Rectilinear 3 Lowboy - Crossover, tweeters and others
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Cyr
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I reply to my own post as I managed to upload the photos without the text...
Hi,
I grabbed in my parents garage the Rectilinear 3 Lowboy that my dad bought in the early seventies. They haven't been used for the last 30 years or so.
I brought them to a local vintage audio shop who did an examination, the outcome is that many parts are not functional : some tweeters and super tweeters, one of the mid range, both of the crossovers. Only the woofers are ok, appart from a dust cap which needs to be re-glued in.
The crossovers look like they have been plugged to DC voltage. Talking to my dad about that he recalls having used them at a party where they were plugged to a power generator, which at some point delivered the wrong voltage or type of current, that was in Ivory Coast outbacks in the seventies.
So now, for sentimental reason I guess, I am willing to bring those two back to life, but I am stuck trying to find the crossovers and the tweeters. I have never done soldering and I am a total newbie about electronics.. but I am familiar with tools and I can try.
I already bought a pair of mid-range speakers (New Old Stock) from Germany (Philips AD 5061 M8).
If any of those reading this have some spare parts, I should be interested in.
By the way, I am in south of France, in Montpellier, but I can get a US postal address if needed.
I hope I don't make too much mistakes in my English writings.
Attached are a few pics I took. Regards.
Cyril.
Hi,
I grabbed in my parents garage the Rectilinear 3 Lowboy that my dad bought in the early seventies. They haven't been used for the last 30 years or so.
I brought them to a local vintage audio shop who did an examination, the outcome is that many parts are not functional : some tweeters and super tweeters, one of the mid range, both of the crossovers. Only the woofers are ok, appart from a dust cap which needs to be re-glued in.
The crossovers look like they have been plugged to DC voltage. Talking to my dad about that he recalls having used them at a party where they were plugged to a power generator, which at some point delivered the wrong voltage or type of current, that was in Ivory Coast outbacks in the seventies.
So now, for sentimental reason I guess, I am willing to bring those two back to life, but I am stuck trying to find the crossovers and the tweeters. I have never done soldering and I am a total newbie about electronics.. but I am familiar with tools and I can try.
I already bought a pair of mid-range speakers (New Old Stock) from Germany (Philips AD 5061 M8).
If any of those reading this have some spare parts, I should be interested in.
By the way, I am in south of France, in Montpellier, but I can get a US postal address if needed.
I hope I don't make too much mistakes in my English writings.
Attached are a few pics I took. Regards.
Cyril.
Hi Cyr, and welcome to the AK forum. I know people who used to spend time in Montpelier. Those speakers "look" very good, but it sounds as if they may have suffered some serious damage. If they had an inappropriate electrical signal sent to them, it's quite possible that several of the original drivers may have been damaged beyond repair. Not meaning to mistrust the diagnosis from your local shop, but I would suggest trying to confirm that some drivers might be dead by applying a wire with a low volume audio signal directly to the rear terminals of each driver. Who knows?....perhaps some (or all) of the tweeters are still functional. Mids, too.
Good to know you have replacement mids, at least - - - the Phillips 5061 is a great driver and provide a great deal of the audio quality in these Rectilinears. I think all of the tweeters and super-tweeters are simple Peerless
All of those crossover components are original. Hard to tell from your pic, but did one of those capacitors explode? - - - I have seen this happen before with those cheap black/red capacitors. All of the caps should be replaced no matter what, but again, it's possible that other crossover components may not have been damaged are could be suitable for re-use.
Wait for some other initial opinions here, but I think you'll need to do a bit more diagnostic work to be certain which parts will need replacement. It will be a fun project, and these are terrific speakers. Best of luck...will keep watching.
Good to know you have replacement mids, at least - - - the Phillips 5061 is a great driver and provide a great deal of the audio quality in these Rectilinears. I think all of the tweeters and super-tweeters are simple Peerless
All of those crossover components are original. Hard to tell from your pic, but did one of those capacitors explode? - - - I have seen this happen before with those cheap black/red capacitors. All of the caps should be replaced no matter what, but again, it's possible that other crossover components may not have been damaged are could be suitable for re-use.
Wait for some other initial opinions here, but I think you'll need to do a bit more diagnostic work to be certain which parts will need replacement. It will be a fun project, and these are terrific speakers. Best of luck...will keep watching.
Cyr
New Member
Thanks for the reply ra.ra,
I tested the woofer and the mid-range drivers using a 4v battery. Woofers are ok, and one of the mid-range is dead.
Regarding the tweeters I don't know how to test them as I read somewhere that a 4v battery could damage the tweeter.
Do you know if I could use a 1.2 volt battery for the tweeters ?
The website said that to test the tweeters one should use a capacitor. But I don't know which type and how to charge them.
I confirm that on both crossovers the red and black capacitor has exploded.
That doesn't worry me too much. They can be changed. I am more worried about the pot knob which aren't functionnal anymore.
Here are some more pics of the crooovers
I tested the woofer and the mid-range drivers using a 4v battery. Woofers are ok, and one of the mid-range is dead.
Regarding the tweeters I don't know how to test them as I read somewhere that a 4v battery could damage the tweeter.
Do you know if I could use a 1.2 volt battery for the tweeters ?
The website said that to test the tweeters one should use a capacitor. But I don't know which type and how to charge them.
I confirm that on both crossovers the red and black capacitor has exploded.
That doesn't worry me too much. They can be changed. I am more worried about the pot knob which aren't functionnal anymore.
Here are some more pics of the crooovers
About the tweeters, you should be fine just testing these with a small battery. It sounds like your voltage designations (1.2V and 4V) for household batteries in France are different from ours in the U.S. (1.5V and 9V), but the 1.2V battery you mention should work. With a small wire attached to the battery terminals, brief contact with the tweeter terminals should produce a tiny scratching sound to confirm if the driver is functional.
I have seen these black/red capacitors fail like this before, but never as violently as yours - - and in both speakers! It's quite possible that these cap failures have led to tweeter failures, but this is exactly why your close diagnosis is critical. It is interesting to see the tweeter cap as 2.5uF - - - I have previously only seen this tweeter cap as 2.0 and 2.2 in Rectilinear speaker models. Also, on the mid cap - - - does this say 60uF? When this Phillips mid was used in other Rectilinear models, I have seen 90uF and 105uF caps used for this circuit. Please confirm value for both mid caps.
For the pots, I would recommend removing the hex nut under the knob and pushing the pot through the hole in the black plastic plate. This will give you greater access to spray some electronic contact cleaner around the control stem that might loosen them up sufficiently for cleaning and lubrication. Keep us posted.
I have seen these black/red capacitors fail like this before, but never as violently as yours - - and in both speakers! It's quite possible that these cap failures have led to tweeter failures, but this is exactly why your close diagnosis is critical. It is interesting to see the tweeter cap as 2.5uF - - - I have previously only seen this tweeter cap as 2.0 and 2.2 in Rectilinear speaker models. Also, on the mid cap - - - does this say 60uF? When this Phillips mid was used in other Rectilinear models, I have seen 90uF and 105uF caps used for this circuit. Please confirm value for both mid caps.
For the pots, I would recommend removing the hex nut under the knob and pushing the pot through the hole in the black plastic plate. This will give you greater access to spray some electronic contact cleaner around the control stem that might loosen them up sufficiently for cleaning and lubrication. Keep us posted.
In total agreement here, all caps should be replaced. For some additional reading on these speakers, click here.
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ACYBGNTXmaC3jGyLR72qYIZp2Jc8YgYaCg:1569073943301&q=site:audiokarma.org+"Rectilinear+Lowboy"&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj15ZD4h-LkAhXqnuAKHe-8D0sQBQgvKAA&biw=1184&bih=851
I have a pair that I want to econowave and so I don't need the tweeters or mids.
They came from an older gent who said they worked just fine and have never been
driven hard. I confirmed today that all the drivers are working fine.
I also do not need the crossovers. I've contacted you already.
Anyone know how to remove the glued in mids and tweeters?
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/rectilinear-3-tweeter-and-mid-removal.884948/
They came from an older gent who said they worked just fine and have never been
driven hard. I confirmed today that all the drivers are working fine.
I also do not need the crossovers. I've contacted you already.
Anyone know how to remove the glued in mids and tweeters?
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/rectilinear-3-tweeter-and-mid-removal.884948/
