ZONDA Modelo Cristal, 70´s, HECHO EN MÉXICO (Made in México) by GRUPO ZONDA, Electrónica Zonda, S.A., Guadalajara, Jal.
I have seen few receivers that have the cabinet made of semitransparent acrylic, this is one of them. Also they exist in yellow, but unfortunately were hard used so it is difficult to find in good condition. This item was no exception, it was falling apart when I bought it, as well as missing the speaker, it had corrosion in the battery holder and the circuit did not work. Because all cabinet parts were in good condition I decided to take the challenge to restore it and this is the result.
The cabinet is composed of five pieces of acrylic with grooves at the ends to fit and glue. The rear cover had broken the pressure lock with which it fits in place, so I had to make a new one. The front face of the cabinet is a single piece of clear acrylic that has stickers pasted on the reverse side (numbers, logos and lines) and the slots for the speaker. Once I restored the cabinet I had to paste it again.
The chassis was manufactured by Lombrozo Electrónica, S.A., and has seven transistors: four silicon [BF494B (Osc.), BF495C (F.I.), BF255D (F.I.) and BC238B (Audio Preamp)] and three germanium [(2) AC128 and (1) AC127] for the transformer-free audio output stage; powered by four 1.5V "C" size batteries. Finding the fault of the AM circuit was relatively simple, however getting the spare germanium transistor AC127 and the proper speaker, because it had to fit perfectly in the designated space, was something difficult but I finally got them and now it is working perfectly well.
ZONDA Modelo Cristal, 70´s, HECHO EN MÉXICO (Made in México) by GRUPO ZONDA, Electrónica Zonda, S.A., Guadalajara, Jal.
I have seen few receivers that have the cabinet made of semitransparent acrylic, this is one of them. Also they exist in yellow, but unfortunately were hard used so it is difficult to find in good condition. This item was no exception, it was falling apart when I bought it, as well as missing the speaker, it had corrosion in the battery holder and the circuit did not work. Because all cabinet parts were in good condition I decided to take the challenge to restore it and this is the result.
The cabinet is composed of five pieces of acrylic with grooves at the ends to fit and glue. The rear cover had broken the pressure lock with which it fits in place, so I had to make a new one. The front face of the cabinet is a single piece of clear acrylic that has stickers pasted on the reverse side (numbers, logos and lines) and the slots for the speaker. Once I restored the cabinet I had to paste it again.
The chassis was manufactured by Lombrozo Electrónica, S.A., and has seven transistors: four silicon [BF494B (Osc.), BF495C (F.I.), BF255D (F.I.) and BC238B (Audio Preamp)] and three germanium [(2) AC128 and (1) AC127] for the transformer-free audio output stage; powered by four 1.5V "C" size batteries. Finding the fault of the AM circuit was relatively simple, however getting the spare germanium transistor AC127 and the proper speaker, because it had to fit perfectly in the designated space, was something difficult but I finally got them and now it is working perfectly well.