Sears SolidState by Silvertone repair

[xkrebstarx]

Hi audiophiles,

Newbie millennial here that just purchased my first record player. I have no clue how to use it. Lol. I found it at an estate sale for $35, so figured I'd take the risk. She's a mid century beauty. To me at least, looks like low/middle end cabinet in big picture.

Best part is the record collection I got. Lots of classics. Beatles. Big Brother and Holding Company. Could go on all night. 4 boxes of the classic rock and roll.

I suspect there's something wrong with the player's tone arm (I think that's what it's called). It seems to be about 4 inches to the right of where I would expect it to be. YouTube video below to show the problem. Does it look weird to anyone else? Any ideas how to fix it?

https://youtube.com/shorts/AMp_Agscu6g?feature=share

-Mac

 

[cademan]

Does the radio work okay? I am not much into mechanics but I am sure someone else will be along shortly that knows more about the inner workings of a turntable than I do.

 

[xkrebstarx]

It does work. After the automatic arm mechanism is finished and I can freely swing the arm, I'm able to play a record. It's the automatic mechanism that's broken.

Maybe I should also mention that the arm range of motion wouldn't get to the end of a full LP. It would probably get 1/2 way though the album.

 

[newenglandj]

Somethings wrong with the tonearm linkage. When it moves over to the right and sets down, it should be on the tonearm rest, which on your turntable, is the point that it starts from. It should start it's return from the lead out of the record.

 

[newenglandj]

Most likely someone "fixed" it. It's most likely not damaged beyond repair, at worst, remove the auto return linkage and use it full manual.

 

[xkrebstarx]

Most likely someone "fixed" it. It's most likely not damaged beyond repair, at worst, remove the auto return linkage and use it full manual.

Is that an electrical component? Or mechanical?

I wonder if it's just out or position since the range of motion wouldn't play a whole LP. It's almost like it's 45 degrees out of line.

 

[newenglandj]

It's mechanical. It might just be out of position, check to see if there's any small set screws in a collar around the base of the tonearm (where it pivots horizontally). I'm thinking someone worked on it, and didn't reset the tonearm position. If there's no visible sets screws, they should be on the under side.

 

[orthophonic]

I believe it got moved out of alignment position, should be fairly simple to repair. If i get the chance this weekend, i will look at the one I have.

I see that is the top of the line Sears model console from 1968/69, those are really good consoles. They feature the two gram tonearm and variable speed turntable with strobe. They have 15" woofers, horn midrange and cone tweeters in a bass reflex
enclosure. They also feature a bit of razzmataz with the color control panel, every control has a corresponding light panel
that moves when you move the control.

The main thing that goes wrong with these is the two non polarized capacitors (1000uf) in the separate amplifier. they are
usually orange in color. Hopefully yours has already been replaced at some point, when bad you will get hum and no sound.

 

[fromnowon]

welcome @xkrebstarx
I think you've got a really cool item there and something to have fun with. Holy cow, 15" woofers in there?
If you're mechanically inclined I would not hesitate to do some disassembly and cleaning and try to understand how it works, and maybe replace some caps as mentioned.
Those consoles are from a time when the audio equipment was such an important item, it was part of the main furniture. I'm more from the era of "separates" or components but I do remember consoles and it was a big deal to play an album. That was entertainment!
If you post pictures here and you'll get plenty of help. Let's fix it! It might need a new stylus or cartridge, you wouldn't want to damage the records.