[robertwsimpson]

Gary:

Thanks for the info! I have not worked on anything like this before, but I am looking forward to getting into it. I am OK at soldering, but I definitely could use the practice. After examining the solders on this unit, I am happy about the size of the solders. I've worked on more recent hardware, and been take back at how small everything has gotten. This unit looks like it has huge gobs of solder everywhere. Nice for me! I will at risk say that I can read a schematic. To elaborate, I've never actually had to, but I've already been reading the schematics on the sheets that you linked to and figuring out some of the parts that I might need. I have a pretty logical mind, so I pick up on stuff like this pretty well.

Here is the history of the set (as far as I know): my mother purchased it at a garage sale (I do not know if it was working at that time, but I'm guessing not). She gave it to me about 5 years ago, because she never had gotten around to getting someone to fix it up. I can remember turning it on when she gave it to me, and all I remember hearing was a loud hum. None of the knobs were still on it, so I didn't really know what did what. it made me nervous leaving it plugged in, so I left it unplugged. All of the supports inside were buckling under the weight of the electronics, so I (in a moment of weakness) cut all the lines that hooked to everything else (antenna, turn table, speaker, power, etc) and took out the guts. Luckily, I left enough of each wire on each end (block as well as accessory) to tell what goes where. So that is how it lies right now.

My first order of business was going to be to attach a new power cable, attach the speaker (oopsie #1 might have been running the unit without the speaker plugged in, which according to the manual is a no-no, but I can't remember if I did that or not), and see if she wants to make some noise. I have been reading about replacing the "caps," but honestly, I don't even know what they are. I will research further regarding this.

I will examine carefully all of the wiring to see if it is dried out or flaking off. Obviously, I don't want this thing setting my new house on fire!

I actually dabble in photography, so I think taking photos of the progress and finished product will be fun. I know you can't tell from the iPhone photos that I posted of the unit, but I actually take some pretty good photos when I want to! Incidentally, I just also came into possession of an argus seventy-five, which I thought would be the perfect unit to take some photos of the radio with. Should be fun.

I understand on the gutting concern. In fact, I am sad at how much I already took apart. No harm done really, just a little more soldering and heat shrink needed before I can start the testing in earnest. I can appreciate your automotive analogy, as I actually am pretty adept at working on cars, and have, a time or two, torn down way more than I needed to to complete a job. Live and learn I guess, plus I like figuring out how things work. I usually don't have more than 10 parts left over that I don't have any idea where they came from too!

I didn't know that info about the turn table speed... I also haven't had a proper look underneath it to see how it is driven, but is rebuilding the cartridge something that I could tackle myself? If it is an electric motor, has anyone tried putting a potentiometer inline to vary the current, and thusly the speed?


TA Forbes:

now that I am thinking about it a little more, I want to say that I've had a faint FM signal picked up on this unit. I am very hopeful that I will be able to get the phonograph working, but if radio is all she has left in her, that will definitely suffice!