SANYO tube console! - Videokarma.org TV - Video

maxhifi · #1 11-03-2012, 01:03 AM

Had to pick this up when I found it, even though I wasn't in the market for a console anything, it's just too unusual to pass up on!

It would play for about 2 minutes, then cut out in one channel - a new 50EH5 took care of that. Tubes are mixed Japanese brands, and all looked original.

Had to service turntable, it seems to work well now, but need a stylus. Turntable is a BSR UA25, with a SX1M ceramic cartridge.

maxhifi · #2 11-03-2012, 01:07 AM

more photos - pretty easy to see which tube I changed!

jr_tech · #3 11-03-2012, 01:49 AM

Wow! that is really cool and unusual... I had no idea that Sanyo went back that far. Does the FM tune the full US band or the lower Japanese band?

jr

maxhifi · #4 11-03-2012, 02:00 AM

Full US band - though I am in Canada, I am pretty sure this has always been in Canada, it's rated for 120V 60Hz, and everything is in english. You can see at the bottom of the chassis the multiplex chassis is a solid state circuit board, and plugs in via an octal plug and socket. The MPX needs new capacitors, it doesn't really work, but FM mono sounds fantastic.

dieseljeep · #5 11-03-2012, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxhifi

Full US band - though I am in Canada, I am pretty sure this has always been in Canada, it's rated for 120V 60Hz, and everything is in english. You can see at the bottom of the chassis the multiplex chassis is a solid state circuit board, and plugs in via an octal plug and socket. The MPX needs new capacitors, it doesn't really work, but FM mono sounds fantastic.

I see it has the CSA tag on the back, so it was made for Canada.
I saw simular units in the US. They were made by JVC. Nivico.
They had an odd, Japanese built, changer.

radiotvnut · #6 11-03-2012, 09:37 AM

That's a nice one that looks to be from the '64-'66 time period and it does look similar to the smaller Japanese consoles that I've seen in various radio shack catalogs from the mid-to-late '60's. Those BSR record changers were good units; but, as you've already found out, the grease hardens and turns to glue.

maxhifi · #7 11-03-2012, 10:18 AM

I degreased the main bearing, and all of the grease points on the top side under the turntable with isopropyl alcohol and a dozen or two q-tips, then packed the main bearing with grease, and greased all the points where I removed old grease with fresh stuff. The toothed wheel which engages the changer mechanism was caked in hard grease, and it operates much more smoothly now.

The idler was in very decent condition, so I rejuvinated the rubber edge. Also oiled the motor, its shaft was frozen.

On the under side, I haven't done a lot yet, except one point. I will pull it out of the cabinet and do the bottom when time allows.The turntable spins very smoothly now though, it takes a while to slow down with the idler disengaged.

I didn't realize that the www.thevoiceofmusic.com now sold a full line of stylii!! Last time I shopped there was for some VM specific items, like a new cartridge and a service manual for one of their mechanisms. Am going to order a coupld stylii for this player and see how it sounds - it appears the medium output xtal cartridge doesn't track as heavily as some of the cheaper ones, so I may actually be able to use this thing!

Diesel Jeep - good eye on the CSA tag, I really should have clued into that myself! The 1968 RS catalog has a very similar unit, however it does look different enough to be made by someone else.

radiotvnut · #8 11-03-2012, 10:27 AM

I'd get one of those small battery operated digital scales and measure the tracking force, just to be sure. I've measured more than a few of these that tracked in the 12-14 gram range when 6-8 grams was more inline with what they should have been. Some models have a spring at the rear of the tonearm that can be adjusted. Others have a fixed spring that can't be adjusted.

maxhifi · #9 11-03-2012, 10:35 AM

I have a little mechanical scale which is ideal for measuring tracking force. I bought it at a pawn shop in a bad area which advertised digital scales on the window, but they were a bit expensive for my taste so I picked a mechanical one. Must be a lot of people setting up turntables in that area!

tvtimeisfun · #10 11-03-2012, 06:41 PM

Hello I use to have a sears silvertone that had the same chasis layout but it was in bad shape I hated to junk it out but what can you do? ....Timothy

maxhifi · #11 11-03-2012, 06:55 PM

This chassis isn't a wonderful design, in some ways it's let down by a poorly designed audio section. The audio section is sort of spread all over, and is very high impedance. The result is hum is being induced into the wiring by the filament wiring and the AC wiring. In a dead silent room, you can hear it when there is no program material - the filter capacitors are fine, and so are the tubes. No wiring is twisted, and shielding is minimal. The hum isn't so loud I'd say something is defective, I think I'm just expecting too much from an old low end stereo! I also can't understand why the designer chose the 50EH5 as output tubes, and then stuck a preamp in front of them with a low output ceramic cartridge - a pair of 50C5 tubes would have given better performance at no real extra cost.

The radio sounds great, and picks up all the FM stations in my area easily. It's even pretty stable. The AM section I haven't used a lot, and I'm also pleased with the speakers for what they are. The MPX section needs a few new capacitors.

The coupling capacitors are all ceramic, and I replaced the cap which grounds the chassis - it didn't do much to improve the hum situation, but just for safety's sake.

The BSR turntable I like a lot - it's a very simple design, and the main bearing once greased up is very smooth - I can't wait to try it out when my stylus shows up from the voice of music.

tvtimeisfun · #12 11-03-2012, 07:08 PM

Well congrats on your new find keep us posted..Timothy

dieseljeep · #13 11-04-2012, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Wow! that is really cool and unusual... I had no idea that Sanyo went back that far. Does the FM tune the full US band or the lower Japanese band?

jr

I think Sanyo goes back a long way.
I saw a web site on Japanese radios and was surprised, how far back, so of those firms went. Like the late 1920's. Not sure about Sanyo.

radiotvnut · #14 11-04-2012, 08:52 PM

I know Sanyo was building radios for Channel Master during the late '50's-early '60's because I have one.

maxhifi · #15 11-04-2012, 09:17 PM

I spent a while trying to track down hum, and it's starting to confuse me a bit. When the volume control is turned all the way down, it sounds very much like a guitar amplifier with a poorly shielded patch cord plugged in. The hum is fairly low in level, but it is there, and it is annoying!

Shorting the grid of one of the 50EH5s to ground kills the hum entirely curiously in both channels, but shorting the 12AX7's grid to ground does nothing. Substituting a different 12AX7 also has no real effect.

It's not filter capacitors and it's not the chassis to earth capacitor either. All of the coupling capacitors are ceramics, and the 50EH5s are biased properly. It could be some sort of ground loop, but the chassis is original and has never been repaired. I'm thinking I should pull it entirely, and try to find the problem with an oscilloscope - after all the work I did tuning up the BSR, I will not be satisfied to use it with this chassis as-is.