Zenith Transoceanic Page

As a kid many years ago (DON'T ASK!), I fell  in love with old radios. There were many I was able to play with, (I knew someone that owned one) but many I could not to play with, (I couldn't afford to buy it). Over the years I have enjoyed many radios, but I still longed for those I remember from my youth. Thanks to the internet and EBay I could finally find, purchase and own some of my dream radios. One series I really enjoyed was the Zenith line of radios. I finally bought a Zenith Transoceanic R-7000 in the 1970's, but like a dummy, sold it to someone that offered more than I paid for it years later. Fast forward to 2011 and I found a couple of jewels on EBay. One was the H500 model built on Sept. 17, 1951. This Transoceanic was in fair cosmetic and electrical condition, but perfect for a restoration. I decided to build this page and detail my work with photos and captions in the hope that it may help someone following the same path. I will try and keep things simple and with a beginner in mind. If you have any questions you can email me at the link at the bottom of the page. Also included are some pictures of my B600 after restoring it so you can compare the two models.

Front Dial - Looks ok, dirty of course, some light scratches around the tuning and volume knobs and the display is slightly hazy. No major stress cracks around the screw holes visible. Should clean up well and a little Novis plastic polish will fix things right up!

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front Shot - Cabinet really looks dirty. Is that dirt or cracks in the Stag covering material?? Lettering on the Wavemagnet has faded from white to light tan. The vertical gold inlay striping looks ragged and both will need fresh paint. At least the band selector button lettering is nice and white.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear Shot - With the back cover open you can really see some dirt or damage. Chassis looks ok, but dirty and nothing major showing. Everything is there! All tubes in place and appear to be original Zenith! Power cord in fair shape, will need to replace that. Accessories for the Wavemagnet antenna are there! (Suction cups and orange antenna cord)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside Rear - A good sign, the original Zenith data sticker is still there and intact. A bit faded, but hey, this thing is 60 years old! You'll be a little faded at 60 too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front Cover Closed - Handle is there, front latch is there. Brass looks tarnished at the handle and will need a good polishing to get it bright and shiny again. That stag covering is looking really bad here, corners look ok though.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front Controls - OK, the knob brights are there (brass inserts) but the knobs are in terrible shape with dirt embedded in every groove, tone control buttons a bit dirty but work back and forth with no sticking. The brass catch at the bottom looks good. The black paint in the logo might need to be touched up a tad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chassis Out - Electrical inspection shows damage to a number of components.  Even though the radio did work, there were several issues that HAD to be addressed. Here C38 has exploded at some point in the past.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power Supply - Here are most of the components making up the AC supply. The selenium rectifier in the upper left, R36 the large wire wound resistor and C38. You can see the blast damage from C38 on the blue wire and chassis. The value of R36 has changed and the wire coming from it are very corroded, it has to go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Side View - Here you can see the band coil/switch assembly at the far left. All the band switches were very noisy when switched, when they worked. The contacts are silver plated and very tarnished. The main tuning capacitor next to the band coils was also in need of attention, hard to turn and scratchy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dial Assembly - The dial plate is plastic with painted on lettering. All the lettering is in pristine condition. All it will get is a gentle cleaning and some Novis polish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 All the Tubes - Much to my surprise, ALL the tubes are original Zenith branded. Either it never needed tubes or when replaced, Zenith brands were reinstalled. All tubes checked very good on the tube tester. I also opted to replace the very expensive 1L6 ($50 to $100) with the direct replacement 1LA6 ($5.90 at AES http://www.tubesandmore.com/). To do this you'll need to find an adapter. I found 3 on EBay and bought 2 since I have two Trans-oceanics. This one from 1951 and a B600 made in 1962.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made in the USA - Here is the date stamped to the case beneath the chassis,  Sept 17, 1951

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Case - Here I am re-gluing the cover behind the wave magnet. I had to pull just enough away from the lid to allow me to remove the upper latch for cleaning. Also you can tell the case has already been dyed black. I was super pleased to find that the stag fabric was intact everywhere! The original dye had just faded showing the wood beneath making it look as if it was damaged. I also found the plywood on the left side at the chassis mounting hole to have separated. I used some all purpose white glue (Elmer's) to repair that and used the C-clamps to hold the pressure strip on top till the glue dried. There is another section of case you must remove from the top where the handle attaches if you plan to polish the brass mounting pins for the handle. This also lets you test the Wave Magnet wiring for continuity. You can see the end of the wires that attach to the chassis (red tag). Those wires run up through the top and attach to the hinge bars for the top cover. Put the Wave Magnet antenna in place with it's attaching thumb screws (yes the studs are different sizes) and check for poor or intermittent contact. You should read a steady 1-3 ohms as you work the lid opened and closed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chassis Clean - Here I have cleaned and polished the chassis, tested and reinstalled the tubes, cleaned and lubricated the main tuning capacitor, and polished the IF cans. The speaker was like new, no holes, cracks or tears. The dial cord was original believe it or not, but it did break while working on the tuning capacitor. I will use Dacron fishing line to replace the broken dial cord.  This picture was taken before I replaced the line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repainting - I decided to repaint the lettering on the Wave Magnet antenna. I just did not like the faded white (it looked almost beige). Here I am using an Elmer's painters pen from the crafts section at Wal-mart. You can also use modelers paint. You can find this at most any hobby shop along with thinner, brushes and lots of other things you might find a need for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Checking - Finished with the first coating of paint. It will need 2 more before I am happy. I also used small bottles of modelers paint and a brush to touch-up other areas of the front panel. You'll may also prefer to use a brush to apply white paint to the engraved lettering on the Wave Magnet front side. I used a bottle of white, black and gold paints. The back side of the front plastic panel is painted using black and gold and may have flaked off or can do so with you handling it. Ask me how I know this! I found the color Faspearl Gold to be the best match. It is about a shade lighter than what was used, but after drying you can't see the difference from the front of the panel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wave Magnet - Here you can see how bad the paint was on the front of the Wave Magnet antenna. This is where you need a brush, since these letters are engraved not raised. You can also see the brass studs holding the handle after a good polishing.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Paint - This is the shot of the Wave magnet after repainting. It still needs a final cleaning and polish with Novis Plastic Polish. The Gold vertical striping looked OK and I almost decided to repaint it, but decided to leave a little of that "Old Radio" look. You can also see the mounting studs for the handle after polishing and one of the thumb-screws that hold the Wave Magnet.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back Side - Here is the back of the Wave Magnet after painting. Still needs a final cleaning and polish. I also went a little over-board and painted the Art Deco "Z's" to the right. Those were not painted originally, but I liked it! You can also see some scratches around the right contact for the antenna. Someone in the past had tried scraping the contact for a better connection. Both contacts were a bit oxidized so I gave them some attention....without scratching the plastic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Front Panel - Here you see the front panel for the H500. Generally in very good shape, but you can see some very small stress cracks below the tone switches and around the tuning and volume knobs and some of the gold paint has flaked off over the treble and voice switches. A little touch-up Gold Faspearl paint and a good polishing with Novis should cover/fix those. Also you can see that the dial face is a bit hazy and there are also some light scratches around the volume and tuning knob holes. This is normal for a radio of this age and Novis makes polish with a tiny bit of abrasive that will take care of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polish #1 - Looks a bit better after the first round of polish doesn't it? The lettering for the band buttons and the keyboard Function buttons can be seen much better. Also the Wave Magnet is looking better too. The case looks like new again after receiving it's final polishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The LATCH - Here is the latch assembly after being reinstalled and aligned. It would not close properly as it was. I was able to "shift" it slightly as I tightened the mounting screws to get things to mate. Also you see more of the case with the lid down here too. Lookin' Good! I was worried that the corners would be beaten and torn but they weren't. You can see also that I had not yet installed the top piece of wood that the handle attaches to. It's just kind of laying there on top with the Wave Magnet and some hardware on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery Anyone? - Well I have a battery for my new Trans-oceanic. Not really, the box is a replica you can purchase off the web along with the mating male power receptacle. Here is a link http://home.comcast.net/~morrised2006/radios/radio6.htm You can see the mounting studs for the telescoping antenna on the left after a good cleaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Battery Box - Here is another shot of the replica battery box showing the Zenith Logo. Also at the site where you can purchase this box there is a good bit of information for how to build your own battery from a number of AA/D cells or 9volt/D cells. Good information for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Case is Finished - Case is reassembled, Wave Magnet cleaned and polished, Front Panel cleaned, polished and fully restored and all brass polished nice and shiny. Just need to finish the chassis and reinstall. Waiting on parts sucks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capacitors In - OK Finally got the last parts I needed and now I have replaced the power supply electrolytic capacitors. On to replace the power resistor with a new one or two.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power Resistor - Last time you looked at a picture of the area there was an old ugly red in color 130 ohm power resistor located here. That has been replaced by 2 larger new resistors. 10 watts each, one a 30 ohm unit and the other a 100 ohm unit. Why two? Well I couldn't get the value I needed with only one, so I used two in series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back Home - After all the work, it finally comes to an end! Back in the case goes the chassis, ready for testing on AC and DC. Fingers crossed!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batteries Rule! - Got the battery pack ready to slide in under the chassis. Looking for some long life with the copper tops. Should get over 400 hours with the B+ AA batteries (meter showed 97 volts with new cells). Specifications call for B+ of 90 to 105 V DC. The A filament supply read at 9.57 volts and specifications call for 9 volts. I should get about 200 hours from the D cells in the A supply. Doesn't sound like much does it? Well that works out like this, using the radio 3 hours a day average, will give me over 66 days on the D cell batteries and over 133 days on the AA cells. How much do you listen to a radio per day?
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready to Go - OK I think I've done enough damage. This thing is ready to ROCK!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OOPS - I thought I was finished, but it seems I left a finger print good enough for CSI to track me down!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zenith - I think this about says it all. Now to relax and listen to Radio Havana or Voice of Russia or BBS World service or whatever......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zenith B600 Trans-oceanic - Here is my B600 from 1962 after I restored it. Not quite as pretty as the H500 but still a very nice example with just a few blemishes to the front panel. Also Zenith slightly changed the color of the gold paint to a lighter shade.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Front Dial - Here you can see the two blemishes. At the very top between the screws a chip in the plastic has been repaired that not quite covers the break. This was done by a former owner. Also in the dial face right under 11.8 a scratch that was too deep to remove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dial Light and Phone Jack - Front mounted phone jack and dial light switch was added to the B600.  You can also see some of the slight crazing of the plastic around the left screw of the dial light. Sometimes old plastic will begin to fracture around stress points. I repainted the back side of the panel with black and gold paints to cover most of this, but some still show through.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Band Switches - Only difference between the H500 and B600, 4-8 MC on the H500 and 4-9 MC on the B600. You can also see some crazing at the 31 M label and the 25 M label areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wave-Magnet and Chart Holder - Cleaned and polished, both the chart holder and wave-magnet look good. All labeling was repainted along with the Gold Zenith crest and the whip unlocking arrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart - The chart on this B600 was in excellent shape. All pages present and undamaged except for some slight age yellowing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer Safety Association? - I guess this was before Underwriters Labs. Also at some point in the past a previous owner had used some type of oil or lubricant that over time turned into a tarry mess. Some of the residue can be seen under the label and above. I was unable to get it all off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Replacement for the 1L6 - It's a tight fit, but a 1LA6 will fit into the place. You can also see of the the tarry residue on the main tuning capacitor and other areas in the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twins Almost - Here you see the B600 on the left and the H500 on the right. Close but no cigar. The covering on the cabinet of the B600 was not as "leathery" looking as the H500. The B600 has a bit taller feet. Also the latch on the B600 still shows some tarnishing. That is a future cleaning project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color Changes - Here you can see the slightly lighter gold color on the B600 compared to the H500. I like the deeper gold on the H500 as it seems to just shine more. Also the dial differences can be seen. For me the H500 is my favorite, I just like the "retro" look of the rounded dial, even though the B600 is easier to tune. On the H500 you have the Wave-Magnet in the lid, on the B600 you have the Chart and Log holder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did I learn anything from this project? Yes several things in fact.

First, Anyone can do a very decent restoration on most old radios if you take your time and follow a few simple rules.

1. GO Slow, the radio didn't get this old in a day, don't make it age any faster.

2. Simple usually works good. You don't need the latest and greatest of anything for this project.  Question yourself every time you decide to do something.

3. Research, Read, Research and Read some more. Gather all the information from as many sources as you can, ask questions, get ideas. You can never know enough about what you are trying to do and the internet really makes it easy. Google searches will bring you a wealth of information.

On the 1L6 tube issue. Yes, you can replace the 1L6 with a direct pin for pin replacement 1LA6.....BUT, you will need an adapter. You can make one for yourself or find one on EBay. So far I've found the 1LA6 performance to be nearly identical to the 1L6. The tuning on some bands may be slightly off due to inter-electrode capacitances, but hardly noticeable with a careful alignment. If you align the radio using the 1L6, then replace it with the 1LA6 your tuning will be off progressively worse as you move to the higher bands. So you will have to decide which tube you plan to use and align the radio with that tube if you want the tuning dial to be fairly accurate.

These radios are super sensitive! I could not believe how well they pull in signals on the whip antenna! I am comparing them to my Grudig Satellit 800 Millennium. They OUT receive the Grudig hands down. The B600 is also quieter. The Grudig has garbage coming in from it's own internal processor and the display driver chip. None that on the Zenith's for sure.....and with a careful, slow detailed alignment you don't need no stinkin' digital display! And playing with these radios is just plain FUN!

Questions on what you see here? Click here to send me an email!

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