New tube console record changer in the house. What have I got myself into?

Well, a good friend and I drove the 3+ hour round trip to pick up this Admiral monophonic tube console record player today (no tuner, just a 4-speed record changer). It works, I've been listing to it, but obviously needs some TLC. This will be my first foray into fixing something like this up.




Overall, I’d say it’s in very good condition. It had one owner who passed away recently at over 100 years old. I was told by the guy’s grandson (whom I bought it from) that it has sat unused for the last 30 years.

The controls on the turntable section work smoothly, but it slows to a stop when the automatic mechanism is engaged (except when playing a 78, when it seems to have enough momentum.) And occasionally it sounds a bit soggy when playing LPs -obviously not enough torque. That’s the only issue with the record player unit. Other than that, it is in excellent shape, with platter felt still in tact! (I’ll get a new stylus just to be safe)



I’m sure the amp section will need re-capping. And this is where I get a little concerned. Is this something I can do myself if I know how to solder and use the internet? I’m sure it would benefit from recapping because it hums, it sounds rather dull and fuzzy, and it’s 50 years old.



It has 4 drivers behind the grille that all work, but one of the mid-sized ones buzzes if I turn up the bass or volume. Don’t know yet if it’s the driver or the cabinet buzzing.



I figure I'll start by taking the components out and getting a better look at everything.
I’d appreciate any words of wisdom or encouragement (or discouragement if I’m about to do something unwise) as I proceed to get this beautiful talking box back up to spec.

Thanks!
And thanks so far to those who have given me info in this other thread.

(BTW, It’s an Admiral Model HC 4406 with Record changer RC 646 and chassis 6R2A)

HI,
This is only my opinion but why bother? Personally, the appearance doesn't turn me on and sonicaly it was never anything other than an abomination. Without major modifications, that's all it will ever be.

If your attachment is romantic then proceed. No amount of words from me will make a difference and I wish you luck. From my view it is a waste of time.

Sparky

I think that is awesome, congrats. Definately re-cap that console. I wish I had one of those. Now you have something to play monophonic records on. Re-capping is pretty easy if you are even slightly handy. Stop by the tube forum there are plenty in there that will be drooling over that find and give you a hand on how to get it up to snuff. Congrats again, I'l bet you will be blown away by how good it sounds once you get it recapped.

Congratulations on your find! I've been collecting tube radios and phonographs for close to 20 years and these models from the '50's often perform quite well for what they are. And, don't let anyone discourage you from restoring this unit. No, it's not an audiphile turntable set up; but, it's not a modern junky Crosley stack-o-matic, either. As for me, I have a decent Technics TT and Kenwood receiver for playing my nice records. I have plenty of 78's, 45's, and 33's that are in questionable condition that actually sound better on something ike your Admiral than on my stereo system.

Now, on to your concerns about this unit. The changer is likely sluggish because of old, hard lubricants and because the rubber drive wheel is bad. You can have the wheel rebuilt by Ed Crockett of Vintage Electronics (phonoed@aol.com). You'll need to completely take the changer apart and clean all the old grease out and relube with phonolube. Make sure to take plenty of notes and draw pictures so you'll know how everything goes back together. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, there are some outfits that restore these old record changers. West Tech Services is one of them.

The amp section will probably be the easiest to get going. You'll need to replace the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply and the paper capacitors in the rest of the amplifier. Also, replace the non-polarized crossover cap that's wired in the speaker system. When changing those power supply electrolytics, use extreme caution to make sure you have the polarity correct. If you put the new caps in backwards, you will have some excitement that you're probably not in the market for. You can get the caps from www.tubesandmore.com and www.justradios.com.

If you don't have a multimeter, get one! You don't need an expensive one. An el cheapo model will be good enough for now. You'll also want to check the resistors as many will be out of tolerance.

Oh, and get a schematic on your Admiral. It will aid in troubleshooting and will help you should you get carried away and make a mistake during the repair process.

Also, obtain a can of deoxit or other good control cleaner and clean all the controls and tube sockets.

If you own or have access to a tube tester, have the tubes tested just so you'll know where you stand with them. If any are weak or dead, you can order new ones from www.tubesandmore.com or www.radiodaze.com.

I will caution you that this hobby is addictive. I have a Magnavox console, a Zenith console, A Magnavox TV/phono console, A large RCA console phonograph, a small RCA consolette phonograph, A big RCA color TV/stereo console, and an el cheapo Emerson consolette AM/FM/phonograph. Most of these are on my "to fix" list and I really don't have room for any of them; but, I can't stand to pass up neglected electronics from the past.

Anyway, good luck on the Admiral and if you have any questions, fire away!

Beautiful, i love that kind of styling.
You have gotten good advice above and I would like to add
that I believe this admiral changer has a very small belt that drives the 33 & 45 pulley but is direct to the idler on 78.
This belt is almost always stretched and causes the symptoms you describe.
If you want to go all out you can replace the ceramic cartridge with a modern magnetic such as the stanton 500
or Pickering NP/AC wired for mono, this greatly improves the sound and tracking and allows you to play any record, not
just old mono's. You have to add a small preamp and be careful of the wiring and grounds but it is worth it for the improvement.
Good luck with your find!
They are addictive, I have way too many too.

Thank so far for all the encouraging and helpful words.
I'll start tearing into it soon. The timing is good because my wife is away for a month and I can set up shop in the kitchen, which is where this rig now lives.

NYListens said:

Originally Posted by NYListens
I think that is awesome, congrats. Definately re-cap that console. I wish I had one of those. Now you have something to play monophonic records on.

Originally Posted by radiotvnut
I have a decent Technics TT and Kenwood receiver for playing my nice records. I have plenty of 78's, 45's, and 33's that are in questionable condition that actually sound better on something ike your Admiral than on my stereo system.

Click to expand...

That was a big reason for wanting a mono console specifically. I too have a decent set up for critical listening in the living room (check sig). But I've been thinking about getting a mono set-up lately and have also thought about how fun it would be to have a console. So this gives me both. And I have a lot of pre-stereo jazz LPs on Riverside, Bluenote, Prestige, etc that are only in fair condition. I've also amassed ~100 78's that I haven't been able to play. They'll make perfect sources for this console.

radiotvnut said:

I will caution you that this hobby is addictive. I have a Magnavox console, a Zenith console...
I really don't have room for any of them; but, I can't stand to pass up neglected electronics from the past.

Originally Posted by orthophonic
They are addictive,I have way too many too

Click to expand...

I consider myself duly warned. I can see how that would happen. The sound this unit produces is just so damn pleasant.

Karma16 said:

HI,
This is only my opinion but why bother? From my view it is a waste of time.
Sparky

Click to expand...

The fact you asked this question is an indication you wouldn't understand the answer.

That was a big reason for wanting a mono console specifically. I too have a decent set up for critical listening in the living room (check sig). But I've been thinking about getting a mono set-up lately and have also thought about how fun it would be to have a console. So this gives me both. And I have a lot of pre-stereo jazz LPs on Riverside, Bluenote, Prestige, etc that are only in fair condition. I've also amassed ~100 78's that I haven't been able to play. They'll make perfect sources for this console.

Click to expand...

I love blasting old records on my '57 Zenith mono console. You're gonna have a ball with this once it's fully restored!

Brett a said:

The fact you asked this question is an indication you wouldn't understand the answer.

Click to expand...

HI,
Well, you did ask. I guess you did not mean it and don't want an honest, concerned opinion. As I said, if you have a romantic attachment, then nothing I can say will mean anything. You do clearly have a romantic attachment. You are right. I don't understand. In any case, good luck.

Sparky

Karma16 said:

HI,
Well, you did ask. I guess you did not mean it and don't want an honest, concerned opinion. As I said, if you have a romantic attachment, then nothing I can say will mean anything. You do clearly have a romantic attachment. You are right. I don't understand. In any case, good luck.

Sparky

Click to expand...

This stuff has nothing to do with a "romantic attachment." The old tube gear sounds incredible when it is restored. It rivals even the highest end audiophile gear today.

Karma16 said:

HI,
This is only my opinion but why bother?
Sparky

Click to expand...

Surely its a complete waste for someone who's turntable and tonearm alone is worth more than a new Chevy, but why knock it? Its innocent fun.

I hope the original poster will get the same joy Sparky gets when he puts a record on in the evening after dinner.

Nice find!

I've got a mid 50s Capehart Farnsworth console that I restored sitting up in my living room. That old tube gear does a fine job. Enjoy!

NYListens said:

This stuff has nothing to do with a "romantic attachment." The old tube gear sounds incredible when it is restored. It rivals even the highest end audiophile gear today.

Click to expand...

I have no romantic attachment to my 1957 Sears Silvertone console. I like it because it makes my 78's sound incredible!!

Or maybe the green "tuning eye" has put me under a spell...

Restore and enjoy - it looks very nice!

Rob

Well, here are two shots of the extracted amp. Which has a date stamp on it from Oct 23rd, 1956

I can not find a schematic. Any help finding one would be appreciated.(Admiral chassis 6R2A)

Please keep in mind, I'm learning as I go. I've spent the last 7 hours reading up on the subject. So far, I can interpret the markings on most of the caps. Their values are marked in microfareds (MFD -same as uF, correct?) And generality, I should replace any that are over 0.001 MDF, since these would be the paper or electrolytic capacitors -in this case, that'd be every cylindrical one that I can see.

I can't interpret the markings on the blue caps. They just say ".02 400" or ".1 200" What am I to make of this?

And I'd also like to confirm that I'm just going after these larger caps. The resistors can stay, yes?

What about the can on the top?

Thanks for your help. It's a steep learning curve.

The ones that say ".02 400" and ".1 200" are .02 uF at 400 working volts and .1 uf at 200 working volts. You can use new caps rated at a higher working voltage. It won't hurt a thing. In fact, it may make the unit more reliable. Just don't use anything rated at a lower voltage than what came out of it. Also, I see two "bumblebee" caps that need to be replaced. These are black with colored bands that look similar to a resistor. I can't see the color code that well; but, they look like .047 uf at 400 volts.

radiotvnut said:

Also, I see two "bumblebee" caps that need to be replaced. These are black with colored bands that look similar to a resistor. I can't see the color code that well; but, they look like .047 uf at 400 volts.

Click to expand...

The black ones that are a bit obscured center-right are marked yellow, (space), black, orange, pink, yellow.

Brett a said:

I can't interpret the markings on the blue caps. They just say ".02 400" or ".1 200" What am I to make of this?

And I'd also like to confirm that I'm just going after these larger caps. The resistors can stay, yes?

Click to expand...

While I wouldn't swear to it, I'd say that the blue cylindrical capacitors look like they are replacements for the old original paper capacitors, and I'd guess that they are plastic (polyester) capacitors of some kind, so might not need replacing. In my experience with vintage radios, the plastic capacitors are pretty reliable - it's the paper ones (the large brown cylindrical ones in your pic) which almost certainly will have some leakage, and need replacing, as well as the electros. And as already mentioned, the markings are most probably for .02 uF 400V and .1 uF 200V.

I'd also measure the resistors, too. Some old ones in valve (tube) circuits have a habit of going high resistance. It's a pain, because you have to remove one end to measure them with a meter.

-Don

I'm thinking of just replacing the drivers. They are 52 years old and will be cheaper and easier to replace then restore. Is there a way to tell what impedance they are/need to be without any literature on this rig? And do I even need to know? Is there a safe bet to go wirth when replacing (8ohm, I assume)? And what if I'm only going to replace 3 out of 5 of the drivers (and run the risk of mixing impedance)?

Thanks.

I have the caps for the amp on order from justradios.com (the total was about $25 cheaper than mouser was going to be)

Congrats on the nice find! Enjoy!!

Gohan

Gohan said:

Congrats on the nice find! Enjoy!!

Gohan

Click to expand...

Thanks! I can't wait to get it back together all freshened up.:thmbsp:


If anyone has any thoughts on my question about in post #17, I'd still appreciate it.

I like it. Looks like a fun project.