"The Royalty of Portables"
A site for all I know about the T/O
Why This? Why Now? An Introduction
Sure, there are other sites that give excellent technical advice on some of the more obscure aspects of the operation of the Zenith T/O. There are others that devote themselves in lavish detail to particular models - such as the 'militarised' R-520/URR and R-520A/URR.
What I wanted to try and do was to bring some of this together (and build upon my own experience) to offer the tubeT/O enthusiast a comprehensive resource. A place for help, advice and guidance on restoration, power options, avoidance of known problems and issues, sources for labels and literature...and other related topics.
I don't claim to be an expert - there are folk out there who are far more knowledgable than me - and I certainly don't have all the answers.But I do hope that this site will be of use to some folk out there and enlighten them on the subject of the Zenith Trans-Oceanic...The Royalty of Portables.
Thanks are due:
- To the late Commander Eugene F McDonald - founder of Zenith Radio and dominant force behind the T/O
- John Bryant and Harold Cones - for the painstaking and meticulous reasearch that forms their scholarly work on the Zenith T/O
- A. Padgett Petersen - for insightful and thorough research on issues surrounding the 1L6 vacuum tube
- NostalgiaAir - for thorough information and schematics
Inside this site, you will find the following pages (which will be added to and updated as time and resources permit - time is in shortest supply!)
History An overview of these wonderful radios, their development and maturation - includes a timeline.
Models Lineup Photos and data of the post-war T/O's.
Power Options Notes on providing portable power to your T/O with comment on the various options.
Notes on "The 1L6 Issue" Comment and notes on the thorny issue of the 1L6 - the tube made from 'Unobtainium' - with notes on alternatives. Updated with details on the all-new solid-state 1L6!
Restoration Notes and comment on the best ways to bring out the best of your Zenith T/O. PLUS an ALL NEW PAGE of help, opinions and tips from Peter Wieck
Downloads & Links Things that are useful - labels, instruction books, charts & logs - and may replace what is missing. Links to other like-minded folk.
Ebay
Price Tracker
For
most enthusiasts, Ebay is a easy and convenient source for items to add
to a
collection. Critics say that Ebay has the effect of driving prices up.
Is this true? See for yourself as an attempt is made to track the sale
price, on a monthly basis, of the Zenith Trans-Oceanics available on
the internet.
Sign The Guestbook Let me know what you think!
Last
update: 31st May 2008 Comments & Suggestions to
askme@zenithtrans-oceanic.com