[Jayce]

If this is in the wrong spot, you have my permission to move it. Mainly, I am wondering if anyone here has ever tinkered with the old school or classroom record players? I ended up with a couple tube ones and these things don't seem to get a lot of love on other forums. I can recall them still using these things when I was in school and I could have bought a pile of them for $2 a piece about 10 years back during a school sale.

[Paul Philco322]

These babies are rock solid in many cases as they expected heavy use. I have heard one and it is as good as the RCA Victors that were so popular in the 40s and 50s. They played the records that went with the film strips, remember?

Paul

[codefox1]

Remember 'em, and some of the teachers too. Now then what about the Tachistoscope (hint, reading, please think before googling.)

[gregb]

I came across a sale some 20 years or so ago and they had 10 or so of these similar units from an old country school and they were battery operated radios with windup phono's. I didn't buy any but they were in good shape and as I recall they wanted $25 each for them.

Gregb

[Jayce]

My only worry is I've read that these units can be kinda hard on records and my Newcomb has found two 45's in my collection it doesn't like so far. I've had some of these off and on over the years, but never the tube versions. My biggest shock is the increase in prices for the power points! I could buy them cheap five or so years back, now the are $20-$25 or more! More than the players seem worth!

[Arran]

Jayce;
There should be a spring adjustment on the underside of the tone arm, often it amounts to removing the hook of an expansion spring from one hole and placing it in another. According to RadioTVPhonoNut the audiophools apparently decided that the cartridge you mentioned was desirable for some confounded reason. Most of the school record players that I can remember sounded pretty much like any other portable record player, acceptable but far from Hi Fi, they were either Califones or Audiotronics built rigs, no Newcombs.
Regards
Arran

[Jayce]

I found the spring, but... there's no visible way to adjust it. Looks like they made a simple bracket and riveted it in place to idiot proof the thing. I'll have to check the tone arm on my (currently not working) Audiotronics 300A.
Figures the Audiophools would manage to hop up the prices on something even as simple as the cartridges for these old players. Bad enough that the schools probably threw scores of these players and spare parts into the landfills. I swear somedays I'd like to give the audiophools a good slap upside the head with a Majestic chassis! If I could swing one..