Boatanchor Pix _ Zenith H-500

Zenith Transoceanic H500 Receiver



While not strictly classified as boatanchors, the Zenith Transoceanics are some of my favorite old sets for short wave listening. The bands are push-button selected, cover primarily the international "world-band" broadcasters, and are laid out so that no bandspread is needed.

The ads for the radio in period National Geographic magazines always evoked for me a sense of traveling adventure. The sets are quite sensitive with just the built-in telescoping whip antenna if aligned and operating properly. The "wavemagnet" loop antenna (the gray plastic piece attached to the lid with two brass screws on this model) comes with a pair of suction cups and a separate length of red twin-lead antenna wire for attaching the wavemagnet to a window of an apartment building or railroad car (touring in the 1950s) for better AM Broadcast reception.

Tube complement on this model is 3V4, 1U5, two 1U4, and the expensive 1L6. Schematic and alignment information for the H500 can be found in Sams Photofact 152-12.


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