Philco Ford Record Cabinet

[koffinduster]

Philco Ford Record Console

After a long search, last week I was fortunate enough to find an older record cabinet in working condition at an estate sale. I was hoping for one about a foot shorter in length but I got the average size that takes up a bit more room lol
The radio works fine in it but when I play records even brand new ones it seems to skip in the same area on different records. Since I have never had a player like this I am not sure where I should start with it.
Does it need a new needle? If so, what kind does it need? Part of the model number is missing from the back so I'm not sure which I need to buy.
Does the arm need adjusting? I have no idea how to do that on this one, the Youtube videos I watched were on players newer than this one and the parts didn't look quite the same.
How do I find out which model I have? Since its a Philco Ford, I am guessing its from the 60s.
While I know that some of you probably don't like these things and have more modernized pieces I love this beast and want to make it sound wonderful

 

[KentTeffeteller]

It is 1970's. If it were 1967-1969 it would have had the superior Voice Of Music changer installed which tracked at 2 grams rather than the BSR (which was a step down from the VM but adequate). Your BSR is equipped with a Tetrad ceramic cartridge which is easy to get styli for. As they were very common types.

Your Philco/Ford was built between 1971-1975. My late Grandmother had a 1967 model which I inherited. 1966-1967 was the last years for higher grade consoles before cost cutting became the watchword. Your record changer needs a new stylus, cleaning, lubrication (where necessary) and maybe minor adjustments as necessary to function correctly. Amplifier and tuner may need some work.

 

[Brian]

Thd most valuable part of the system may be the cabinet. We had one come into the shop and scoped it. We only fixed it because I had a soft spot for the owner. Her husband had bought it when he retired and babied it as if it were a $999,999 system. She used it more in his memory after he died than for its quality.

I had the tech go though each piece and almost rebuild it; almost every cap had such a wide spec, as much as 200% it was amazing it worked. The resistors had tolerances I did not know existed. We had a BZR sitting on the used shelf that could have a mm installed and the cutout was the same so we dropped it in and adde one of those small ss phono preamps. Can not remember but Inthink we dumped in a Grado FTE. These were cheap, tracked in these el cheapo tables and sounded pretty decent. The speakers were 6x9 and a round tweeter so we dumped in a high end Jensen 6x9 co-ax that had the separate tweeter mounted to its from and bypassed the original crossover.

After all this, the measured specs improved appreciably. Still worse than the lowest end amp/tjner combo or receiver. It made no difference, it sounded much better and the lady totally broke down and cried when she heard it. We charged her for 1 hour of labor in total. About 6-months later her daughter and son-inlaw came in to tell us she had passed on. They had decided that because her father loved it so much and her mother after we went through it her mother would sit for hours listening to it. She each night would sit in her husband's chair with a cup of tea and listen to the news and after either the fm radio or put on a record, this predates CDs. Many times she would just fall asleep with the fm playing and sitting in the chair. They wanted one of us to come out and prep the unit to safely travel. So, we did. My tech went to do it and said, the whole time he was there he cried. He also said the father had bought literally hundreds of new still in wrap classical, chamber and jazz records. It looked like almost all records he listened to were 78s and there was a wall full of both.

We arranged a packer for the records and I went to look. In other circumstances I would have bought the collection but, I did not have the heart. I contacted someone I knew in the destination city to reassemble the stereo and explained the situation so he would not broach the subject of buying the stereo and records. We stayed in touch long after selling the stores and becoming an attorney.

 

[gadget73]

yeah, needs a new nail most likely. That one is visibly tweaked, which is usually not a good sign. Even if not for that, without knowing how much use it's had, its cheap insurance to not shred your records.

My usual source for that stuff is thevoiceofmusic.com, but you may be able to come up with one on that big auction site too. Probably quite cheaply as well.

 

[koffinduster]

It is 1970's. If it were 1967-1969 it would have had the superior Voice Of Music changer installed which tracked at 2 grams rather than the BSR (which was a step down from the VM but adequate). Your BSR is equipped with a Tetrad ceramic cartridge which is easy to get styli for. As they were very common types.

Your Philco/Ford was built between 1971-1975. My late Grandmother had a 1967 model which I inherited. 1966-1967 was the last years for higher grade consoles before cost cutting became the watchword. Your record changer needs a new stylus, cleaning, lubrication (where necessary) and maybe minor adjustments as necessary to function correctly. Amplifier and tuner may need some work.

Thanks for that info! Good to know the age range, the woman I bought it from was selling due to her mother's passing and she said she HATED the thing because her mom traded her record player for that one when she was younger. But she was happy it was going to someone who wanted it.
Is this the type of stylus I need? http://www.ebay.com/itm/TETRAD-CARTRIDGE-Astatic-371-371D-Astatic-1171d-EV-5112D-EV-5112-Philco-35-2876-/200387322416?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ea803e230
Or this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ceramic-Cartridge-Tetrad-Universal-/161618316283?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a133cbfb
I shall google the proper way to clean/lubricate it.

Brian, that is an amazing story. After sharing on facebook my small but growing record collection my sister told me how much my mom (she passed in 2013) loved her record player and records and every week after payday she would take my older sister and brother (they are 10 and 11 yrs older than i) and they would go out and buy one record as a family and until the early 80s she did the same with me. Its amazing the ties we have to these things.

And on a different note, I haven't taken the back of the cabinet off but I was wondering if its possible to put new fabric on the back of speaker area without too much of a hassle. Also, what's a good site to get turntable pads?

 

[bobaloniny]

What you have listed are entire cartridges, including the replaceable needle.
http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/start_here.html would be the spot to get just the needle, and you can also get a mat for your platter too. Straight and trusty.
Once you got the back off of the console, more than likely you can peer in at the back of the speakers. I would think the motorboard (what the speakers are attached to) would be able to be unscrewed and pulled out so you can recover them with fabric. If you arent special lucky there may be some cleats glued in the way or something, but you are allowed to light into them with a hammer and chisel or something, as long as you promise to glue them back.

 

[koffinduster]

Should I replace just the needle or the entire thing? And I checked that site out after Gadget73 mentioned it and its fantastic.
Also the number on the Diamond Needle sticker is 78-10946-1, is this the model number of the cabinet or needle? The side of the cartridge says bsr38

 

[bluesky]

It's not a record cabinet.

It's a console. :yes:

 

[koffinduster]

See that's what I had been calling it but the local antique stores corrected me saying it was a cabinet. And when I did searches they are listed both ways so I just assumed the words were interchangeable

 

[bobaloniny]

If it were mine I think I would get just the needle, the cartridge itself is fine if you got sound from both channels when you tried it.
In fact, for the price, I think I would get 2, one as a backup in case something goes wrong like it doesnt track all the way through (servicing the tt and checking the tonearm travel by hand to make sure it swings free and smooth would be a good thing to do) and pulls the stylus askew again, like the way yours is now.
As far as which needle is right, I would think just contact the vendor and supply whatever info you have and maybe even have to email that one picture just to make sure.

 

[JoeESP9]

See that's what I had been calling it but the local antique stores corrected me saying it was a cabinet. And when I did searches they are listed both ways so I just assumed the words were interchangeable

A record cabinet holds records and nothing else. The term is self explanatory. A console is a complete stereo system in a big box.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Record cabinet.

I'm a little concerned about the pic of the tonearm pivot, it looks like a part is missing, maybe a cover for the mechanism. I don't think all that should be hanging out like that. EDIT: never mind, looks like you just shot that pic with the tonearm up in the air.

 

[Gazdatronik]

That exact model is at my thrift store right now, along with two others. For way too much, of course.

 

[JKHolman]

Although I have a nice Pioneer PL-516 powered by a Sansui 7070, I regularly play some Swing music on my Motorola console. Once you get it running right you are going to have a lot of fun with it.

- JKHolman

 

[bluesky]

See that's what I had been calling it but the local antique stores corrected me saying it was a cabinet. And when I did searches they are listed both ways so I just assumed the words were interchangeable

A record cabinet is something you store records in.

A console is something you install 'gear' in.

 

[tom3]

Might check the needle to make sure it's set for the right records if it has the flip type deal. LP for albums and 45s, 78 for the old 78 rpm records. The 78 side will not play the others.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Replace the stylus first. Cartridge is likely OK. Gary Stork at thevoiceofmusic.com has styli for it.