Zenith C845

This 8-tube, post-war AM/FM radio from the mid-1950s is not particularly sought after as a collectible. But with its excellent circuit and reasonably large oval speaker, it’s a fine player with a nice, warm tone typical of tube-type sets. It makes for a nice, functional table model with a styling and size that can fit in modern homes.

The front is ivory plastic, but the rest of the cabinet is wood, adding to the smooth sound reproduction. This particular set is complete with its original fiberboard back. Many pre-war radios did not originally come with backs. Most post-war and earlier radios that originally had backs are now missing their backs. The presence of an original back is nice, but if missing usually isn’t considered a serious flaw by collectors.

There are a number of similar Zeniths that often show up on eBay or radio swap-meets. The chassis numbers to look for include 8C01 and 8C02. (Radio manufacturers often built several different model numbers and cabinets, but using the same electronics and chassis number.)

This radio has a phono jack on the rear. Of course, the set is monaural not stereo. It uses miniature tubes, typical of the ‘50s and later.

From the front, you will notice the bandswitch which includes automatic frequency control (AFC) for FM. This is not to be confused with automatic volume control (AVC), which was de rigueur for almost all radios from the mid-1930s on. (AVC automatically adjusts the grid bias of the RF tube to reduce the gain for strong signals.)

© 2005 Doug Criner