I've got a Philco branded turntable,cd and cassette all in one in the shop built like this. I'm regretting taking this thing in. I had no idea it was gonna be this piece of crap when the guy called the tv shop and said "Do you fix phonographs?" I was hoping it was gonna be something from the 50s or 60s.

The cd player drawer was giving him trouble. To take this piece of crap apart you remove the bottom panel. The back doesn't come off at all. Then there is a board right in the middle holding the cd player.Had to remove the escutchion and control panel screws and slide out as far as it would go with a right angle amp,function board in tow.It's hardwired to the cassette deck and seperately mounted so you can' slide it all the way out. To gain access to a couple of the cd player section connectors to unplug them you have to remove the plasic turntable. The cd player is held in with screws and you have to finagle it out the larger hole on the side of the center board.

The grease they used has turned to a honey like consistency so I had to degrease it and relube it. The belt was slipping before and covered with that grease which had migrated to it. These cheap players are extremely finicky about the belt. I use a slightly thicker belt only a tiny bit smaller than the original and the piece of crap doesn't have enough motor torque to close and load the cd without help.Thinking of trying the original degreased belt with the new lube to see if that works after disassembling it for the 3rd time.:rant:

This guy says he plays a lot of records. Poor records.:sigh:

Just today I was playing some Beatles records on my KLH30 I paid all of $2 for at an auction and a pair of Technics 10" woofer 3 ways($5 at a yard sale) at the shop while I was working on this "thing" and thinking if that guy heard that playing next to his his he would be shocked.

KLH used a cheap version Garrard changer in their units but it's worlds better quality than that Philco.

You guys decry the Chinese made junk but the Americans are no slouches when it comes to manufacturing crap. Sometimes I think they only do it to prove they can make it for almost nothing.

In the 50s and 60s you could buy a piece of furniture called a stereo that had the lousiest electronics they could put in. Very unserviceable with sloppy wires connecting various chassis units. Packard Bell, Magnavox, many others. The audio fans avoided those things and opted for separates with plugs and jacks and power transformers and sealed speakers and magnetic cartridges.

Probably the worst were units like Morse Electrophonic and Lloyds and a few other brands that are best forgotten. Mostly Japanese assembled because they worked cheaper than Americans could.

Money rules. It's the bottom line on everything sold.

Now, try to repair that stuff. Even if repair were straightforward, the cost of parts is ridiculous. You can buy another unit for the cost of two or three parts. I have had to toss coffee pots in the trash because the replacement carafe cost more than a new one. Look at the price of a replacement bowl for a Mixmaster.

But the answer is simple. Just blame the repair man for gouging.

Hmmm...never had quality problems with Magnavox and PB stereos...

I agree with what you say about Morse/Electrophonic and Lloyds. However, even those pieces of junk are better than a modern Crosley. Actually, my first real stereo was an Electrophonic "all-in-one" 8-track/radio/BSR record changer combo with the matching "air suspension" speakers. I paid $2 for it at a church rummage sale and it sounded much better than the tinny sounding late '60's Westinghouse record player that I had been using. It had a round, green backlit dial and the BSR changer was one of those with a plastic platter and a tetrad ceramic cartridge.

The only '50's/'60's tube console stereo and hi-fi units that really irritate me are the ones that use a hot chassis with a 50C5 based output stage. Often, these are in larger cabinets that would make one think that there would be a power transformer driven chassis inside.

I've got a small Packard-Bell tube console from the early '60's that I want to fix. It's nothing special; but, PB stereo's never show up around here. This one has a single "tone" control, instead of seperate bass and treble controls. However, the amp uses a power transformer and I think it uses a 6BM8 output tube for each channel. The record changer is a typical VM built unit with a ceramic cartridge.

I've got a wonderful Pilot "Portable " hi-fi. Large, and, weighs a ton!
Power transformer driving two 6V6 tubes, 2 12AX7 and, a 5Y3 rectifier...
It has bass, treble, selector, RIAA , etc... You can plug a radio into it.
Has a Garard 4 spd. changer with a GE VR cartridge.
Bill Cahill

I'll bet that Pilot sounds amazing.

The only bad news with it is even though the speakes have been proffessionally rebuilt, on the deepest notes, the woofer likes to honk.
External speakers, which you can connect to it, don't honk.
The sound is FANTASTICK!
Deep, resonant bass, and, great high frequencies.
Great scratch filter in this set.
According to sams, it puts out 15 watts of audio.
I consider this to be among the best in portable hi-fi sets.
Bill Cahill

There's ALWAYS been "Bottom Dwellers", its just a shame the "Big Boys" finally succumbed to it. And it ultimately DIDN'T save them. Too bad they didn't have the attitude of Atwater-Kent, just shut down while they were on top, rather than spew out crap.

I restored one of those for a customer. PT-105 I think is the model number. It was an amazing sounding piece for its size. I think the only thing the owner didn't have was the legs to have it be a floor standing piece.

Come on.Magnavox ain't that bad. I've got one of those big cabinets you describe and a so called "portable" suitcase Magnavox phono from the 60s and they're lots better than this crap.

Granted they weren't state of the art but at least the masses got a lots better unit than this when they went for a combo or portable.The bass and sound output of either of my Magnavoxes put this thing to shame.

As I suspected after I fixed the cd player when i tried the phono it sounded like crap. I had to put the same record on the KLH to recover from listening to that. My Mickey Mouse kiddie phono sounds better.

I'm glad I stripped it. It's toast. Interesting. The mannufacture date was Aug., 2005. Shows the quality of this carp....
I love Magnavox. My 1946 Maggy is only a 30 watt, no seperate chassis. But, it performs very well, with deep, resonnent bass.
But, the Pilot, "OH, you kid!".
My pilot is portable. Yeh, sure, right! It weighs a ton!
Black case. Leather carry handle.
Plastic grill in front.
To keep the woofer magnet from interfering, they placed an aluminum tube shield over one of the 6V6 tubes, which is right next to the speaker.
Alot of caps in this set.
When I find the pictures, I'll post the restoration of it for you.
Bill Cahill

Yeah.My Maggie suitcase w/detachable speakers is supposed to be portable. It's portable alright. Heavy as lead and it has a nice sound to it and good bass response. No tubes though,all solid state since it's from the mid 60s.

I'd love to see the pictures of your Pilot restoration. My Maggie suitcase basically worked as is and havent done a thing except replace the needle.I had to clean out all the old grease and relube my 1960 console Imperial changer but this Micromatic from the mid 60s just worked.No idler slippage, no problems with the change cycle.I haven't used it for a while and it's in the closet but I bet if I dug it out it would still work fine.

Phooey! They aren't in this computer. I'll have to look for them in old one.
Sorry. I'll get them as soon as I can.
Bill Cahill

stack o matic
 

There is a video on youtube of a stack o matic . The guy threw out the changer it came with and put a vintage 70's BSR changer in it. witch he says works much better. To my ears the vintage portables sound so much better. Ill take my magnavox and audiotronics players anyday over crosley.

I looked at Photobucket, and, found some of my early pictures of restoration of my Pilot. Here they are.....
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...othi-fi005.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...othi-fi001.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...othi-fi002.jpg
When I get a chance, I'll take updated pictures of it now. It's complete, and, playing.
I'm not happy with the spkr. system, though.
It will take external speakers.
Bill Cahill