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Realistic/Elac Miracord 46

w5hro

w5hro

Member
Has anyone come across one of these old Miracord 46's lately? It was made in Germany by Elac, but it was also sold by Radio Shack back in the early 1970's for a short while. I had one for years that I bought new from Radio Shack back then and it was my most favorite turntable.

Miracord_46 .jpg
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malden said:
I think Miracords are the best idler drive changers.
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Yeah, they were. You could plug in the tall shaft and load it with several LP's and they would drop down one at a time after each side was finished playing. When it got down past the last track on a side the arm would lift up and automatically come back over unlike the modern turntables today and that's what I miss the most. That one feature alone was worth more than anything else. Now you have to watch and be there when the last track has finished playing otherwise it will often go all the way over to the center and the needle starts dragging on top of the paper label.
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Yep. I love 'em. First one came off C-list and I bought it based on a 30 second demo; knowing nothing else about it. Hard to beat the idlers.
 
I have a Realistic/Miracord 40A I traded a friend for. Unfortunately the stacking spindles were missing. It works great as a single play auto though. I've also found you're best off using it in auto mode, the tonearm can jump out of your hand when you try to cue it if you're not careful. Not good for the stylus or record :no:.
 
I was taking one to get the Rca cable repaired yesterday and had a car in front of me jam their brakes at 55 to pull an illegal u turn on a highway and the table flew off my seat and pow, it's now screwed up. It's a 42 version, if anyone needs parts I gave the sled counterweight and several other parts. Single play and multi play spindle as well let me know and their yours
 
likebike23 said:
It works great as a single play auto though
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That's what I miss the most. Really didn't care about stacking the LP's. The nice part is when it got down to the end of a side after playing the last track, the arm automatically picked up, moved back over and it would shut off.

Harvestor said:
Hello there Brian how long have you been into the Amateur radio hobby?
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As long and before the other, early 1970's.
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w5hro said:
That's what I miss the most. Really didn't care about stacking the LP's. The nice part is when it got down to the end of a side after playing the last track, the arm automatically picked up, moved back over and it would shut off.



As long and before the other, early 1970's.
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I figured you were a long time operator.... I'm studying for my ticket after being a shortwave Listener since I was in grade school in the 70's... more consistently in last 15 years..
 
Harvestor said:
I figured you were a long time operator.... I'm studying for my ticket after being a shortwave Listener since I was in grade school in the 70's... more consistently in last 15 years..
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Actually, now think that photo I posted with the old Miracord 46 turntable was from December 1973, almost 74. Someone gave me a modern Polaroid camera that Christmas and I used it to take the photo. I remember because that next coming summer in 1974 I acquired a pair of McIntosh MC-60 power amps and a C-22 preamp and I used the turntable for years into the C-22 until I sold it all in the mid 1980’s along with my Teac reel-to-reel stuff.

The workbench in that photo I had originally bought for my tube ham gear in 1970 because I did a lot of work on my equipment and a lot of CB repair and modifications for people back then. Then when the CB craze peaked it the mid 70’s the workbench became for that again and I moved the stereo equipment to a coffee table against the wall across the room.

I actually searched around and found one or two Miracord 46’s for sale along with a bunch of Elac’s. The Elac’s themselves never looked as nice, because the one from Radio Shack had the nicest looking base and overall appearance. The Radio Shack’s may have used a lower grade motor and mechanical components on the bottom side compared to the Elac’s but I’m not certain. Will have to do some more research.
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Just picked up a Realistic Elac Miracord 46 for $25. Came with the single play and 33 changer spindles and the dust cover isn't broken. I'll do a full cleaning and re-lube on it. I think it has the original realistic branded shure cartridge too. Only thing missing is the 45 changer spindle, but I don't collect 45's. This may end up being my daily driver once I get it refurb'd. It would push out several older Duals I have in various states of restoration.

I'd be interested in a scan of a user manual and service manual for a 46 if anyone has them.

There is a 40 page thread (and growing) on Elac Miracords here on AK you might want to check out. It is here.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/elac-miracord-tt-share-all-about-em.390203/
 
Tim D said:
Just picked up a Realistic Elac Miracord 46 for $25. Came with the single play and 33 changer spindles and the dust cover isn't broken. I'll do a full cleaning and re-lube on it. I think it has the original realistic branded shure cartridge too. Only thing missing is the 45 changer spindle, but I don't collect 45's. This may end up being my daily driver once I get it refurb'd. It would push out several older Duals I have in various states of restoration.

I'd be interested in a scan of a user manual and service manual for a 46 if anyone has them.

There is a 40 page thread (and growing) on Elac Miracords here on AK you might want to check out. It is here.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/elac-miracord-tt-share-all-about-em.390203/
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As a person who has had Elacs for many years, you get kind of used to settling for a close enough manual, which is fine because with the exception of a gee gaw or shape of buttons, they really arent so different. In this case...a 45 (which was the previous RS rebadge) is pretty well spot on..https://www.vinylengine.com/library/elac/miracord-45.shtml or, hopefully you will get lucky and someone will have one for a 46.
I have a 46 (RS rebadge),50hII and a 625..the one common (and only) problem of any note between them was a link that runs from the start button to the speed selector. When you push start, the speed selector moves back a slight bump, and everything works as it should. If that business is gunked up with old lube then you push start, the speed doesnt nudge and nothing happens, corrected at that time by manually bumping the speed selector by hand, then it all works as it should from there. Other than that, never have had a problem with any of them.
Good luck.
 
I had a 46 around here for awhile. It was on CL for about a month and nobody else would buy it so I had to. A little bit of cleaning, degumming, adjusting, and tracking down a single play spindle and I had a very nice TT. I passed it on to a friend who really needed the auto cuing and it's served him well for a coupe of years, now. If one of the older models showed up nearby and reasonable, I'd snap it up.
 
Ok. I've ordered a manual from the big auction site from Germany for the 46. Seems to be 3 language (including English). I'll let you guys know what it's like when I receive it.

Gonna check out my unit. It's got a Realistic branded Shure cart in it. It's probably the original. I'm curious as to which stock Shure model it compares with. I'd also like to start pricing new stylus.
 
Tim D said:
Ok. I've ordered a manual from the big auction site from Germany for the 46. Seems to be 3 language (including English). I'll let you guys know what it's like when I receive it.

Gonna check out my unit. It's got a Realistic branded Shure cart in it. It's probably the original. I'm curious as to which stock Shure model it compares with. I'd also like to start pricing new stylus.
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If the cartridge has a big "R" in the front, it's a SHURE M75 series and more than likely the original that came with the turntable.

If the tone-arm bearings are working without friction you could try a high compliance stylus such as the N75ED (elliptical) or N75G (conical).

If the tone-arm bearings are slightly stiff and don't allow the arm to float freely then go with a medium compliance stylus such as the N75EJ (elliptical), N75B or N75-6 (conical)...

https://www.jico-stylus.com/advance...h_in_description=1&keywords=shure+n75&x=0&y=0

Whether the tone-arm has smooth or stiff bearings, If you are using it to stack records, a medium compliance stylus is the way to go.
 
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malden said:
If the cartridge has a big "R" in the front, it's a SHURE M75 series and more than likely the original that came with the turntable.

If the tone-arm bearings are working without friction you could try a high compliance stylus such as the N75ED (elliptical) or N75G (conical).

If the tone-arm bearings are slightly stiff and don't allow the arm to float freely then go with a medium compliance stylus such as the N75EJ (elliptical), N75B or N75-6 (conical)...

https://www.jico-stylus.com/advance...h_in_description=1&keywords=shure+n75&x=0&y=0

Whether the tone-arm has smooth or stiff bearings, If you are using it to stack records, a medium compliance stylus is the way to go.
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Thanks Malden,

All good info. Just checked and it’s got a Realistic Shure R700E in it. I’m not going to deal with the stylus until I service it.
 
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