How rare is this vintage Marantz? Vintage TV tuner!

[Arkay]

I found something today I KNEW I had to have, the instant I saw it, because it was a vintage Marantz piece I've never seen before.

It has the "Classic Marantz" silver (aluminum) front with classic lettering, knobs, etc... (unfortunately one double-knob is missing :tears: ). but it is a....


TV 110 uhf television sound tuner!

I'm pretty sure I read about this before, either here or elsewhere: it allows you to tune in and listen to (Marantz-quality ) sound from (uhf) television frequencies (subject to the limitations of the broadcast sound quality, of course).

But when I Google-search it in various combinations, I find... NOTHING! Not a mention anywhere. Actually that happens a lot with vintage audio stuff, but did I hallucinate reading about this, or am I just confusing it with some other brands of tv tuners? Anyone else here have this, or know anything about it? I'll post pics when I can. Just got it, haven't even tested it yet, but wanted to see if anyone here knows anything about it. Maybe it is in am old catalog? Any info appreciated.

 

[bmc1973]

Weird, I just saw a Realistic Stereo TV tuner on craigslist:

http://austin.craigslist.org/ele/336282018.html

I never knew these even existed!

 

[Theoberheim]

The double knob.... is that the same type of double knob that is found on the Marantz Quad Units (among others) for adjusting the bass/mid/treble from front to rear?

 

[pbda]

I've always wanted to do this...

:worthless

 

[Arkay]

I've always wanted to do this...

:worthless

I KNOW! This thing deserves pics, too... The more I look at it, the more interesting I find it, so I WILL get some posted.

On the front, it has (besides silkscreened labels): Power on/off button, with indicator light. Tuning (dual-concentric controls: middle one is coarse, outer is fine, although they are not labelled as such). "Servo lock" button with "lock" indicator light. Output level control.

That is all that is on the front. Four things: two on each side.

On the back (besides the usual ID label, "passed" sticker" and such) there is a voltage selector, a power cord heading in, and one two-strand cord that looks like lamp cord or regular 110V power cord at first inspection, heading out. That's right: the output wiring was hard-wired into this; it did not use connectors!

That is all that is on the back. Three things.

It is the SIMPLEST Marantz gear I've ever seen (I don't count rack ears as "gear" here), in terms of number of controls and inputs/outputs. It even makes their digital timers look like rocket-ship control panels, by comparison.

Stripping that output wire back a little, I find it has a shielded several-strand core (rather small-guage strands) with a plastic-like dialectric and stranded shielding braided around that. I THINK this wire is similar to what is used on the Marantz PMS 7000 boombox (Yep, I've got PMS! ), which has "active amplification" in the form of separate amps inside of each speaker. THOSE wires are terminated with RCA-type connectors.

Tomorrow or the next day (it is after midnight here now) I will connect these wire ends up to RCA jacks and try amplifying whatever might be coming out of them. Although there is an "output level" control on the front panel, I dont' think this can have much amplification in it, if any: it's probably just a passive pot control. I did try briefly hooking a small speaker to the output, but couldn't hear anything. Almost certainly needs a proper pre/amp to make any output audible.

That said, the power light works correctly, the "lock" light flickers at certain spots on the tuning dial when the FM antenna is connected, suggesting that I am getting signals tuned in. When I have one tuned and press the "servo lock" button, the light stays on steadily, suggesting the servo lock may be working, too. I'm optimistic that this thing basically works (although it will probably need a re-cap anyway, due to age). I just wish people wouldn't CUT those darned cords off like that! :thumbsdn: :tears:

Now if only it had VHF, too....

UPDATE: I just took off the cover. Oooh, NUDIE time! But you'll just have to wait for pics... This is an interesting little unit, alright. The simple genius of Marantz...

 

[winters860]

The wires hanging off the back are a tell that this isn't a Superscope piece. I've seen a couple of Phillips that would look at home in the old lineup, though. Enjoy it before analog TV becomes a thing of the past!

 

[Arkay]

The wires hanging off the back are a tell that this isn't a Superscope piece. I've seen a couple of Phillips that would look at home in the old lineup, though.

I'm curious to know on what evidence you base your statement. I'm not saying it is wrong nor being argumentative; really just want to learn.

On the one hand, this piece has a lot of earmarks of the earlier (Superscope) era. For example, the texture-painted black steel cover and steel chassis, smooth black-painted back panel, thick aluminum front panel, and lettering fonts and ID plate are all identical matches to the common 22XX receivers from the seventies.

I think a few other things also point at a somewhat early date, at least before cost-cutting struck. The outer rim part of the dual-axis knobs (actual knobs are missing) iis cast metal, not plastic, for example. Inside wire connections between boards are all wire-wound posts (aerial in and outputs are soldered connections).

The only real hint (besides perhaps the wires out) that it is possibly a later model is the feet: they attach with some kind of molded connection, rather than the usual screws. I've seen that before, though, so it isn't conclusive by itself. I think Marantz used these feet in lighter-weight cases like the AT timers, where stresses were less, and the first of those timers also dates from the Superscope era. AFAIK.

:scratch2: The wire-outs may have had as much to do with performance as cost, since the wires themselves are rather small and of dielectric shielded (braid-shield/ground) construction, they must be quite sensitive/important, rather like wires from a TT arm. Connectors would have introduced a place of potential signal loss and interference. If the Mrantz engineers were worried about the extra cost of a pair of connectors, they could easily have saved money eleswhere that they didn't. This makes me suspect that this was a quality decision, not a cost-cutting decision; it is analagous to DIYers soldering in their own speaker wires or power cables to eliminate connectors and improve quality.

The other thing that I wonder about is the Chatsworth USA and "designed in the USA" on the ID label, in the same early/traditional Marantz lettering: was that continued even after Phillips came in?

If it helps, since opening it up I've found the following additional info:

On one side of the chassis is printed the number "K010165".

On one side of the main tuning component inside is a paper label with the following info:

AU0110202-0 UAV1-167
9F130148


I would like very much to see sales literature or catalog info on this piece, if anyone has any. Although its basic function is obvious, it is an apparent rarity that has my curiosity button pushed, so to speak. Any info would be appreciated. :yes:

Enjoy it before analog TV becomes a thing of the past!

Thanks! Fortunately, unlike in the US they haven't announced any plans yet to make Hong Kong broadcasting all-digital... although they could at any time, and the best channels are already all either via cable or by broadband [Hong Kong was the first place in the world to have streaming broadband television. I have to admit it's pretty good, although the decoder boxes are cr*p.]

I do find it sad that one day, possibly soon, this neat little box will be a useless piece of audio-historical "junk" that will have no songs to sing any more. Too small for a boat anchor, and too big for a paperweight, it might just make a functional doorstop. :tears:

 

[spartanmanor]

You have to post some photos of this little guy.

 

[Tmac83]

:tears:Are we ever going to see some pics of this little guy?