal and glass. I'd love to see a better raster on that set.

Very amazing.Can we imagine a commercial for Zenith this would make IF they were still making tvs.

This is fantastic work. Please keep this amazing content coming!!!

These resurrection videos are the only way I'll watch the news. Thanks for keeping me informed.

Finish it up...would love to see it working. Great video please do more like this.

ZenithShangotastic yes love to see you get this fully working again.

Your long form repair videos are the best on RU-vid.

Quite amazing resurrection. It think its worth going the extra mile.

you are going WAY above &beyond what I would ever restore!!!!! ~WOW!!!!!???????????????????????????????

Enjoyed your latest foray into desert dump TV, and making things "work" again.... :)

Shango, I think we’d all like to see you bring these impossible things back to life as much is you want. I think that’s why were all here is because we are amazed at your abilities. like you said in another video something like this is nothing anyone else would tackle but it’s right up your alley

You have amazing skills. Yes, I'll be looking for the conclusion to this one. Thanks!.

I can't imagine having your command of electronics. I have some basic knowledge and can read most of that schematic but I'd be lost when it came to troubleshooting that thing. Love watching things like this, It'd be great to see it fully working!

I really like this old tv. It would be a total shame to throw it into the dumpster. I would like to see you continue to work on it.

Really enjoy your videos, hope you do a part 2 on this junker TV

Also thank you for the detailed instructions on how to service antique electronics. I have tinkered with tube radios but have always kept a healthy distance from the televisions because of the high voltage.

Again I say this, I love how you can take an old TV set that's been exposed to the elements for decades, and make it work as it did when it was brand new. Your videos are awesome. And it's a Zenith too, Just goes to show that the quality really does go in before the name goes on. Also I subscribed to your Mine Explorers channel.

Well, the quality sure went into that set! That it worked at all it a miracle! Another amazing resurrection!

The speaker you used was made in Indonesia it has 10watts and 8ohms i have 2 like those

Amazing... That TV is one year older than me and its still running.

Thanks fore the great video, i love to see you get it fully working

I would like to see more, great work !

I'd love to see this one being fully resurrected. It's a very interesting looking design, and given how much of it already works despite the conditions it has been in, I think it deserves it.