Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks

:Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks
:
: I have one of those sets in the basement. Will look later when I go down there for something. I think mine is a T600 but they should be the same. I can't think of any differences off-hand. They were all made rather close together in years.

::Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks
::
:: I have one of those sets in the basement. Will look later when I go down there for something. I think mine is a T600 but they should be the same. I can't think of any differences off-hand. They were all made rather close together in years.
:
Thanks. Doing recap, so not quite there yet. But any advise will help.

:::Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks
:::
::: I have one of those sets in the basement. Will look later when I go down there for something. I think mine is a T600 but they should be the same. I can't think of any differences off-hand. They were all made rather close together in years.
::
:Thanks. Doing recap, so not quite there yet. But any advise will help.
:
: As I stated I went down to the basement to get some things out of the freezer. When I came up I brought the ZENITH chassis with me. My chassis is a 6T40Z. Yours may be different but in checking the ZENITH transoceanic book (which I'll describe in a little bit) your set (B600) was made from 1958 to 1962. Mine was made 1954 to 1956. HOWEVER the cord reels should be the same. The part # is S20776. Wnen you work on that part, you have to be REAL careful where the two gray wires go. Step 1---- turn the chassis over so that the wiring is facing you. There are two "upside down chassis supports". One is on the coil tower & the other is on the top of the coil housing. They are there to "stabilize" the chassis so it can be worked on. Step 2----Notice where the two gray wires go. One goes to the auxillary power supply & the other one goes to the change-over switch. MARK the easiest one with a BLACK magic marker real well! Leave the other one BLANK. On mine, there is a condenser that has to be disconnected to gain access to the "knot" in the wires before they go through the chassis. "Tack solder two temporary pieces of short wire to each place where you took the two wires off. This might sound like a nusinence BUT--BUT if you re-solder the wires to the wrong place you could either have a LOT of smoke or "BLOW out the filaments". And with the 1L6,you could be in a LOT of trouble getting one! Step 3----Turn the set over right side up & take out the two screws holding the cord reel & carefully pull out the housing. This is where it gets rather tricky. Get out your scratch paper & a pencil & make a drawing of the complete unit from different sides-front, back & BOTH sides. Make a note of ALL-ALL notchs, dents, wires & whatever you need to get it back together correctly. The black discs (probably 3 to 4 of them) do come apart. There is a medium duty clock spring inside so be VERY VERY careful how you disassemble it. Pretend there is a bomb with a trip wire inside! The power cord IS replaceable but be careful how much heat you apply to the connection-they are probably bakelite but on the newer ones they might be SOFT plastic. The two line cord wires go either to a wiper or the circular metal disc. The two gray wires go to either a wiper or a circular metal disc. The end of the cord has to come out of the BOTTOM of the reel when assembled to fasten into the change-over switch. There is a small notch in the trim piece for the line cord to fit into sideways to keep the cord from pulling back into the reel. If you get the assembly apart, LUBRICATE the spring as they can get dirty over time. I have not taken mine apart yet as I have other things to do & it does work fair. If you put a new cord on go to the hardware store & get as flexible piece of lamp cord as you can find. The spring is strong but not super strong. A stiff cord will not pull back too easily. If you have to replace the plug try to find a right angle plug because it has to fit a CERTAIN way in the change-over slot. The two screws that hold the two halves of the housing together are smaller than 3/16". One is on top & the other one is on the bottom. I do not know where my XCELITE pocket nut drivers are right at this moment but will find later.The 3/16"= 6/32 & there was some play with the 3/16" so I'm guessing that the two small screws are 5/32". Look at the two screws & see if they are rusted & if so, DO NOT ATTEMPT to use a 3/36" as it will round off the corners. I hope this will help you out a lot(these are some pointers).If your T/O is in good shape you might benefit from a SCHIFFER BOOK on T/O's. There is a world of info. in this book. Now here is some more info. There are two of these books-a smaller version & a larger version. Mine is the smaller version. These books DO NOT have part # or circuitrys but they do have all of the T/O's plus a few others & a ZENITH history right from the beginning. They do have updates on parts interchangability also. Here is info. where to obtain this book----Schiffer publications, 77 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, Pennsylvania. 19510. The books authors are John H. Bryant AIA & Harold N. Cones P.H.D. The ISBN no. is 0-88740-708-0 It's listed in the library under TK6564-P6879 & 621.384'18-dc20. Anybody that loves T/O's will like this book. There are a LOT of colored pictures (photos) of these sets FRONT & BACK as well as INTERIOR views. If you are lucky enough to get either book, check them both out. The newer book is an up-dated version of the older book & it has more pages.

::::Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks
::::
:::: I have one of those sets in the basement. Will look later when I go down there for something. I think mine is a T600 but they should be the same. I can't think of any differences off-hand. They were all made rather close together in years.
:::
::Thanks. Doing recap, so not quite there yet. But any advise will help.
::
:: As I stated I went down to the basement to get some things out of the freezer. When I came up I brought the ZENITH chassis with me. My chassis is a 6T40Z. Yours may be different but in checking the ZENITH transoceanic book (which I'll describe in a little bit) your set (B600) was made from 1958 to 1962. Mine was made 1954 to 1956. HOWEVER the cord reels should be the same. The part # is S20776. Wnen you work on that part, you have to be REAL careful where the two gray wires go. Step 1---- turn the chassis over so that the wiring is facing you. There are two "upside down chassis supports". One is on the coil tower & the other is on the top of the coil housing. They are there to "stabilize" the chassis so it can be worked on. Step 2----Notice where the two gray wires go. One goes to the auxillary power supply & the other one goes to the change-over switch. MARK the easiest one with a BLACK magic marker real well! Leave the other one BLANK. On mine, there is a condenser that has to be disconnected to gain access to the "knot" in the wires before they go through the chassis. "Tack solder two temporary pieces of short wire to each place where you took the two wires off. This might sound like a nusinence BUT--BUT if you re-solder the wires to the wrong place you could either have a LOT of smoke or "BLOW out the filaments". And with the 1L6,you could be in a LOT of trouble getting one! Step 3----Turn the set over right side up & take out the two screws holding the cord reel & carefully pull out the housing. This is where it gets rather tricky. Get out your scratch paper & a pencil & make a drawing of the complete unit from different sides-front, back & BOTH sides. Make a note of ALL-ALL notchs, dents, wires & whatever you need to get it back together correctly. The black discs (probably 3 to 4 of them) do come apart. There is a medium duty clock spring inside so be VERY VERY careful how you disassemble it. Pretend there is a bomb with a trip wire inside! The power cord IS replaceable but be careful how much heat you apply to the connection-they are probably bakelite but on the newer ones they might be SOFT plastic. The two line cord wires go either to a wiper or the circular metal disc. The two gray wires go to either a wiper or a circular metal disc. The end of the cord has to come out of the BOTTOM of the reel when assembled to fasten into the change-over switch. There is a small notch in the trim piece for the line cord to fit into sideways to keep the cord from pulling back into the reel. If you get the assembly apart, LUBRICATE the spring as they can get dirty over time. I have not taken mine apart yet as I have other things to do & it does work fair. If you put a new cord on go to the hardware store & get as flexible piece of lamp cord as you can find. The spring is strong but not super strong. A stiff cord will not pull back too easily. If you have to replace the plug try to find a right angle plug because it has to fit a CERTAIN way in the change-over slot. The two screws that hold the two halves of the housing together are smaller than 3/16". One is on top & the other one is on the bottom. I do not know where my XCELITE pocket nut drivers are right at this moment but will find later.The 3/16"= 6/32 & there was some play with the 3/16" so I'm guessing that the two small screws are 5/32". Look at the two screws & see if they are rusted & if so, DO NOT ATTEMPT to use a 3/36" as it will round off the corners. I hope this will help you out a lot(these are some pointers).If your T/O is in good shape you might benefit from a SCHIFFER BOOK on T/O's. There is a world of info. in this book. Now here is some more info. There are two of these books-a smaller version & a larger version. Mine is the smaller version. These books DO NOT have part # or circuitrys but they do have all of the T/O's plus a few others & a ZENITH history right from the beginning. They do have updates on parts interchangability also. Here is info. where to obtain this book----Schiffer publications, 77 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, Pennsylvania. 19510. The books authors are John H. Bryant AIA & Harold N. Cones P.H.D. The ISBN no. is 0-88740-708-0 It's listed in the library under TK6564-P6879 & 621.384'18-dc20. Anybody that loves T/O's will like this book. There are a LOT of colored pictures (photos) of these sets FRONT & BACK as well as INTERIOR views. If you are lucky enough to get either book, check them both out. The newer book is an up-dated version of the older book & it has more pages.
:
: I forgot to add the other day: something of extreme importance. When working/holding the chassis with your hands----KEEP YOUR FINGERS & HANDS AWAY FROM THE COIL TOWER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.those minature coil forms have micro-small wires on them. If one breaks you are in heap big trouble! They are VERY HARD to solder because they are in a very tight area to work on. Also of some importance is the opposite end where the 50A1 voltage regulator tube is located. You might have trouble finding one considering how old those sets are. Grip the chassis by the chassis as MUCH as possible. The chassis is a piece of sturdy metal. Nobody has broken a chassis by handling it. Best of luck to you on getting your cord replaced.

:::::Rather than cutting the power cord and splicing in a new one, has anyone taken one of these reels apart to replace the power cord? My reel works and I'd like to keep it that way. Any direction is appreciated. Thanks
:::::
::::: I have one of those sets in the basement. Will look later when I go down there for something. I think mine is a T600 but they should be the same. I can't think of any differences off-hand. They were all made rather close together in years.

I hope you have the unit unplugged when you touch ANY metal part on that radio with both hands.
::::
:::Thanks. Doing recap, so not quite there yet. But any advise will help.
:::
::: As I stated I went down to the basement to get some things out of the freezer. When I came up I brought the ZENITH chassis with me. My chassis is a 6T40Z. Yours may be different but in checking the ZENITH transoceanic book (which I'll describe in a little bit) your set (B600) was made from 1958 to 1962. Mine was made 1954 to 1956. HOWEVER the cord reels should be the same. The part # is S20776. Wnen you work on that part, you have to be REAL careful where the two gray wires go. Step 1---- turn the chassis over so that the wiring is facing you. There are two "upside down chassis supports". One is on the coil tower & the other is on the top of the coil housing. They are there to "stabilize" the chassis so it can be worked on. Step 2----Notice where the two gray wires go. One goes to the auxillary power supply & the other one goes to the change-over switch. MARK the easiest one with a BLACK magic marker real well! Leave the other one BLANK. On mine, there is a condenser that has to be disconnected to gain access to the "knot" in the wires before they go through the chassis. "Tack solder two temporary pieces of short wire to each place where you took the two wires off. This might sound like a nusinence BUT--BUT if you re-solder the wires to the wrong place you could either have a LOT of smoke or "BLOW out the filaments". And with the 1L6,you could be in a LOT of trouble getting one! Step 3----Turn the set over right side up & take out the two screws holding the cord reel & carefully pull out the housing. This is where it gets rather tricky. Get out your scratch paper & a pencil & make a drawing of the complete unit from different sides-front, back & BOTH sides. Make a note of ALL-ALL notchs, dents, wires & whatever you need to get it back together correctly. The black discs (probably 3 to 4 of them) do come apart. There is a medium duty clock spring inside so be VERY VERY careful how you disassemble it. Pretend there is a bomb with a trip wire inside! The power cord IS replaceable but be careful how much heat you apply to the connection-they are probably bakelite but on the newer ones they might be SOFT plastic. The two line cord wires go either to a wiper or the circular metal disc. The two gray wires go to either a wiper or a circular metal disc. The end of the cord has to come out of the BOTTOM of the reel when assembled to fasten into the change-over switch. There is a small notch in the trim piece for the line cord to fit into sideways to keep the cord from pulling back into the reel. If you get the assembly apart, LUBRICATE the spring as they can get dirty over time. I have not taken mine apart yet as I have other things to do & it does work fair. If you put a new cord on go to the hardware store & get as flexible piece of lamp cord as you can find. The spring is strong but not super strong. A stiff cord will not pull back too easily. If you have to replace the plug try to find a right angle plug because it has to fit a CERTAIN way in the change-over slot. The two screws that hold the two halves of the housing together are smaller than 3/16". One is on top & the other one is on the bottom. I do not know where my XCELITE pocket nut drivers are right at this moment but will find later.The 3/16"= 6/32 & there was some play with the 3/16" so I'm guessing that the two small screws are 5/32". Look at the two screws & see if they are rusted & if so, DO NOT ATTEMPT to use a 3/36" as it will round off the corners. I hope this will help you out a lot(these are some pointers).If your T/O is in good shape you might benefit from a SCHIFFER BOOK on T/O's. There is a world of info. in this book. Now here is some more info. There are two of these books-a smaller version & a larger version. Mine is the smaller version. These books DO NOT have part # or circuitrys but they do have all of the T/O's plus a few others & a ZENITH history right from the beginning. They do have updates on parts interchangability also. Here is info. where to obtain this book----Schiffer publications, 77 Lower Valley Rd., Atglen, Pennsylvania. 19510. The books authors are John H. Bryant AIA & Harold N. Cones P.H.D. The ISBN no. is 0-88740-708-0 It's listed in the library under TK6564-P6879 & 621.384'18-dc20. Anybody that loves T/O's will like this book. There are a LOT of colored pictures (photos) of these sets FRONT & BACK as well as INTERIOR views. If you are lucky enough to get either book, check them both out. The newer book is an up-dated version of the older book & it has more pages.
::
:: I forgot to add the other day: something of extreme importance. When working/holding the chassis with your hands----KEEP YOUR FINGERS & HANDS AWAY FROM THE COIL TOWER AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.those minature coil forms have micro-small wires on them. If one breaks you are in heap big trouble! They are VERY HARD to solder because they are in a very tight area to work on. Also of some importance is the opposite end where the 50A1 voltage regulator tube is located. You might have trouble finding one considering how old those sets are. Grip the chassis by the chassis as MUCH as possible. The chassis is a piece of sturdy metal. Nobody has broken a chassis by handling it. Best of luck to you on getting your cord replaced.
:
: