Zenith that I almost ruined

Some of the Zeniths from this era have a nasty rectifier that can short and then roast the power transformer. I decided to replace it with a solid state replacement

[migsvensurfing]

If you keep the old capacitors in a box you could sell them to restuffers.

Nice radio. Love Zenith quality.

Thanks for your videos.

[hestheMaster]

Zenith 7-S-323 from 1939. Tricky beast to work on. Like it's chairside brother the 7-S-342 but with a smaller speaker. Look
up the 7-S -342 schematic to find this radio's schematic. The rectifier tube 6X5G should just be replaced with a 6X5GT as
it is a stouter design to handle bumps in the road in automobile use. That what it was designed for. The solid state version
must have a current limiting device either a resistor of large wattage or a CL-90 thermistor after it to allow the other tubes
to warm up. Thanks for showing how to go about replacing the capacitors for the "newbies" out there Seth.

[chetpomeroy]

I suspect Ohm's Law was summoned in the deletion of that notorious rectifier tube.

[KennethScharf]

There are several solutions to the 6X5 'problem'. The easiest is to put a fuse in the B+ or B- line that will blow if the rectifier tube shorts. The second solution is to replace the 6X5 with a 6AX5 tube, the later is much less likely to short out, it's a better designed tube. However, the power transformer must be able to withstand the extra heater current. Another fix is to add a separate 6.3v filament transformer to power the 6X5 heater, and let the winding 'float' from ground OR connect one side of the heater to the tube's cathode, or connect the cathode to the transformer center tap (if it has one). The last solution is to replace the 6X5 with a pair of diodes AND a series power resistor (valued to drop as much voltage as the 6X5 would). In this case the 6X5 could be left in the socket for looks, but with the plate and cathode pins disconnected.

[dennisbeauchamp]

really enjoy these videos. Thanks for taking the time to show cap replacement in detail. Could you also show the details to adding a bluetooth connection? Really appreciate it.

[edwardhannigan]

Nice fix Seth..Interesting, and great sound..Ed..UK..😊

[benkeysor]

The 6F6, 6K6 & 6V6 can typically be interchanged with each other since they are all very similar and have similar current draw. Now the 6L6 is similar but isn't a the best idea because it's going to have the most current draw out of all the 6 volt output tubes. Even a 6V6 in place of a 6F6 is just a little much but should be fine. It's kinda like putting a 5U4 in place of a 5Y3 as that will work but the 5U4 will draw much more current. . which is something you don't want if you haver a small transformer.

[dontknowbrian]

Zenith, the quality goes in before the tubes!

[zulumax]

A little bit of scratches and patina in a radio gives it character. There at the end, 36:20 there seemed to be a large current that did not make you comfortable, then it was happy again. What happened?

[normanwalz]

Hmmm. Must have missed something. At one point solid state rectifier replacement is installed and there is a problem. Next moment some little trick worked fine and the radio is working. What was the little trick that worked fine? Inquiring minds need to know!

[packssure]

27:10 sounded like a little shot of Buddy Emmons - Ray Price..

[rayrussell]

I was glad you showed in real time the cap replacement process. Not that I'm really going to do a restoration, but I like to learn what is being done on a repair.
However, I was left totally confused by the last 2-3 minutes or so of the video, where you say it was making "too much draw" on your test equipment, and then the next scene you said everything was good and you were putting it all back together. What was done off-camera to fix the draw is a mystery to fix the draw issue. What little trick?

[eDoc]

I wouldn't put the solid state mod under the chassis like that. If somebody sees the empty socket they might want to repopulate it. It's a bit more work but you can break the cement holding the old tube's base on, then reuse it.

[ratrivervintage]

Beautiful radio! Great work! Thank you for sharing your recapping procedure, I assume you need to discharge them first? Thank you for all the videos! I enjoy them a lot!

[juliangerardcascio]

ZENITH TV 📺 Radio 📻 Stereo 's always the best 👌 👍 😍 +1 !!!×!!!