Looking for a unique BSR turntable

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Cybrvanr

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I don't know if any of you all remember seeing one of these before, but I had one as a kid, and stupidly sold it at a yard sale. It came out in the late 70's or so

Anyways, here's the description. This was a portable record player I had that was particularly heavy, but a lot of fun. It was the size of a large suitcase and colored gray. The record player would run off of 8 D cell batteries, or you could plug it in. When you wanted to play it, you set it down vertically on a flat surface, and folded down the middle section horizontally that contained the turntable....sort of like Jason's Magnavox... Two vertical 4 inch wide X 10 inch tall column speakers stayed upright with the rear of the case. Along the top edge of the upright portion, it had Volume, Bass, Treble, and Balance.

I remember it having a black 4-speed BSR changer in it, and Emerson electronics for the audio section. There was a sticker on the front that said "BSR Precision turntable / Audio by Emerson".It was quite a nice turntable for a young kid to have. I think someone gave it to Dad and he let my sister and I use it. As a teenager, I remember carrying it up the street and cranking it up in front of a friend's house with a huge stack of records on it while we hung out in his yard. It would play particularly loud, and I'm quite suprised the neighbors didn't complain!
 
GE WILD CAT

Sounds like a GE Wild Cat portable.

Emerson had them under their name too, as did a few others. The example of this type of player currently in my collection is called a Concert Hall.

They are very loud. That's true.

I don't ever remember seeing a battery powered one though, so maybe I'm thinking of a different model.

Growing up in the early mid 70's I remember my Grandmother had one which was the GE version and it was a wild cat.

B
 
You might try eBay if you are looking for one. Search for something like “portable stereo record player” and see what comes up. Flip-down portable stereos were made by many different brands in the ’60s and early ’70s. Many had BSR changers, whereas others had VMs, and Magnavox mainly used Collaro changers. I am not familiar with an Emerson that ran on batteries, but, as an alternative, if you could score a GE Trimline 500 (which had its own changer design) in good condition, that would be a very nice set to have.

Also, don’t rule out local yard sales and thrift stores. You never know what you can find.
 
You don't see too many battery powered phonographs with record changers. A friend of mine found this Panasonic that runs on "D" cells. Looks like a BSR mini-changer, I think. I plan to try to restore it. I can't wait to find out what kind of crummy brush motor powers the turntable.

Ken

6-25-2007-17-46-11--kenwashesmonday.jpg
 
One of my aunts had a Magnavox (I think) turntable/radio that'd run on batteries. It always intrigued me, having an integrated 45 RPM adapter that also triggered speed change (33-1/3 RPM when an LP depressed it, 45 RPM when it collared a 7"er).
 
Doing a google search on "GE wildcat" turned up a very similar looking turntable on E-Bay. The audio controls on the one pictured are beside the turntable. On the one I had, the controls were running along the top edge where the General Electric and wildcat logos are on the chrome strip. The speaker covers on mine were a metal mesh. The turntable assembly looks almost identical except I remember mine being black like the one on Ken's Panasonic. I bet there's some family resembelance going on here between the Wildcat and my Emerson. The batteries were installed in the bottom rear of the cabinet.

 
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I've seen, on eBay, Emerson phonographs that look like GE Wildcat phonographs. I don't see any listed right now. Looking at my Panasonic (above) we see that BSR made a battery powered version of their Mini-Changer, so it makes sense that Emerson made use of it. GE made their own changer so they're out of the loop here.

Ken
 
Magnavox Micromatic

Hi Jason, I've seen your videos of your Magnavox on YouTube. I collect Magnavox products from the '50s, '60s, and the first half of the '70s. Got a chance to get my dream portable on eBay. It's like yours without the radio. I have a walnut tabletop set like yours. Those BSR changers are great, if they play the right speed! Magnavox used Collaro (Micromatic), Balfour (400 automatic) and a BSR mini changer for small systems, in the '60s and part of '70s.

6-28-2007-16-15-30--63getelevision.jpg
 
Been there, done that

Paulg, I too, have visited The Voice of Music site because some of my treasured Magnavoxes in the'50s have the factory issue Mag badged VM changers. VM as you know was the supplier for many makes changers. My Micro-Touch Zeniths, my Tonal1 General Electric, my Stromberg-Carlson, Motorolas, many other once familiar brands. My favorite VM is the early '60s model in my Zeniths and my G.E.
 

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