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Reviews For: Zenith Trans-Oceanic 1000/1000D and 3000

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Zenith Trans-Oceanic 1000/1000D and 3000
Reviews: 7MSRP: 275.00
Description:
First transistor Trans-Oceanic
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0074.7
VK2NZA Rating: 2020-08-28
Classic still giving great service after 55 years. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had been on the lookout for a TransOceanic transistor model for many years, having been allowed to use my fathers 3000 model purchased from a Military PX store in the 60's when living in Chevy Chase MD.
Cut to 2018 and a Hamfest on the Gold Coast ,Queensland Australia.
I spotted a familiar shape sitting in a carton behind various other pieces of amateur paraphenalia, I asked to see it and sure enough it was a Zenith Transoceanic 3000 model.
The seller said he believed it still worked and I passed over the handsome sum of $40.00 Australian for it and another box of bits!
Well the "bits" turned out to be the original sales brochure, manual encased in a plastic sleeve an early Zenith "how to use your short wave radio", an original Zenith AC/DC transformer rectifier in the export 240 VAC to 12 VDC voltage and .....the very rare as I understand original Zenith logo'd zippered Vinyl case for the rig.
Arriving back at my QTH I gave the radio a dustoff, then gave the vinyl case some "Amorall" cleaner , it looked as new, some spray on silicon soon had the zipper running smoothly. and the lo-oong antenna slipped nicely out to its full 58 inch extension.
Well its as i remembered , very warm full audio, excellent FM, MW not as sensitive as my Tecsum PL-600 but OK for local stations.
I have found the SW bandspresd reasonably accurate for an analog portable and regularly listen to Radio New Zealand's Pacific service on the 41 meter band with excellent reception.
I have found a good set of Alkaline D cells last more than a year in the radio, a tribute to old style (plug in ) transistors.
It sits now on my bedside table and is used daily to listen to Radio National (VK) morning news service and often at night before sleep RNZ, R Thailand, sadly no longer R Nederland or R Australia.
The quality of the rig is excellent and how many appliances today will still be operating after 55 years? ! I believe according to the purchase receipt it mine must be a 1964 model.
Of course a modern Tecsun PL-600 - 800 will out perform it signal wise however the classic quality and style not to mention the full rich sound of the TransOeanic is superior and it will outlast most other portables.
N4VNV Rating: 2012-04-02
OK but there are better Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased a new Zenith in 1965, it was good but not really setup to listen to SSB. So, in 1967 I purchased a new Braun Station T-1000 Receiver. 100% better AND had BFO for SSB. Kept it for 13 years, and very much wish I never sold it.
KA2AYR Rating: 2012-04-02
I love this thing! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
As a kid, my next door neighbor had a Trans-Oceanic. I got to mess with it when I went over to play with his kids. I was no stranger to shortwave, but got to tuning around on the Trans-Oceanic's longwave and picked up the TWEB on Newark-Elmira Radio. There is such thing?! It was magic. Fast forward to 1995. I picked up my very own at the Yonkers hamfest. I thought to myself the guy getting rid of it had no idea what he was giving up. I get it home, load the batteries and there it was - not only a superb receiver, but a transportable time machine! I pulled in all sorts of nondirectional beacons from hundreds of miles. This receiver also delivered the tragic news of Princess Di from abroad. It STILL works beautifully and looks beautiful as well.
N0CEK Rating: 2010-08-07
Classic Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had a 1966 TO 3000-1 which I bought overseas in the military. After a couple of years and not wanting to haul this heavy radio home I made the mistake of selling it to a friend. I regretted that move for a long time. I had a GE World Monitor waitng back home but that radio though being good didn't even come close to the Zenith.

I have bought many SWL radios since then, but always missed the Roll Royce of radio's! I was lamenting this to a good friend of mine one day and he said wait one moment went into his basement and brought out a 1964 TO 3000-1. I made an offer to buy it off of him, but no he insisted I take it as a gift! His father had left it to him and he wanted to make sure it would go to someone who would treasure it as much as his dad did! I was flabbergasted.

This darn radio still performs just as well as anything I have and maybe in some cases even better. It sounds a heck of a lot better on AM/FM that is for sure. I like it better than my Grundig S800, S750, and S350DL. It has the quitest background to signal ratio of any of those radio's. Of course it's anolog tunning with no memories etc.

The radio is made like a battleship, stainless steel chassis, hand wired with plug in components. I am lucky enough to have the orginal power supply with it and it all works pretty good to this day.

If you like old vintage radio's get one of these, you can still get them fixed with new parts for a fair price. Replacement germain tranistors are still made in Russia that work in this radio. You wont be sorry and it is one of the best looking radio ever made.
SLIDERULEX Rating: 2006-03-11
The American Classic Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a lot of high quality worldband radios such as the Sony 2010, Panasonic RF-2200, and the upstart Degen DE1103. These three perform exceptionally well on shortwave. These are my top three radios in terms of pulling in shortwave signals. I have lots of other worldband radios that do a fine job, too, but these three I consider my best.

But the newest addition to my collection is the Zenith 1000D, and it performs as well as my top three on shortwave! It's ease of use and high sensitivity on shortwave with accurate tuning dial coupled with exceptional battery life (over 300 hours on 9 D-size carbon-zinc per technical specs, so who knows how many hours on alkalines!) makes the Zenith 1000D one of my best shortwave performers. It doesn't have SSB, but I knew that when I won it on ebay for $60.00.

With batteries, this baby weighs a ton, so though it is techically portable, it probably is better suited on a desktop. I like the 60's look and feel of this beauty. And its range of frequencies goes from 530 - 1610 KHz on broadcast band (MW) and 2 - 21 MHz on shortwave with skipping some frequencies in the shortwave bands. But shortwave coverage is pretty good and almost all the stations I like to listen to I can do so easily. Especially on shortwave, the Zenith picks outta the air even very faint signals some of my other worldband radios can't hear.

This is a radio that should be in every worldband lover's collection. It performs very well on MW and SW (though no SSB) and lasts forever on batteries. You won't be disappointed.
KC7JBB Rating: 2005-11-03
Great looks and still works Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Considering how old these radios are they are amazing. They function well and still can hold their own with there more modern counterparts.
I just finished writing a review for my T-7000 and I will say ditto for my T-1000. Even lacking the fm band and some other attributes this radio is better looking to me than my 7000. I love the grill mesh on this radio it's a work of art.
The only other radio I have in my collection that equals the TO's in sound quality and reception is the Grundig Ocean boy 200 or 210 (I dont remember) but it is rather stark and boring in outward appearence like most european styles of the time. I will take the metal finsish and gold styling accents on the TO over the cream colored plastic of the Grundig anyday. These rados had Style.
W8GTX Rating: 2005-08-17
A piece of American history Time Owned: more than 12 months.
With out any doubt this is an American classic! The 3000 is the same as the 1000/1000D before it with the addition of the FM broadcast band. When properly aligned they are high end performers as far as portable receivers go. No there not the most selective and they lack a built in BFO (some folks add their own or use a Zenith add on kit) but for the era they come from they're top notch! The sound quality from these radios is also nice. As far as the solid state T/Os go, the 1000/3000 series are the best looking in my book.

I own several and things to watch out for are cracked handle which also happens to be the whip antenna housing (Zenith calls it a "wave rod"), battery leakage that has corroded the chassis (slight leakage from past batteries isn't uncommon, don't let that worry you) and of course bubbling finish of the exterior metal parts. This sadly is common on the 1000/3000 series radios.

If you find one in good to excellent condition that is complete, buy it. Once aligned and tuned properly, you wont be disappointed by this great American icon.