classiccaprice
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Attn: record nuts, My newest addition!
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fonografmaniac
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oops!
i meant to type 1961. i didn't realized i typed 1967. my mistake!
i meant to type 1961. i didn't realized i typed 1967. my mistake!
classiccaprice
Well-known member
ah! Now that makes more sense!
no big deal. I wonder if it was an early 62, with leftover 61 parts? (J1721 would be the 1961 version).... Philco went by letters of the alphabet starting in the mid 50s. Or were consoles like cars and the next years models come out in September?
no big deal. I wonder if it was an early 62, with leftover 61 parts? (J1721 would be the 1961 version).... Philco went by letters of the alphabet starting in the mid 50s. Or were consoles like cars and the next years models come out in September?
fonografmaniac
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some of my gear has components from the year before they were manufactured.
Hi Will
I'm not sure why your email to Ed Saunders was returned with an error. Its been about four or five years since I bought a replacement needle for my Garrard changer as well as a Grado red cartridge for my other TT from him. At that time he was great to do business with. Maybe there's something wrong with the email link on his site. Anyway I hope you're able to find a replacement needle source for the VM changer in your beautiful Philco console.
All the best.
Liam
I'm not sure why your email to Ed Saunders was returned with an error. Its been about four or five years since I bought a replacement needle for my Garrard changer as well as a Grado red cartridge for my other TT from him. At that time he was great to do business with. Maybe there's something wrong with the email link on his site. Anyway I hope you're able to find a replacement needle source for the VM changer in your beautiful Philco console.
All the best.
Liam
Brown drippy stuff in picture 2 = wax from that choke/transformer at the top of the pic. Probably got too hot and dripped, it may still be OK. For old parts, try Antique Electronic Supply:
http://www.tubesandmore.com
http://www.tubesandmore.com
classiccaprice
Well-known member
odd's and end's updates
Let's see:
-I contacted turntableneedles.com and they explained the price increase to my satisfaction. I probably will buy the cartridge for the Panasonic from them, after my tax refund comes in.
-I'm still pricing said needle. $30 (from Voice of Music site) is the only one I was able to find so far. Still no luck with ewsaunders.com.
-Radio Shack no longer carries Voice of Music needles, at least not the one that I need. One more vintage part becomes harder to find. Radio Shack has been taking things out of production a lot recently. I tried to get a four prong adapter for a couple rotary phones over the summer, they aren't there anymore either. Oh well. I'll keep you all posted.
Let's see:
-I contacted turntableneedles.com and they explained the price increase to my satisfaction. I probably will buy the cartridge for the Panasonic from them, after my tax refund comes in.
-I'm still pricing said needle. $30 (from Voice of Music site) is the only one I was able to find so far. Still no luck with ewsaunders.com.
-Radio Shack no longer carries Voice of Music needles, at least not the one that I need. One more vintage part becomes harder to find. Radio Shack has been taking things out of production a lot recently. I tried to get a four prong adapter for a couple rotary phones over the summer, they aren't there anymore either. Oh well. I'll keep you all posted.
fonografmaniac
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newest ebay score!
well my friendz, i got this 1977 garrard sp 25 mkv turntable off ebay. with some tinkering, itz finally working properly.
well my friendz, i got this 1977 garrard sp 25 mkv turntable off ebay. with some tinkering, itz finally working properly.
V-M needle
I would, at this point, replace the cartridge and needle. The rubber in the cartridge will have deteriorated and at $30, you probably are better off going all new there - especially because this stereo will really be played. I would, however spring for a new idler wheel if I were you - makes a big difference.
Thanks again for the neat pics.
I would, at this point, replace the cartridge and needle. The rubber in the cartridge will have deteriorated and at $30, you probably are better off going all new there - especially because this stereo will really be played. I would, however spring for a new idler wheel if I were you - makes a big difference.
Thanks again for the neat pics.
I have dealt with a company I believe is in NJ, but don't trust me on that. It is called Needle In A Haystack. This was a few years ago. They must have a website if they are still in business. They were most helpful with needles and cartridges. Had everything I needed to restore 2 of my consoles. Hope this helps.
Jon
Jon
classiccaprice
Well-known member
Nice Find Miguel....
Thanks for the imput Keven, I'm leaning toward that, however I do have one more place I need to look. There is an old electronics shop in the area that has been in buisness since the 40s. It's half an hour out of my way and I'd have to make a special trip. I bought some needles for my ~1960 Magnovox Portable and 68 RCA stereo there about 2 years ago. I am not 100% sure they are still in buisness. I thought I'd check there. They still sell them fairly cheap too, because they've had them so long.
Jon, I've heard about Needle in a Haystack, but I couldn't find them online. If you find a site, let me know!
Thanks for the imput Keven, I'm leaning toward that, however I do have one more place I need to look. There is an old electronics shop in the area that has been in buisness since the 40s. It's half an hour out of my way and I'd have to make a special trip. I bought some needles for my ~1960 Magnovox Portable and 68 RCA stereo there about 2 years ago. I am not 100% sure they are still in buisness. I thought I'd check there. They still sell them fairly cheap too, because they've had them so long.
Jon, I've heard about Needle in a Haystack, but I couldn't find them online. If you find a site, let me know!
Have you looked here?
Not sure if they have what you need. But they are very nice people and might be able to find the right one for you.
http://www.garage-a-records.com/
Not sure if they have what you need. But they are very nice people and might be able to find the right one for you.
http://www.garage-a-records.com/
Other possible sources
You might also check with Garage-A-Records, KABUSA, Needle Doctor, and LPGear. All have Internet sites. They might not have a cartridge but might have a stylus. The cartridge in your unit is probably an Astatic ceramic cartridge--just guessing from the player and the era.
Good luck.
You might also check with Garage-A-Records, KABUSA, Needle Doctor, and LPGear. All have Internet sites. They might not have a cartridge but might have a stylus. The cartridge in your unit is probably an Astatic ceramic cartridge--just guessing from the player and the era.
Good luck.
Oh and for the broke speaker. You can look at the link or search for Speaker Reconing. This is done all the time in jukeboxes.
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/16reconing.htm
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/16reconing.htm
One of these should do it
Properly cleaned and lubed, your unit can track without problems between 3 and 7 grams. This means you should go with the cartridge these people recommend, not necessarily the exact same one in your V-M right now - V-M was keeping up with advances in technology in that era and your exact same model could very easily have had a much better sounding (and easier on your records) cartridge built into it. You aren't violating purity or any such thing by upgrading here - my grandparent's 1959 VM console was updated twice over it's very long life (the second time from me to a magnetic cartridge specifically built for V-M changers. That, of course, would be a step too far. Shure was wonderfully creative in those days and enormously helpful to little kids who wrote them. Today, you're lucky to get someone on the phone who speaks English...)
Given the relatively long life of diamond styli and the shrinking inventories, best buy an extra stylus while you're at it...you never know.
That speaker problem, if you will forgive me, I have a slightly different opinion to many here.
Your unit used a very common approach (used nearly universally in 5.1 surround sound). There is only one woofer, each channel has its own mid-range and tweeter. Perfectly solid physics because our ears can't locate the lowest frequencies' points of origin.
This means the costs of replacing the mid-range and tweeters is considerably less than if two woofers were involved. I strongly urge you to re-new the crossovers (I think you are looking at three capacitors in total here) and replace all four of these speaker with sold technology from today. The vacuum tube amp in this unit is probably being made and solid in more or less the same configuration for thousands of dollars as "audiophile". But speakers of that era can't touch what was available even at the end of the 1960's, much less today.
(Magnavox is a big exception here and their speakers' weaknesses and strengths were part of the entire system.)
http://www.garage-a-records.com/categories.php?cat=97
Properly cleaned and lubed, your unit can track without problems between 3 and 7 grams. This means you should go with the cartridge these people recommend, not necessarily the exact same one in your V-M right now - V-M was keeping up with advances in technology in that era and your exact same model could very easily have had a much better sounding (and easier on your records) cartridge built into it. You aren't violating purity or any such thing by upgrading here - my grandparent's 1959 VM console was updated twice over it's very long life (the second time from me to a magnetic cartridge specifically built for V-M changers. That, of course, would be a step too far. Shure was wonderfully creative in those days and enormously helpful to little kids who wrote them. Today, you're lucky to get someone on the phone who speaks English...)
Given the relatively long life of diamond styli and the shrinking inventories, best buy an extra stylus while you're at it...you never know.
That speaker problem, if you will forgive me, I have a slightly different opinion to many here.
Your unit used a very common approach (used nearly universally in 5.1 surround sound). There is only one woofer, each channel has its own mid-range and tweeter. Perfectly solid physics because our ears can't locate the lowest frequencies' points of origin.
This means the costs of replacing the mid-range and tweeters is considerably less than if two woofers were involved. I strongly urge you to re-new the crossovers (I think you are looking at three capacitors in total here) and replace all four of these speaker with sold technology from today. The vacuum tube amp in this unit is probably being made and solid in more or less the same configuration for thousands of dollars as "audiophile". But speakers of that era can't touch what was available even at the end of the 1960's, much less today.
(Magnavox is a big exception here and their speakers' weaknesses and strengths were part of the entire system.)
http://www.garage-a-records.com/categories.php?cat=97
classiccaprice
Well-known member
Update
I went to the old 'hometown' electronics shop, the one that still has, or at least used to have, in stock record player needles and vacuum tubes (that they still sold at 60's style prices). They were still in buisness, but bought out by another store, which decided to clear out their dead stock... it was all gone. I was so disappointed. I contacted the dealer that bought their old stock. Kind of a junk dealer, he seemed disorganized and said he'd look aroud and see if he had any left. I haven't heard from him yet.
I've kept looking online, but needles and cartridges prove to be more expensive than I expected. I am still pricing, but it's on hold until that economic stimulus package heads my way...
I went to the old 'hometown' electronics shop, the one that still has, or at least used to have, in stock record player needles and vacuum tubes (that they still sold at 60's style prices). They were still in buisness, but bought out by another store, which decided to clear out their dead stock... it was all gone. I was so disappointed. I contacted the dealer that bought their old stock. Kind of a junk dealer, he seemed disorganized and said he'd look aroud and see if he had any left. I haven't heard from him yet.
I've kept looking online, but needles and cartridges prove to be more expensive than I expected. I am still pricing, but it's on hold until that economic stimulus package heads my way...
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