Altec 19 Refurb project

[RobRoy]

I walked into my favorite junking spot yesterday to see a giant stack of two altec 19’s, minus woofers.

Bringing home two washing machine sized speakers seemed slightly less dumb than letting two such highly revered speakers slip from my grasp.

They’ve got some nicks but a good wipe down and initial Mohawk epoxy patching has them looking promising.

I don’t think I have the budget for the Great Plains woofers. What are my next best options on a budget?

Based on my serial numbers, 16289, and 16387 what version of the woofers should I be looking for?

Is there a good way to test the tweeters in the meantime?

No risers. What are the tangerine plugs?

Other things I should be considering?

I used to sell those! I actually had one of those tangerine plugs sitting next to my turntable for decades and lost the thing in a divorce in 1997 (it was lost), I really liked those but went for the ESS instead. Those things sounded great, though. The tangerine plugs were a part of the full horn shape. That was their function.

 

[RobRoy]

https://www.newark.com/mcm-audio-select/55-2963/15-die-cast-woofer-with-paper/dp/80R7008 - $38

Or these for $78: https://www.newark.com/mcm-audio-select/55-3243/500w-rms-4-ohm-paper-cone-woofer/dp/43W7878

Or even $28: https://www.newark.com/mcm-audio-select/55-2953/15-woofer-with-paper-conecloth/dp/80R7004

Frankly, the $28 one may be the best choice.

 

[bowtie427ss]

The tangerine plugs were a part of the full horn shape. That was their function.

Actually their function was to greatly trim production costs.

The annular slit steel phase plugs required multiple steps of precision machining, and then plating. A tangerine radially slit phase plug is injection molded in one quick automated step.

 

[hrtattckcity]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Altec-Lans...946247?hash=item3645d6e907:g:W18AAOSwYPNcLnU0

I made a deal to get both the 416-8b and 416-8c. If anyone has a “b” they are willing to get rid of let me know, or trade for a “c”.

Holy smokes those drivers are sweet. Heavy.

Figured it would get me up and running while I tweak.

-picked up some 2x2’s to make risers
Thought I might screw these from inside the cabinet down, though this will make removal more difficult.
-caps on order. Solen.

The cabinets are looking much better. There were a couple of big chips that I filled with Mohawk epoxy. It’s a reasonable color match and stabilizes further chipping. But they are not museum pieces.

 

[elcoholic]

^ Kreg Jig

 

[hrtattckcity]

^ Kreg Jig

Which kreg jig? for what?

 

[elcoholic]

The R3 will do it. You can miter the riser frame and attach it to the cabinet with pocket screws. For soft wood use the pan head screws with coarse threads.

 

[Zonker92]

Why screw the risers on? I made some for my 4435s that the cabinets, IIRC, just sit on. (Trying to remember now: If I did use screws, I reused some existing screw holes that were intended for soffit-mounting.)

 

[Zonker92]

Here are some I did for the 4430s:

 

[hrtattckcity]

Why screw the risers on? I made some for my 4435s that the cabinets, IIRC, just sit on. (Trying to remember now: If I did use screws, I reused some existing screw holes that were intended for soffit-mounting.)

View attachment 1401855

I’m missing the black kick/riser strip.
In the attached plans from the gpa site it appears to be screwed on.

 

[Dazaa]

I sure would love to hear a pair of these one day, they look enormous. Any idea how they ended up in a junk shop?

 

[hrtattckcity]

I sure would love to hear a pair of these one day, they look enormous. Any idea how they ended up in a junk shop?

I would guess it was a house clean out. But anyone’s guess really.

One was missing a woofer (and has some random stuff crammed inside including a Rotel face plate and rack mount handles) and one had an eminence woofer with a torn cone.

If anyone could use a massive eminence woofer to recone, you’re welcome to it.

 

[onwardjames]

If anyone could use a massive eminence woofer to recone, you’re welcome to it.

If I were local, I'd grab that thing and do the old coffee filter/aleene's tacky glue on that bad boy, get another dust cap, and rock it as-is. At least for now.

This is a good thread, enjoying it immensely.

 

[Dazaa]

I would guess it was a house clean out. But anyone’s guess really.

One was missing a woofer (and has some random stuff crammed inside including a Rotel face plate and rack mount handles) and one had an eminence woofer with a torn cone.

If anyone could use a massive eminence woofer to recone, you’re welcome to it.

Nice score, like the Wilsons in my sig unfortunately i'll never know the story behind them ending up at the recyclers. post up a pic of the rack handles, if they're from a Rotel 1603/1312/1412 they have collector value.

 

[hrtattckcity]

Fun fact:
Doing laundry and running the drier with even a little residual tung oil finish fumes will make your laundry smell like kerosene. And you thought completed speakers had WAF issues.

Even more fun fact:
Running the load again with a cup of white vinegar completely removed the smell.

 

[hrtattckcity]

Opened this oyster to make sure the rust was only on the exterior.

 

[RobRoy]

I sure would love to hear a pair of these one day, they look enormous. Any idea how they ended up in a junk shop?

Generically, I can tell you how. It's the same way a lot of old muscle cars ended up in junk yards. Products like that go from being cool, to being big ol' "dinosaurs" to being cool again.

 

[RobRoy]

I would guess it was a house clean out. But anyone’s guess really.

One was missing a woofer (and has some random stuff crammed inside including a Rotel face plate and rack mount handles) and one had an eminence woofer with a torn cone.

If anyone could use a massive eminence woofer to recone, you’re welcome to it.

Ha! I drive through the town of Eminence, KY from time to time for my job. That is where they got their start.

 

[hrtattckcity]

No major steps forward but all the parts are creeping towards presentability.

-Touched up the horns with a little paint and they are looking pretty crispy.

-Built some new risers/kicks out of poplar 2x2’s. They’re getting stained black.

-Second coat of tung oil finish on the cabs. They’ve got some nicks and quite a few epoxy patches but a damn sight better than when they came to me.

-tried putting a little leftover speKer cloth over the yellow fiberglass local to the port, but realized it’s not enough to block all the angles you see in. May have to rethink that one.

New caps and resistors should arrive this week. Went ahead and deoxited the l pads.

Does anyone install new gasket tape at the woofer and tweeter?

 

[elcoholic]

Looking great. Why the opening in the risers?