Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post:

Zenith Trans Oceanics Still Command Big Prices

by Dan Robinson

For many radio collectors and users, the Zenith Trans Oceanic R7000-2 is a must-have item in the collection. This was the final version of the Zenith Trans Oceanic line that stretched back for decades — production was shifted to Taiwan and tuning in this radio is accomplished with internal gears, with concentric knobs for main and fine tuning.

The R7000-2 has Longwave, AM, FM and importantly for fans of aircraft listening, the radio
has excellent VHF reception. The huge Zenith TO telescopic aerial is a real eye turner — it is
super tall and compares only to the SONY CRF-1 in length.

Some years ago, the used market saw a few NIB or LNIB Zenith R7000-2 every year or so.
That hasn’t been the case — at least it was not until just recently when a LNIB TO appeared from a California seller.

NIB or LNIB R7000-2 radios could often bring more than $1,000 and sometimes much higher —
even as high as $1500!

That did not stop bidding on this-2 R7000-2 from topping the $700 mark and reaching nearly
$800 in this auction.

This does not mean, however, that every R7000-2 will be out of reach but other R7000-2 radios on eBay at this time suffer from cosmetic issues of one kind or another (see photos) such as detached side vinyl and missing antennas.

Amazingly, as this is being written there is yet another R7000-2 on eBay, complete with original
box and papers, and the original purchase receipt. This one could well hit the $1,000 mark.

If you’re hunting for an excellent late production Zenith TO, this may very well be the time
to pull the trigger — but for one in 9.9 to 10.0 NIB condition you will pay a price!

Click here to check this Trans Oceanic R-7000-2 out on eBay.

Spread the radio love

Tuesday night, I attended a local radio club meeting with buddy Vlado (N3CZ).

Neither of us had ever attended this particular club, although we both knew a number of the members.

What was the first thing I spotted when I entered the meeting room? A pristine Zenith Model R-7000-2 Trans-Oceanic! Talk about a good omen!

Turns out there are no less than two Trans-Oceanic collectors in this group of about two dozen ham radio operators. The owner of this Model R-7000-2 told me that he has every Trans-Oceanic including the coveted Clipper and Bomber models.

I’m not sure I had ever seen the Model R-7000-2 in person. It’s a striking radio and the last in the line of the Trans-Oceanic sets–this model was produced in 1981.

Of course, I had to snap a few photos of this beauty.

Speaking of beauties, this Zenith enthusiast also brought his copy of the John H. Bryant and Harold N. Cones seminal volume: The Zenith Trans-Oceanic, the Royalty of Radios. (A book I highly recommend.) On one of the pages I rediscovered an image of my favorite 1930s/40s actress, Myrna Loy:

I first fell in love with Myrna Loy watching the classic film series: The Thin Man. I’m a massive fan of Loy/Powell films. Here’s the trailer from the first of the Thin Man series: