Oh yes, the Zenith portable radio. We would listen to the tiger baseball game while fishing on Lake Huron. Of course we would turn off the radio during radio ads to save battery voltage. Ahhhhh, the good old days. No cell phone , little TV, and no two way radios. Better watch for bad storms because no fast local weather broadcast either. You were truly on your own and you looked after each other, period...
You're talking gold when it comes to these TOs. I have a collection myself started a few years ago. I grew up, they just too expensive to imagine owning. Just a mild correction. A reproduction battery box with artwork (you just add 9V and D' Cells) is availble from Ed's Antique Radio. I've bought several.
@@Capecodham sir I'm rotating the dial DX'ing for new stations😂. BTW re-stringing on the 600 is tricky as its 3 cords and getting even tension across the bunch is an exercise. I've don't it several times.
I have this same radio. I bought it at a garage sale up the street from my house for $10. In 1983..... I have the battery box, but there are no cells inside. It probably wouldn't be that hard to rig something up, but it's just a lot easier to plug it in. I have no idea where to get tubes for one of these, and I have no idea how oId it actually is, but I'm guessing late 1940's. Great video!
Once in a blue moon you can get a great deal on a shortwave set, if the seller doesn't know or care much about radio and just thinks it's a junk am/fm set. You think you make out like a bandit, and the seller thinks they make out like a bandit, and it's kind of funny. You don't actually make out like a bandit, because shortwave had been dead 50 years now, but still... :-) Sometimes it's a path to get a shortwave set you never cool because all the bloody HAM and radio collectors ruined the hobby for everyone else by scarfing everything up.
Nice demo of the Zenith Trans-Oceanic. I have several. Like you, I don't get to enjoy them very much. There is one I favor for ball games: Zenith Trans-Symphony Royal 2000. It's known as a companion radio. It was the first transistorized AM/FM portable radio. 73 Paul AA1SU
I'm not a good listener but I think you said your dad gave you $80 and it was in the Forties you bought your radio? I have a book, stashed away in my things lost for now, but I thought the value estimate was if I were to buy a Transoceanic in today's money equivalent to what was paid years ago this radio would have been $900. The book I have was I think published 10 or more years ago, so well over $1,000 in today's money. How much did you pay for this radio? Thanks for the demo as I was wondering today with online or digital radio how much shortwave listening was possible today as many stations shut down their traditional radio transmission stations. Are there still a lot of shortwave listeners today? Your radio is a gem because there are no cracks in the plastic and many transoceanics have cracks as people would remove the front and when they put it back in they would tighten the screws too tight and cause cracks which reduces the value. I had the B600 model like yours that I think came out in 1962 and it was the last portable tube radio Zenith made so it was the most advanced. I also had the B600L which the "L" means leather as it had the brown leather covering. Your black fabric covering is easy to repair. Another thing is the antennas would be damaged, bent... Also that schedule booklet behind the little door. Your door is perfect where many they would push down too hard on it and break it away from the metal hinge. Also your magnet antenna is very good where often the white letters are chipped or the paint rubbed off. I would run it on a battery as plugging it in puts a lot of voltage and stress in the system. I ran both of mine on battery packs I bought on eBay with 9 D cell batteries. I used to take mine on picnics and tune around the shortwave band and really miss that, that was 20 years ago when I had a radio hobby while I was taking care of my mother. I had a big Art Deco era RCA 110K floor radio. I loved to tune in an esoteric station somewhere in the world and listen while cleaning or doing the dishes. I miss my mother and those days. I love old tube radios and sadly my ham license for 48 years I missed renewing it and lost my General Class license. No excuses when it expires and it's beyond the grace period they don't care, so I must take the theory test and all over again, a big hassle for me as I forgot a lot of theory. Thanks for this video! Oh, you also lost the brass cones that go in the knobs, but all is purchasable on Ebay.
@@Capecodham Just curious of prices then and now. So your dad contributed $80 and you contributed $20 so it cost $100 in 1958? I imagine you have a lot of knowledge of electronics and I'm hardly even amateur. So I bet your dad wanted to influence you. Do you have a career in electronics?
Hey buddy i been looking for someone that repair old tube type radio, That does bull shit half of the video! I only found one and its a gay person in Texas ( and thats ok if he is gay ) So i clicked on your channel/video And i really enjoy your channel of explaining your radios! they are very interesting to watch!
