Zenith's 1938/39 Black Dial Stars and Bars Tombstone Short-Wave Radio Model 6S330, restored to original condition, (Automatic Tuning is working), with Original Faux-Burl Wood Nydoc Photo-Finish

In a Nutshell
Even with wrong finish, knobs, speaker, speaker cloth and missing parts, hundreds of dollars have been paid for this radio - here it is with everything ok

Introduction:
Zenith offered their 1938 six-tube chassis tombstone radio, Model 6S229 for the price of 39.95$, a one week's average salary, or 5% of a car or 70 gallons of milk. The unique feature of this radio (in fact Zenith models 6J230, 7D229 and 5X230 [see pict.36 for Zenith model numbers] as well as Philco models 37-600, 37-602 and 37-61 used a similar finish) was a decal-like photo-finish, sometimes called Nydoc, which resembled an expensive exotic burl wood veneer. The price was kept the same for the 1939 follow-up model 6S330, although it was a very much improved version, having now an integrated push-button operated electronic selector for 5 preprogrammed stations, embedded in an embossed "Stars and Bars" brass escutcheon. Cones, Bryant and Blankinship in their famous book "Zenith: The Glory Years, 1936-1945" call it a two-tone bronze finish, where the raised stars and bars were highly polished and the recessed areas exhibit a darker bronze matte patina.
The radios with their photo-finish not having been destroyed by now, must have been stored in a clean, humidity and temperature controlled environment, a granny's living room for example, the famous attic would have been the death row. Many sets have been "restored" by stripping and sanding the remaining flaking Nydoc away down to the underlying (still quite nice looking though) regular wood veneer. My radio has the original factory faux burl Nydoc finish in almost mint condition.

Additional information:
   ref. 1.    http://www.nostalgiaair.org/
   ref. 2.    http://www.radioblvd.com/ZenithPhoto.htm

About my radio:
The radio is in almost mint condition, "almost" because of a couple of small spots where the photo-finish has been touched up. The filter capacitors have been replaced (pict.26) and the chronically burnt dial light diffusers replaced (pict.27). In many long hours of work the delicate push-button preset station mechanics and electronics were restored, including dedusting and reconnecting the many fine wires of the 5 trimcoil pairs, cleaning the contacts, dis- and re-assembling each coil to make it easy-going, adjusting the key springs etc. (picts.28-30). The 4 knobs not only are original wooden Zenith "Z lightening bolt" knobs, but have the correct size (1 1/8", not 1 3/8"!) and each one has its correct and distinct shape.
The reception is excellent on all 3 bands (yes, even SW stations could be tuned in without problem thanks to the enormous sensitivity of Zenith's "split-second" pointer technology, which splits the full tuning range into 1080 parts (18 full turns of both, the tuning knob and the red split-second pointer). A long wire is needed at the antenna connector. Presetting stations can be done by hand (without screw driver), since the 5 screws (picts. 28,30) turn freely and are accessible from the back without risking to touch any high voltages. The radio does not hum and has a warm (tone-controlled) bass response due to the large 6" speaker and the solid wood construction of the cabinet. All moveable parts were treated with contact spray (especially the push-button contacts). Please e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.

Here are the specifications:

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