Zenith Model 7-D-138, 1937. The large tombstone cabinet features seven tubes, multi-band tuning, an 8-inch electro-dynamic speaker, and voice-music-high fidelity control.

Dial Face 1937 Features Model Number Chassis (No. 5707) Click for Tech Info Schematic (About 1MB in Size) Close-up of Grille Cloth

History of This Radio - My Grandfather purchased this radio new shortly before he was married. I was told that the price was equivalent to about a month's pay at the time (1937). It has occupied the same prominent location in the family's farmhouse from that time, through my dad's upbringing, through my childhood, until about a few years after Grandpa passed away in 1982.

Grandma knew that I had always loved the radio and I was about the only kid that grandpa let "fiddle with it." I was so excited when she gave it to me and my uncle brought it down from Oregon to my house in California. I cleaned out the dust, replaced the frayed power cord, replaced one tube that I broke during the cleaning process, and it powered up and worked alright.

There are presently loud pops while switching bands and fidelity settings and after it warms up a bit, I loose sound. I plan on replacing capacitors sometime in the future and doing some minor restoration work in the near future.

Epilogue - In 1988, Grandma puts the farm up for sale and I bought it. The radio is back in the living room of the farmhouse, on the same table that it always had lived prior to its brief vacation in California. Although I took responsibility over the care of the Zenith after the Golden Age of Radio was long past, I did have the opportunity to listen to rebroadcasts of the classics. Click here to learn about a project I am working on to make this a reality again.