Saunders Co.

New project underway! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I’m more active on instagram . Picked this up for free in Atlanta from a warehouse. 1956 Magnovox television. I’m currently making a cinematic restoration of this beauty with my ZCam E2F6 camera. I hope to have it done in a couple of months. Stay tuned!

Making a video on the 1948 Pilot TV-37. I have both a 3KP4 picture tube and 3KP1 oscilloscope tube. A replacement 3KP4 picture tube is impossible to find today so many collectors substitute the more accessible 3KP1 tube. The only difference is it has a green phosphor instead of white. Very cool look but some contrast is lost when watching on it. Stay tuned for the video!

1938 Zenith 12S265 Radio tuneup for a client! I replaced the grill cloth with a new reproduction, put in new tuning belts for the motor and tuner, and added an AUX input so he can switch between the radio or his iPhone for music! Really love this model and love these are still circulating out there.

Picked up one of my Holy Grail sets today! A 1958 Philco Predicta Tandem! The picture tube has a 25’ cable that connects to the cabinet. The idea was you could put the picture tube across the room, and have the cabinet next to the sofa so you didn’t have to get up to change the channel. The set works, except the video signal isn’t currently coming through. The set was professionally restored in 2000 and has a new picture tube. I’m curious as to what tube they ended up using. Stay tuned!

My Philco Predicta Miss America is complete. It’s a wonderful television I’m so happy to have worked on. I need to sell more of my radios to make room for this beast! I will be uploading a video soon to YouTube of my complete restoration so keep a lookout!

Very great update for the Philco Miss America! Replaced all the caps and resistors and weak tubes. I don’t usually replace the resistors but they seem to always drift in Philco sets. Next is to tackle the cabinet damage. Can’t wait to see how this set ultimately looks!

Working on my Philco Predicta Pedestal tonight! I restored it about a year ago but I still needed to fine tune it and polish the front plastic cover. Excited to show updates as the process goes forward!

I brought my 1948 Pilot TV-37 television home from the office. This television is highly sought after by collectors. Mine is completely restored and works beautifully. This was the first television that was sold for under $100 for consumers that couldn’t afford other televisions at the time. It uses a 3” picture tube, 3KP4. This tube is exceptionally rare because it was easy for the filament to burn out on power-up due to the inrush of current. Collectors now either put in thermistors to the line voltage or hookup the picture tube to a separate transformer. Beautiful television and a very cool story to go along with it!

I knew about Thomas reproduction radios but not Thomas reproduction televisions! These were made in the 90s with a B&W picture tube. It works perfectly as is! Really cool television even though it’s far passed the vacuum tube era!

Working late with Kodie. Still working on the sync circuit with the Admiral. Can’t wait for this project to be done cause I have more in the works!

Picked up a 1959 Admiral briefcase television set from an estate sale. This cabinet is super dirty and was found in the unfinished basement. The picture tube tests a bit weak but will still produce an image. I’m currently restoring the chassis, waiting on some 1KV caps to come in. Excited to show the end result! I’m making a video on the restoration process as well so stay tuned for that!

Got around to working again on my 1950 Philco 50-T1403. I mixed up some grounds on the electrolytics so I’m correcting my mistakes to hopefully get high voltage. I’m recording my process so I’ll have a video on my YouTube eventually! Stay tuned!

Took my 1949 Westinghouse out of storage to do more troubleshooting on it. I replaced the resistors in the high voltage section and adjusted the horizontal oscillator. Picture is locked in nicely even with a low emission 10BP4. I love this television. I couldn’t imagine parting with it.

Got a restored 1930 Majestic Model 30 radio at an antique store today! It was a great price for a restored set. Very unique design for a tabletop set. I replaced the power cable and it plays beautifully! For being 92 years old, that’s truly remarkable.

Updated workspace! Wish I could have included the Zenith 12S265 in the photo. Lot more restored sets in storage. I want to make a video of all of my restored sets together once I get a house.

Finished restoring the Zenith 8S154. It’s a great performer! Still trying to get better with cabinet restoration so every project helps!

After replacing the volume pot and audio output transformer on the 1937 Zenith 8S154, we have life! The audio sounds great. Zenith and RCA Victor were really at the peak of sound quality in their radios in the 1930s. This is a gorgeous set and can’t wait to show a before and after of the cabinet. Hopefully going to tackle that beast this weekend. Stay tuned!

Picked up a Zenith 8S154 and I’m very excited to restore this beauty. I will be restoring it electronically and restoring the cabinet completely. This set will eventually go up for sale restored on my page so stay tuned!

My 1957 RCA set is going to its new home tomorrow. I love the look of this set but need to downsize my collection. I hope to post another television for sale soon. Possibly a 1950 Philco 50-T-1403. Stay tuned!

Finally got a storage unit for all of my projects and now I can proudly display all of my beautiful restored sets.

No words, it’s just a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Zenith had their designs down. The resto is complete. Love everything about this model.

Currently refinishing the cabinet for my Zenith 12S265 radio. Really excited to put it all back together. Exact replacement grill cloth came in the mail too so this will soon look brand new.

Finished restoring my 1949 General Electric Locomotive set! The image is really clear and sharp. This was definitely a low hour set. Going to be using this set more often than my others.

Picked up a Thomas reproduction of the 1935 Sparton Peachbird radio. I rarely buy radio reproductions but the Sparton series repros are just beautiful and much cheaper than finding an original Sparton. It works and sounds great!

Went to my first radio swap meet today! Planned by the Southeastern Antique Radio Society. I brought a few sets that I was looking to get rid of because of storage reasons. Sold my Zenith Transoceanic H500, Hallicrafters S20R, and a 1923 FADA 167-A set. Met a bunch of great collectors and finally got to have conversations about this great hobby. Can’t wait for my next meet!

Got the 1938 Zenith 12S265 working great! I do think this is my best sounding set so far. It’s magnificent. Next is to refinish the cabinet to make it shine like it did back in the 1930s. Stay tuned!

Just won a 1960s Marlboro transistor radio on eBay. This design is so cool to me. Can’t wait to see it in person!

1949 Motorola VT-73. I’ve had this set for about a year and finally got around to working on it. Replaced all the caps except for the 6000V ones in the horizontal and vertical sweep sections. This has its front cover that completes the set to look like a big briefcase. This was a portable television similar to the VT-71. I personally like the VT-71 wooden cabinet more. Waiting to find an empty cabinet to switch the chassis out. Stay tuned to seeing a nice bright picture on this cool set!