I have never quite seen a console of this magnitude before! All I can say is.... I'm speechless. :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Magnavox-TV-8-TRACK-TURNTABLE-STEREO_W0QQitemZ310119731544QQcmdZViewItemQQptZVin tage_Electronics_R2?hash=item310119731544&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Magnavox has a long history of monster sets, there's a 1940's combo set like this (minus the 8 track of course) those sell in the 2k range, the 70's version not so much... :D

Magnavox has a long history of monster sets, there's a 1940's combo set like this called the Breakfront with a cabinet by Drexel (minus the 8 track of course) those sell in the 2k range, the 70's version not so much... :D

Check out this thread:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=132920

Oh wow! :sigh: I guess if they were selling that on Ebay it would be pick up only. :D

I never knew they made sets that big.

1948 RCA Berkshire Breakfront !!!!!

236 units seems to be quite high. I'm surprised they sold that many. I'm sure they weren't cheap either.

Here is a photo of my Imperial Windsor Maganvox operating. Chuck A has a terrific write-up on his set at his website:

http://www.myvintagetv.com/magnavox_windsor.htm

You sure have some neet stuff John! The guy that checks out with the most toys wins. I guess you are a prime contender John!

Well, I dunno about that, but bigger IS better! :-)

A local antique mall had one of those for over two years with no takers. they finally put it in the dumpster.

A local antique mall had one of those for over two years with no takers. they finally put it in the dumpster.

I hope you mean like the ones at the head of this thread... Not like John Folsom's :scratch2:

Those upright Magnavox color combos are fairly rare, but I've repaired a few dozen of them. Some are still in use, as they made them right through the 80s. The rarest would be the roundie version, of which I've only seen 3 or 4 total.

Charles

I remember that RCA made a cherry wood armoir style set with a CTC-21 chassis and their highest end stereo for the time. I know this because I snagged the innards as they decided to keep the cabinet. I was really lucky to get the tv chassis, speakers, tuner, turntable, power supply and all knobs/faceplates.

Charles,
yes i was referring to the 70's Magnavox, not the 40's version,
which even tho that cabinet style is not to my taste, I would have made room for it!
I believe the one the antique mall had was an early to mid 70's model because it had the later chromed tonearm collaro
changer, and all the decorative accents were of that orrendous plastic wood.

Charles,
yes i was referring to the 70's Magnavox, not the 40's version.

Whew! the 40's version would have been tragic! though I imagine they wouldn't trash one of those because any Anti-Q shop worth their salt would know what Drexel is.

I want one of the 70's version for my bedroom, but Arizona is a little to far away. Now if it showed up close to West TN I would get it.

Bill R

close to West TN I would get it.

Bill R


Not next door, but I think I know where there's one in North Dallas... It's a Star System with the hated "Bird Cage" tuner controller. It also has the 8-track player and the cassette recorder. It's brown, maybe fruitwood with that fake distressed finish. Nice shape. If interested, I'll look into it. I think it was taken out of service due to a weak CRT (should be an inline in that model; not a delta gun). Probably 1982-ish.

Charles

Thanks Charles. Dallas is about a 12 hour drive from me. I found one in Humboldt TN, from about 1976, but the man didn't want to let it go. I have a 1978 Star system set already, but it is just the tv. That would be about the date range I would like. There should be some in Memphis since we had a fairly large Magnavox dealer there. I doubt they were very popular though.

Bill R

It is interesting that in picture 5 on the auction listing, you can see both the newer Magnavox logo (on the receiver and turntable) and the old one (on the 8-track player). They must have been using remaining stock of 8-track players when this was built. That would make this one of the really late-dated 8-track devices sold in general. My friend had a 1982 Chevrolet Camaro with an 8-track player and I didn't know they were sold that recently.

I had thought the new logo came into play around '76, with the Philips takeover, but I'm not real clear on that timeline. I've seen some things from around 77-78 with the old logo. The other day I picked up a rather clunky ultrasonic remote with the new logo.

Regarding 8-tracks, about 1980 my Dad bought a brand new Zenith console stereo with the 8. That was about the end of the line for both those stereos and those players. I can believe an '82 Camaro would have the option, but that had to have been the end of the line.

I believe the last commercial pop 8 track tapes were made in 1986 or '87 and those are very rare, I read somewhere that madonna's true blue eight track is among the rarest and one of the last avaialble. Some of the TV offer type music sets were available in 8 track until the early 90's!

As far as 8 track players, Radio shack still had a basic player in their catalog for a number of years.

That Camaro had to be a dealer retrofit. The 82s all had the DIN-and-a-half that they've been using ever since. The only 8tracks GM made were all 2-shaft. I have seen Chrysler DIN and a halfs that were 8-track, but I wouldn't want the challenge of cramming one in a GM dash :)

Magnavox always made nice cabinets . My parents first color tv was a magnavox and they always loved the cabinets . They even bought a matching hi-fi stereo to match the tv .

That Camaro had to be a dealer retrofit. The 82s all had the DIN-and-a-half that they've been using ever since. The only 8tracks GM made were all 2-shaft. I have seen Chrysler DIN and a halfs that were 8-track, but I wouldn't want the challenge of cramming one in a GM dash :)

Cadillac offered the 8-track up to at least '85 (with the two knobs vertical on left double-DIN chassis). I know they're rare, and I've only ever seen 3 or 4 of them at Pick-A-Part. Not sure if other GM makes offered them, or if they figured Cadillac buyers would be older people, and would still have an 8-track collection. Most were cassette. Toyota also offered 8-track up through the mid-80s.

Charles

An 8-track was in the option books for the Camaro and Celebrity in '82. When the DIN radios first came out they had analog-tuned models - the knobs were side-by-side. They came in every variety - AM, AM/FM mono, AM/FM stereo and cassette. Some had a small digital clock built in the upper left side of the radio. I'd imagine the 8-track was one of those. GM made those from 1982 until 1988.

Also, Cadillac stuck with shaft-style radios through '84 in the deVille/Fleetwood models. Ford went to a DIN style for their premium stereos around 1980 in their top-of-the-line models and offered a Quad 8 through 1983.

For all practical purposes 1983 was the last year 8-tracks were offered in American cars.

My high school sweetheart's first car was an 82 or 83 Oldsmobile Regency 98 2dr that she bought used from an old fellow in town. It was the newest thing I ever saw with a factory CB. They could really pack a lot into some of those sets...didn't they have one with both CB and 8-track?

I knew a guy who suffered through high school driving a brown Ford Fairmont. He fitted it with an AM/FM cassette out of an 80s GM. Better him than me!

I had a 78 Pontiac Bonniville and a 79 Lincoln Town car both cars had factory cb's with 8track players. The cb's were useless for the most part due to poor performance. The tape players were ok though.

Bill R

I don't remember what the player looked like in that Camaro, except that it was not a traditional-style two-shaft radio, I'm pretty sure.

The factory stereo/CB radio combos probably tried to use the regular radio antenna for the CB as well, and that would explain most of the poor performance. I have a 1973 GMC Motorhome that has already had its dash modified for a DIN stereo, but it would have been fun to find one of the CB combos for it if I had thought about them before.

I remember seeing the factory CB/Stereo/Tape radios in
Buicks & Cadillac's, the two shaft style. the antennas were
power operated and differed from the standard radio antenna by having a tubular black thing near the top of the antenna.

Around '98, I pulled a digital Delco AM/FM/cassette/CB out of an early 80's Riviera and put it in my van. I'm 99% certain that there were two separate antenna inputs, one on the radio for the radio and one on the separate CB box for the CB antenna (the CB box was hidden behind the dash and connected to the radio through a harness.)