Child Record player options

gr33nhorn

Active Member
I got a bunch of 78 rpm 7" kiddie records free when i bought some 45"s, and I'm trying to figure out a decent budget option to play them
Things considered
AT - LP 120 - too expensive, no auto return
garrard/BSR type changers - not sure if they can work with 7" 78rpm records
Child record players - too crude

I currently use a Sony PS T1, are there any decent sub $100 options available?
 
Got this one from the local high school when they were cleaning out their AV department ...

califone-1430b.jpg
 
Chances are they were expected to played on something like this. My grandmother got one of them for me in the 1950's. Mine was red.

The steel needles took a beating and were never changed with much frequency. When I got "upgraded" to something with an amplifier, speaker and ceramic cartridge, my records were pretty much unlistenable. My favorites got the most play therefore sounded the worst. No matter, as by then I had moved on from kiddie records and entered the realm of 45's.

Unlikely any 4 or 5 year old would treat such things with much care.

A old manual play record player with a 78 speed like sKiZo suggested or a "suitcase" style portable, if either can be found for cheap, would make the most sense to me for a whim.

Or one of those 78 RPM BSR/Garrard changers you mentioned but you might have to change speed to 78 once the record hits the platter. Maybe the speed can remain at 78 and each record "assisted" down the spindle.

Childs 78 RPM record player.jpg
 
Last edited:
An old console or suitcase player as stated above would be great, I have several in the house that will do 78rpm and detect record size. Slap a new stylus on the ceramic cart and you're in business.
 
Chances are they were expected to played on something like this. My grandmother got one of them for me in the 1950's. Mine was red.

The steel needles took a beating and were never changed with much frequency. When I got "upgraded" to something with an amplifier, speaker and ceramic cartridge, my records were pretty much unlistenable. My favorites got the most play therefore sounded the worst. No matter, as by then I had moved on from kiddie records and entered the realm of 45's.

Unlikely any 4 or 5 year old would treat such things with much care.

A old manual play record player with a 78 speed like sKiZo suggested or a "suitcase" style portable, if either can be found for cheap, would make the most sense to me for a whim.

Or one of those 78 RPM BSR/Garrard changers you mentioned but you might have to change speed to 78 once the record hits the platter. Maybe the speed can remain at 78 and each record "assisted" down the spindle.

View attachment 1309228
I used an old crank up portable Victrola when I was about 6 years old. It also got use as a launcher or my little green army men. :D
 
There is a sony HP 161 (which has a BSR which can take these) up for sale nearby - The thrifts here are pretty useless
Looks mint cosmetically, and asking $60(with speakers included) - does it sound reasonable, or should i look elsewhere ?
 
There is a sony HP 161 (which has a BSR which can take these) up for sale nearby - The thrifts here are pretty useless
Looks mint cosmetically, and asking $60(with speakers included) - does it sound reasonable, or should i look elsewhere ?
That's reasonable if it's in 100% working condition. I got the Panasonic system shown in the video above for $25, but that was with a seized turntable, bad stylus, and scratchy controls, so it needed some restoration work.
 
I got a bunch of 78 rpm 7" kiddie records free when i bought some 45"s, and I'm trying to figure out a decent budget option to play them
Things considered
AT - LP 120 - too expensive, no auto return
garrard/BSR type changers - not sure if they can work with 7" 78rpm records
Child record players - too crude

I currently use a Sony PS T1, are there any decent sub $100 options available?

Assuming you're planning to get separate amplification and speakers, get a fully automatic P-mount turntable, preferably a Technics, something like an SL-B30 belt drive or SL-D30 direct drive.
 
Last edited:
Got this one from the local high school when they were cleaning out their AV department ...

califone-1430b.jpg
+1
Rheem is very good, Audiotronics too
Can't go wrong with either
I have an small read along Audiotronics model that I just re-capped and polished up like new
Plenty of them around
They play LOUD, the ceramic carts are still readily available and the tips can cope with the pot holes I am certain you will encounter in a clutch of kiddie 78s
This is how I went to play all of my 78s
I have a nice stash of new Astatic carts to boot
These things sound great
 
Last edited:
Dual 33 1/3 RPM and 78 Astatic 89T are getting scarce, and expensive. $45 when you can find one. You can get microgroove and 78 only 89T but even these are pushing $30 today, and you're replacing cartridge and stylus every time they wear. For 78 RPM they're fine. Idler wheels are also pushing $35 to rebuild. The cheaper school phonos are getting expensive to maintain. I remember when a Dual microgroove/78 tipped 89T was $5.99, and a brand new idler wheel was same. That price held into the early 1990's.
 
Dual 33 1/3 RPM and 78 Astatic 89T are getting scarce, and expensive. $45 when you can find one. You can get microgroove and 78 only 89T but even these are pushing $30 today, and you're replacing cartridge and stylus every time they wear. For 78 RPM they're fine. Idler wheels are also pushing $35 to rebuild. The cheaper school phonos are getting expensive to maintain. I remember when a Dual microgroove/78 tipped 89T was $5.99, and a brand new idler wheel was same. That price held into the early 1990's.
that's why I'm so tickled to have a nice fat stash of brand new ones from pre 1970 production! and the bestest part of it is I know where they came from so it's all good
I'm dialed with my Audiotronics! ; - )
 
That's reasonable if it's in 100% working condition. I got the Panasonic system shown in the video above for $25, but that was with a seized turntable, bad stylus, and scratchy controls, so it needed some restoration work.
Any idea how to figure out where to get a replacement stylus for these? i can't seem to identify the cart.
EDIT: never mind, found it
Assuming you're planning to get separate amplification and speakers, get a fully automatic P-mount turntable, preferably a Technics, something like an SL-B30 belt drive or SL-D30 direct drive.
i don't think these play 78's
 
Dual 33 1/3 RPM and 78 Astatic 89T are getting scarce, and expensive. $45 when you can find one. You can get microgroove and 78 only 89T but even these are pushing $30 today, and you're replacing cartridge and stylus every time they wear.
On TVOM the dual LP/78 sapphire tip version (-SS73) is going for $22 while the single-tip version for either size groove (diamond for LP, sapphire for 78) are $17 each: http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/catalog/part_detail.asp?PNumberBase=911

YouTube user "radiotvphononut" has many videos about restoring classroom record players of various brands and modifying them to use other cartridges whose styli are less expensive and more readily available, such as the Pfanstiehl P228.

The cheaper school phonos are getting expensive to maintain. I remember when a Dual microgroove/78 tipped 89T was $5.99, and a brand new idler wheel was same. That price held into the early 1990's.
The prices stayed low as long as these were still in common use in schools and still being actively maintained. Same thing with the film projectors. At the schools I went to, both were still in occasional use into the 2000s, but probably hadn't been serviced in years because the rate at which the machines failed kept pace with the rate at which their use was decreasing.

Speaking of which, it's notable that within the past year, Califone finally discontinued the very last new classroom record player they were selling, the 1005AV. But it's no big loss because it used the infamous "Crosley-style" mechanism and was no match for the ruggedness or sound quality of players from decades ago.

41GXw2jOipL.jpg
 
I got a bunch of 78 rpm 7" kiddie records free when i bought some 45"s, and I'm trying to figure out a decent budget option to play them
Things considered
AT - LP 120 - too expensive, no auto return
garrard/BSR type changers - not sure if they can work with 7" 78rpm records
Child record players - too crude

I currently use a Sony PS T1, are there any decent sub $100 options available?

Not in fully functional, works correctly condition. Repair labor, idler wheels, cartridges and styli are getting in many cases pricey. Old changers tend to need cleaning, lubrication, adjustment, replacement of wear parts, rebuilt idler wheels, and/or cartridges and sometimes styli. A rebuilt idler wheel for a changer, $35 alone. Some vintage ceramic cartridges can be very expensive to find a working one, not every ceramic cartridge equipped turntable has substitutes available. Add $20 to as much as $100 or more depending on cartridge (crystal and higher than 2 volt often difficult to find). Many vintage changers unless 1/2" mount, have few options which work. Case in point, I own a 1961 JC Penney Penncrest console, mine has a VM Stere-O-Matic changer fitted, my old hardened idler wheel is $35 from Gary Stork for a rebuilt exchange idler wheel.. My Ronette cartridge is good, fortunately, and a new stylus is another $12. That changer needs to have all the old grease which is hardened, completely removed, it needs lubricated in the right places, with the right lubricants, adjusted as necessary. The labor for a technician to service a changer will exceed $130 alone. I will be doing mine myself, since I know my way around a VM. An old record changer is not plug and play, everything works without issue (unless you bought a rebuilt one from a really good service technician). That's for the changer alone, and in my case, the amplifier and tuner, serviced as necessary. Changers tend to be needy (your main option for playing 78 RPM discs automatically). My Lenco L 70 project will be more than $100 in parts alone, a full overhaul to stock condition. And it a manual idler drive. Some reality here.
 
Back
Top Bottom