|
|
I just received my copy of the "2nd edition" of the "new" Zenith Trans-Oceanic The Royalty of Radios book
by Bryant and Cones. It turns out to be just a REPRINT of the 1st edition in a new cover, with a new forward and 17 pages
added to the back.
Sadly, Schiffer has fallen badly on this one, claiming in their latest catalog that this 2nd edition
is "revised and expanded". In fact this book is NOT revised, it is a word for word and picture for picture duplicate of the
1st edition. It has only been expanded, by 17 pages. Those 17 pages, however do not provide the kind class act we've come
to expect of the authors. Here's the review.......
On the plus side are a discussion and three large color photos of the R-529A/URR(the military version of the L600 T.O.) and a similar discussion with two photos of the ZX-5 military version of the
Royal 1000. These five photos of two military models are what Schiffer touts in their catalog as "never before published photos,
documents and information".
On the minus side is the complete lack of updates for club info, supplier info, email addresses or websites, and
a lack of new info supplied for each model. The additional information that is included is very sketchy.
The idea of a section dealing with competitors for the allwave market is a good one but includes only the
RCA Stratoworld and the Hallicrafters TW-1000. This section should have included the Stromberg-Carlson AWP-8 (6 tubes, 8 bands
from 1956) and the Admiral Y909 (transistor receiver from 1961). Perhaps even that parting shot from Hallicrafters, the TW-1200,
a 12 band general coverage receiver from 1979 might have been mentioned.
The section dealing with "cousins" of the TO's consists of information and pictures of the Global
and Meridian models plus a really odd couple...the 5 tube AM/SW Explorer 660 and the late 70's Royal G1000y
(the AM,FM,PSB-UHF/VHF Air model). There are no details about either.
Interestingly, the authors discuss "cousins" and ignore the TransOceanic's "brother",
the Zenith InterOceanic, For instance, the Royal 94, an allwave AM/FM/SW built like a tank in the late 60's
on the heavy 11NT44Z8 chassis.
The price/rarity guide is helpful but that strange "flea market guide"...?
This "2nd edition" at $34.95 should have been put out as a 17 page pamphlet at, say, $12.95.
Shame on Schiffer and shame on the professors for engaging in the same ripoff as college textbook authors
with their "new" editions.
One other thing....the authors decry the "self professed 'experts' (on the web) who seem to consider
themselves the fount of all Trans-Oceanic knowledge" saying also that it was "necessary to be cautious of the 'new' history
disclosed on some of these sites." This 2nd edition would have been much richer had the authors engaged in more internet research
and included more of the interesting details concerning the various models. We are the collectors who actually own the radios
in question, models that actually left the showroom floors and bear testimony to the T.O. legacy, a legacy much richer in
detail than that which is etched in the Zenith archives.
How dare the authors caution "unsuspecting" readers of the various websites when they have so brazenly ripped
off "unsuspecting" buyers of their "2nd edition".
The Radio Shack (Realistic) Flavoradio was a production item from 1972 through 2001, a 30 year run. The
original case design shown in the picture was the model 12-166 and ran through 1986. This was a 5 transistor set (12-166A
had 6). The case design appears to have been inspired by the earlier Westinghouse 'little gem' known as the refrigerator radio.
The 15 years of the original case design is evidently the longest production run for any model radio ever built. What possesed
Radio Shack to continue on with an AM only receiver is anybody's guess but they redesigned the case in 1987 and again around
1995, this last time employing an integrated circuit, but still AM only. The eleven colors shown here also
set a record for the widest color choice of any production radio. When Radio Shack removed the flavoradio from the catalog
for 2002, blackberry was the only flavor left and it was the last AM only radio to be produced anywhere, the end of an
era of AM only radios begun in 1921 with Federal, Kennedy, and the gang, a remarkable legacy for a cute little
am radio.If you have a Radio Shack catalog showing the white or two tone models, please contact me or
send a copy of the ad. Thanks.
Here is what a complete collection of the Zenith Royal 500 (original case design) looks
like. Top row is both the original "A"models with chassis 7XT40...the maroon (translucent)
has serial number 00491...the black is serial 00016. The tuning cap date code for both is 538 (38th week of 1955).
The second row down is the three "AB" models. These were produced during the changeover
from steel chassis hand wired direct tuning to the more modern printed circuit with vernier tuning They are all
chassis 7XT40Z1 (green label), and all have the narrow black station indicator line, the new knobs, vernier tuning and the
metal hand wired chassis. The black one is serial 92009, the maroon one is serial 93942, the white one is serial 126311. The
date codes on the tuning cap and transformers for these three run from the 33rd to the 44th week of 1956. I've seen two others
like these on ebay but only about 4 per year so there were probably fewer than 10,000 made.
The third shelf down is the familiar family of 5 of the "B" models, one in each color spanning
serial numbers from 107966 to 229866. These all have the 7ZT.... chassis, printed circuits, and vernier tuning.
The bottom shelf shows the three "D" models, serial numbers 468763, 632030 and 722770.
Bob McGarrah is the real 'guru' of the Zenith 500 and you should really visit his site (use
the link below).
Here is the earliest known Royal 500 to surface, serial #00016, probably from the first day
of regular production. It has no battery cover label and from the glossy appearance I'd say there never was one. This
radio has the black case and black 'rounded' top Sylvania transistors. The tuning cap code is 538. The output transformer
has no date code, just the part number 1463. The transistors are the rounded top Sylvania black ones coded 53 or
54. Note that the white capacitor normally seen to the left of the volume control is missing. Otherwise, #00016 appears identical
to #00491.
Okay guys, somewhere out there lurks a Royal 500 with a single digit serial number.......
Here are the articles I've written for the Antique Radio Classified.
Hoyt Electrical Instrument Works....July 1997
Radio Shack Flavoradios...June 2002
Picnic Portables of the late 30's..June 2003
Last Stand for Tube Radios......Feb 2004
Shirt Pocket Transistor Scam.....April 2005
Cordless Table Radios...Nov 2005
Stewart-Warner 9160 Midgets..March 2006
Flavoradio Update.....March 2008
Zenith Royal 500 Family.....July 2008
Tiny Consoles.....October 2008
ZENITH Royal 810 (Royal 51)
This is the unsung hero of the Zenith line. In his book 'Zenith Transistor Radios, Evolution of a Classic'
Norm Smith traces the development of the am transistor line at Zenith, from the original 500, through the superb 500H and
the many other radios produced in that first decade, the heyday of the American transistor. He accounts for the development
of fm from the Royal 2000 through the 880 and 820, all finely engineered, great performing fm portables. He finishes his text
at 1965, just short of the release of the Royal 810 in 1966. This is the first am/fm portable from Zenith small enough to
be coat pocketable. Heavily built, in Chicago, with the Holland transistors, chassis 9NT41Z8, the model 810 and model 51 are
identical twins (as are the 820 and 76). You have to go on Ebay, spend about $35.00 and get one to see what a top performing
receiver this is. The case has a great feel, like the Motorola X15, lots of chrome and steel in this one. Nine transistors,
a lot of hand wiring, transformer driven push-pull output....this was an expensive set to produce, especially in 1966 when
the price competition from Japan was fierce. The rf and if amplifier design is similar to the legendary 500H. This is
the radio I carry for picnics, boating, or porch sitting. Well...shouldn't you have one?
Another research project of mine has been to identify the earliest of the Royal 1000 Trans-Oceanic receivers.
This photo illustrates some of the clues. For the first 3 years, the clear, more fragile battery case
was used. For the first 2 years, real leather covered the case and the words "genuine leather" appeared inside the upper front
door lid. For about 1 year, the antenna could not be lowered without depressing the 'push to release' button. For the first
few months, only the black RCA transistor set appeared in the chassis. The first month or so, there was no Royal 1000 lettering
on the back cover and the removeable wavemagnet cable was lashed to the battery case using the oversized nuts from the tube
era. Finally, for just a week or two, at the very beginning, the wavemagnet cable exited from the right hand side (viewed
from the back) of the wavemagnet. These earliest Royal 1000's had the 738 date code on the speaker and 731 on the tuning
capacitor. On various 1000's you can find interesting combinations of these early production variations.
You should really support the Antique Radio Classified by subscribing and perhaps sending an
article. Use the link below.
Visit Antique Radio Classified Bob McGarrah's very informative Zenith 500 pages keywestmac@verizon.net
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
