Gull Gray 1952 Zenith Owl Eyes Model J616 AM Vacuum Tube Radio Great Sounding! Excellent Condition!
DESCRIPTION: The much sought after Owl Eyes among Zenith designs! Tabletop tube AM radio manufactured by Zenith in 1952 in excellent working and physical condition.
SOUND QUALITY: Picks up AM stations clearly and loudly up and down the dial without need of external antenna attachment.
CABINET CONDITION: Beautiful factory original painted gray over molded Bakelite radio Original molded black color Bakelite cabinet is not cracked, no chips. Factory gray paint is not heavily dinged. Usually we see a lot more wear and tear. The front gold metal fascia tuning and clock surround trim is faded and not peeling, some slight oxidation. Numbers are intact and sharp.
KNOBS: All knobs are original and securely attached clean. Volume and tuning knobs are not missing center gold metal inserts but gold paint is almost completely faded or rubbed off. Three little black clock function knobs are all replacements and non-matching, but excellent condition and securely attached. The tuning dial works fine no slipping no sticky spots. The tuning dial pointer is in excellent condition. Tuning dial attachment post is not cracked and is securely attached.
CLOCK: Clock works and keep accurate time. Clock motor is silent no humming no buzzing no ticking noises. Clock and alarm set time works. Alarm works. Wake to radio and buzzer or wake to radio only. Both work. Sleep timer works.
DIAL LIGHT: Dial light works and lights brightly.
INTERNAL ELECTRONICS: All paper and wax capacitors have been replaced with modern equivalents so this radio has another 50+ years or more of playing time! Both Intermediate Frequency Transformers (IFTs) have been rebuilt to ensure static-free performance. The tubes are working fine. All out-of-spec resistors have been replaced with modern correct value and voltage equivalents. There is no loud or pervasive hum. There is no loud or pervasive static between stations. The set has been aligned according to factory specifications. The antique radio has been thoroughly cleaned and inspected. All wiring has been thoroughly checked for possible bridging and weak solder connection.
POWER CABLE: Brand new replacement power cable and safety polarized plug is in excellent working condition no breaks no exposed wires no brittleness.
BACKING BOARD: The original backing board is still present which is incredible because it's only held on by 4 t-pins. The backing board attachment corners are in very good condition compared with other Zeniths we've seen. No missing bottom factory labels.
DIMENSIONS: Approximately 13" x 6" x 5.5" (l x w x h)
WEIGHT: 4lbs 14oz
COLOR: gray
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Product: antique radio, vintage radio, retro radio, vacuum tube radio, AM radio, art deco, mid-century product.
Category: radio
Cabinet construction: Bakelite
Period: 1950s
Country of manufacture: USA
Electronics: Mounted circuit board or chassis. Vacuum tube circuit.
Vacuum tubes: tested and working. Amplifier, converter, detector, pre-amplifier, rectifier