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  #1  
Old 06-02-2012, 09:51 AM
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radiotvnut radiotvnut is offline
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'40's/'50's consoles

You know the type I'm talking about. The ones with a radio on one side and a record player on the other. Some had a tilt-out radio and others simply had a door that opened up to reveal the radio chassis. Some had 78 rpm-only record changers and the newer ones had 2/3 speed changers. Some models had AM only, while others were AM/FM and sometimes had SW bands.

A few months ago, I saw a Stewart-Warner model from around '47 at one of the flea markets for $90.

A few weeks ago, I saw an early/mid '50's Zenith AM/FM/multi-speed cobra-matic record player console at another place; but, they wanted $200 for it. I talked to the guy selling it and he wanted to know what I thought it was worth. I told him it MIGHT bring $50 if the right person comes along; but, there was not a lot of demand for them. I think he would have almost given me the thing had it been up to him; but, he said it belonged to his wife and that he would catch hell if he sold it for $50. I happen to know his wife and she's the type who thinks everything is worth a fortune.

At another place, there was a little newer Silvertone blonde console that was an upright model with an AM radio and a drawer below the radio dial that contained the record changer. They wanted $75 for that one; but, it was gone the next time I went in. I don't know if it was bought or if the owner took it somewhere else.

This morning, I looked at an early '50's Silvertone console that had three SW bands as well as the standard AM band plus an early 900 series 3-speed VM changer. At first glance, the cabinet looked decent and I could have gotten it for $30; but, upon closer inspection, I found that the veneer was chipped and lifting up along the bottom of the cabinet, likely from the radio sitting in a damp location. So, I passed on it. I explained to the owner that there is really not much demand for these and that since they took up so much space, that not many people wanted them.

What do you do when you see these types of consoles? Do you actively collect them or do you leave them where you found them? Personally, I like those types of consoles; but, space limits how many I can own. And, many of the ones I find have cabinet damage that makes me run the other way. If I could find more of them that had been sitting in a clean, dry place their entire life, I would come closer to buying them; but, most of what I find around here has either been sitting in a barn or basement for decades and the condition shows this. When I find one that looks nice, the owners usually want at least $100 for them.
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Old 06-02-2012, 10:49 PM
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truetone36 truetone36 is offline
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I have a few of them. I'll buy them if the price isn't too high. Currently I have these-
'49 Emerson-this was a curbside find 2 years ago.
'41 Wilcox-Gay-I traded a dresser for this one.
'50 Zenith-Bought at an auction for $35.
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Old 06-05-2012, 09:41 AM
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Here is the Stromberg-Carlson 1210PL.
SC-1210PL.jpg

In this photo, it was just pulled from a barn, the mice loved it but left the speaker unscathed. I cleaned it out. The phono is not original.

It has both FM bands, old and new as it is from 1947.
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Old 06-05-2012, 11:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavGoodlin View Post
Here is the Stromberg-Carlson 1210PL.
Attachment 174762

In this photo, it was just pulled from a barn, the mice loved it but left the speaker unscathed. I cleaned it out. The phono is not original.

It has both FM bands, old and new as it is from 1947.
I think I have the table model of that set.

Years ago, a man a couple streets over from me had one of these. I think it was one that was handed down through his wife's family. Unfortunately, he "antiqued" the cabinet in some awful color. It's also unfortunate that he plugged it in at some point and let the smoke out. At some point, someone had replaced the original changer with a mid '60's Garrard AT6. I tried to talk him out of it; but, since it belonged to family, he would not let it go. Then, everybody died and who knows where it wound up.
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Old 06-06-2012, 01:23 PM
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I don't really come across these that are in decient shape or nice enough to keep. However I do have a '48 Admiral that I've had for years that plays well including the 78RPM Player. I don't play records on it much since I weighed the tonearm and discovered the thing tracks like at 32+ grams!!

I think from a historical viewpoint, at least having one will do since these existed prior to Hi-Fi being introduced and it's neat to show and display.
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Old 06-07-2012, 02:34 AM
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One will turn up at Goodwill around here every 2-3 months. I'd love to have one in working condition, but have neither the necessary skill to restore one, nor the space for one (guess I need to acquire the skills and clear out some space, huh?).
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Old 06-07-2012, 06:31 AM
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I'll try to keep this short. The woman down the street had bought a Zenith 3 in 1 in 1980, a 1953 Zenith Sutherland. I saw it playing once. She went on a trip to Connecticut in 1982, and died up there. The greedy pig heirs fought over the house until a lawyer ended up with it in 2005. The Zenith had sat unused of course for all that time, on carpeting that went through wet and dry cycles from the leaky roof. The man from two doors down took it and plugged it in, after it started smoking, he put it on the curb. I got it and kept it until at least 2008 when I gave it to someone from another club. If I hadn't let the cabinet lose part of its decorative trim panel I might have kept it. I never attempted to power it up, as I know less about electronics than the neighbor did.
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Old 06-08-2012, 09:37 PM
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I've had a number of them pass through my hands. One year I drug home 2 or 3 Magnavoxes plus an Emerson; there was a high-end RCA from the late 50s which was sort of in that same style. I had a Motorola that I held on to for years, and when I was a kid I had a Sparton. Most all ended up parted out, something I hated to do but I just simply didn't have the room. I have saved a Capehart and a Stromberg-Carlson. The S-C I bought in the early 90s at a used furniture store that also had an empty cabinet for the same model, but I left it there.

A little over a year ago a friend asked me to do something with their postwar Zenith side-by-side, in really nice shape. I gave up after no response through the usual channels. I hauled it to the local auction barn where it sold for, darn, $3! Which is why I usually part it out-I could have sold the phono on ebay for $15 or more, and maybe that much for the chassis. I see these sets all the time. On vacation the other week we hit a lot of flea markets and I spotted a couple late 40s RCA combos, gathering dust. One thing I noted was a vendor selling LP's at inflated prices and he had about a half dozen console stereos (plus one of the aforementioned RCA's). I wonder how many he sells?
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Old 06-09-2012, 01:29 AM
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I have three combos without Televisions.

One is a TOTL 55 Magnavox Berkshire, an incredible sounding unit with four 6V6 outputs driving separate amps for the Woofers (15" and 12") and the horn Tweeters, I've never heard a better sounding tubed unit.

Another is a 47 or 48 Magnavox Berkeley in a Blond cabinet, 78 only, AM and Shortwave bands with a place for an optional FM tuner.
Dirty but in excellent condition, everything works on it but it needs a cartridge and a good cleaning.

The third unit is a massive TOTL 1948 Westinghouse, 6L6 outputs, multi band radio, 78 changer, got it for $5 at a local auction.
It was missing the changer but I was given a replacement, also the cabinet needs repaired because some genius cut a hole in the speaker door to mount a replacement speaker.
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