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Magnavox Astro Sonic Micromatic Repair Project (and Introduction)

T

Tophu

New Member
Hi everyone,

My first post to AudioKarma and hoping to gather some advice and information at the same time. First a little about me: I live in Thousand Oaks, CA just north of Los Angeles. I don't have much experience with electronics, record players, and vinyl, but I love to learn about things, and I'm a quick study.

My roommate purchased a used Magnavox Micromatic Astro Sonic Stereo/Turntable combination that needs a little fixing up. My ultimate goal is to try and restore this beautiful piece of furniture to a fully working condition as a gift to her. Also, I'd like to do the restoration myself, rather than sending it to a shop, as a fun side project. However I don't know where to even begin...so I was hoping the good folks here could help me get started.

I've taken some pictures of the cabinet and insides. It looks like the serial number/model number was ripped off the back. It recieves power and plays the radio through the speakers, which are just a little crackly. The turntable itself spins, and seems to be functioning correctly though I have yet to put a record on it, because the needle is broken, and on the arm, the wires appear to be hanging loose, and look extremely degraded.

I'll post the images (if I can). Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.

Can't seem to be able to get the images to work, so I'm posting a link to my Google Image folder.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.lindvay/Magnavox?feat=directlink
 
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Tophu said:
Hi everyone,

My first post to AudioKarma and hoping to gather some advice and information at the same time. First a little about me: I live in Thousand Oaks, CA just north of Los Angeles. I don't have much experience with electronics, record players, and vinyl, but I love to learn about things, and I'm a quick study.

My roommate purchased a used Magnavox Micromatic Astro Sonic Stereo/Turntable combination that needs a little fixing up. My ultimate goal is to try and restore this beautiful piece of furniture to a fully working condition as a gift to her. Also, I'd like to do the restoration myself, rather than sending it to a shop, as a fun side project. However I don't know where to even begin...so I was hoping the good folks here could help me get started.

I've taken some pictures of the cabinet and insides. It looks like the serial number/model number was ripped off the back. It recieves power and plays the radio through the speakers, which are just a little crackly. The turntable itself spins, and seems to be functioning correctly though I have yet to put a record on it, because the needle is broken, and on the arm, the wires appear to be hanging loose, and look extremely degraded.

I'll post the images (if I can). Any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.

Can't seem to be able to get the images to work, so I'm posting a link to my Google Image folder.

http://picasaweb.google.com/chris.lindvay/Magnavox?feat=directlink
Click to expand...

Ok..the first thing we need to know is do you know how to
use a multimeter and do you know how to do solder work?
 
Hi Tophu. I'm pretty much in the same boat as you with the console. I'm subscribing to the thread and hopefully will learn a thing or two.
 
Soldering

Hi Lisa and Glen, thanks for replying. I have done some soldering work on pipes when our water tank blew out. I'm sure this is nothing like soldering on electronics, but hey, it's something I'm sure will be fun to try.

And yes, Lisa, I saw your post with the Astro Sonic in beautiful condition and thought, wow, that is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. Of course yours is in much better shape than mine...so to me that just means a lot more work.

A multimeter...no, but thank goodness for Wikipedia! Once I get my hands on a soldering iron, solder, and a multimeter what needs done? :)
 
Welcome aboard! :thmbsp: I'm sure there will be some folks along shortly that can help you out.
 
Welcome to AK Tophu, it's a great place to be! Looks like you have your work cut out for you, but should be a fun project and a great way to learn!
 
Tophu said:
Hi Lisa and Glen, thanks for replying. I have done some soldering work on pipes when our water tank blew out. I'm sure this is nothing like soldering on electronics, but hey, it's something I'm sure will be fun to try.

And yes, Lisa, I saw your post with the Astro Sonic in beautiful condition and thought, wow, that is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. Of course yours is in much better shape than mine...so to me that just means a lot more work.

A multimeter...no, but thank goodness for Wikipedia! Once I get my hands on a soldering iron, solder, and a multimeter what needs done? :)
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that you will necessarily need them I was merely making
an assessment. The first thing to do with this unit would be to clean
all controls and switches. The most recommended here to clean them
with is Caig DeoxIT D5. Do Not use lubricants like WD40.
 
Do I want to do that to clean all the connections? Can I find this stuff at an electronics store, or should I just order it online?
 
Tophu supposidly you can buy DeoxIT at Guitar Center. I went in there and no one knew what it was (not even the store manager)! They had to look it up on their computer and saw it was in stock but they didn't know where it was. They weren't very helpful and it was a frustrating experience. I'm just going to buy it online from one of AK's sponsors. It's pretty light so it shouldn't cost that much to ship.
 
hey, i don't wanna throw off this thread too much, but i went to guitar center to pick up some spare headshells, and it took 5 guys before they knew what i was asking for. and they were sitting in plain view in a display case in the 'DJ room'
 
I ordered the Deox, waiting for it to come in, then I can start to wipe everything down. Does anyone know where I can get a stylus and arm for something like this? I actually think the arm is okay, just needs to have the wires replaced.

I may open this thread to the DIY forum, seems more applicable.
 
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