The official Fairchild 412 registry thread!

[mdye]

I'm the owner of two Fairchild 412 turntables. One is an older "basic chassis" with 45 adapter, original plinth and Papst motor. The other appears to be a later model with the Fairchild labelled motor. No plinth for that one. I will post serial numbers and pics as soon as I can.

I'm looking to finally get around to restoring the one with the Papst motor. Does anyone know where to find suitable motor mounts for the Papst motor versions? There used to be a seller on Ebay that had some that looked correct, but I'm not seeing them anymore.

 

[adnick]

I'm the owner of two Fairchild 412 turntables. One is an older "basic chassis" with 45 adapter, original plinth and Papst motor. The other appears to be a later model with the Fairchild labelled motor. No plinth for that one. I will post serial numbers and pics as soon as I can.

I'm looking to finally get around to restoring the one with the Papst motor. Does anyone know where to find suitable motor mounts for the Papst motor versions? There used to be a seller on Ebay that had some that looked correct, but I'm not seeing them anymore.

Congrats on the Fairchild, they are extremely capable tables, do post pictures nd serial numbers….

Contact @Sam Cogley and ask if he still has some mounts available.


VR
Andy

 

[mdye]

Thanks for the tip, Andy. I have just messaged Sam--fingers crossed.

 

[mdye]

Alright, some quick pics to share of my two 412s.

On the right, the Model 412 Basic Chassis with connector for the 412-ED speed control regulator, and what appears to be a pulley for 45 rpm records. This pulley appears a bit crude compared to the rest of the engineering, so I'm not 100% sure if these parts are all original. On the left the 412-1AA--later version, shallow chassis.



Serial number 2758 for the Model 412 Basic Chassis.



Serial number 7723 for the model 412-1AA.



Closeup of the apparent 45 rpm pulley and rusty arm on the Basic Chassis unit.



Fairchild Synchronous "Borg" Motor on the 412-1AA. Motor mounts on this one seem to be in good shape.



Papst motor on the 412 Basic Chassis. Motor mounts appear to be in rough shape. Both motors do work, although I haven't had a chance to open them up, clean them, apply oil, etc.



Platter for Basic Chassis on the right, 412-1AA on the left. Both platters are identical except the one that came with the Basic Chassis table appears to have a pop-up 45 adapter and two different bottom belt diameters--again, I'm assuming for 33 and 45 rpm. The 412-1AA only has a single, consistent belt diameter.



A typical 412 plinth on the right that came with the Basic Chassis unit. Wood and top both in really good shape. Black plastic pulley cover that has some nicks and could use a good cleaning. Has, what appears to be original, a cut out recess in the top for a tonearm base. This table originally had a Fairchild 282 arm, but it didn't come with the table when I purchased it. On the left, a metal cover in really nice shape that came with the 412-1AA. No recess for a tonearm baseplate to push into. The 412-1AA that I bought did not have any sort of plinth included with it.

 

[adnick]

Thanks for sharing…I’d concur that the 45 pulley mechanism is not original, but it’s an interesting idea.

Are both platters filled?

These are impressive machines, had wanted one for years before finding mine, the design and engineering is outstanding.

VR
Andy

 

[Sam Cogley]

That 45 pulley is an interesting kludge - someone seems to have been inspired by the 412-2.

 

[mdye]

Andy -- sorry I missed your question earlier. Yes, I can confirm that both platters are filled.

I'm actually looking to replace the arc suppressor capacitor across the power switch. Looks like the original bumble bee cap that's in there is a .056uf 600V. I do have some .01uf X1/Y2 safety caps on hand. Anyone know if this would suffice for this job? I'm uncertain how important the actual capacitance value should be here. I see in the Photofact for the 412-ED that they list a .047uf 400V cap in this position, so I'm guessing that the capacitance value, as long as it's not too large, isn't super critical.

 

[adnick]

Just about any safety cap will work, mine was old enough not to even have one

Don’t recall what I used on mine, probably a .047 because that’s what was in my parts box, lots of old turntables use them, but an .01 X/Y will work just fine, they get used on many amps/preamps…

VR
Andy

 

[mdye]

Thanks, Andy. I'll give this .01 X/Y a shot.

 

[Joe F]

Newish 412 owner. Just starting to get around to putting this table together. I have a NOS 500 arm and I thought I’d post some pictures

 

[Joe F]

More

 

[Joe F]

The table

 

[adnick]

Newish 412 owner. Just starting to get around to putting this table together. I have a NOS 500 arm and I thought I’d post some pictures

Welcome Joe! Another Texan, and a 412 owner!

Very impressive tonearm photos, and a good looking machine, of course we’re going to ask for serial number and such


Regards,
Andy

 

[Joe F]

Thanks for the welcome. I saw someone mentioned a EBay seller for motor mount grommets but a search didn’t didn’t bring up any results.
Anyone have a source or part number?
Thanks
Joe

 

[adnick]

Thanks for the welcome. I saw someone mentioned a EBay seller for motor mount grommets but a search didn’t didn’t bring up any results.
Anyone have a source or part number?
Thanks
Joe

Maybe @Sam Cogley will come along, he may have a source for motor mounts….

Andy

 

[Sam Cogley]

Newish 412 owner. Just starting to get around to putting this table together. I have a NOS 500 arm and I thought I’d post some pictures

I wish my SA-12 was that shiny! Any chance you could post a pic of the underside of the base? I've long been curious about the anti-skating system used on the 500.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Alright, some quick pics to share of my two 412s.

On the right, the Model 412 Basic Chassis with connector for the 412-ED speed control regulator, and what appears to be a pulley for 45 rpm records. This pulley appears a bit crude compared to the rest of the engineering, so I'm not 100% sure if these parts are all original. On the left the 412-1AA--later version, shallow chassis.

View attachment 2543648

Serial number 2758 for the Model 412 Basic Chassis.

View attachment 2543655

Serial number 7723 for the model 412-1AA.

View attachment 2543653

Closeup of the apparent 45 rpm pulley and rusty arm on the Basic Chassis unit.

View attachment 2543656

Fairchild Synchronous "Borg" Motor on the 412-1AA. Motor mounts on this one seem to be in good shape.

View attachment 2543658

Papst motor on the 412 Basic Chassis. Motor mounts appear to be in rough shape. Both motors do work, although I haven't had a chance to open them up, clean them, apply oil, etc.

View attachment 2543660

Platter for Basic Chassis on the right, 412-1AA on the left. Both platters are identical except the one that came with the Basic Chassis table appears to have a pop-up 45 adapter and two different bottom belt diameters--again, I'm assuming for 33 and 45 rpm. The 412-1AA only has a single, consistent belt diameter.

View attachment 2543662

A typical 412 plinth on the right that came with the Basic Chassis unit. Wood and top both in really good shape. Black plastic pulley cover that has some nicks and could use a good cleaning. Has, what appears to be original, a cut out recess in the top for a tonearm base. This table originally had a Fairchild 282 arm, but it didn't come with the table when I purchased it. On the left, a metal cover in really nice shape that came with the 412-1AA. No recess for a tonearm baseplate to push into. The 412-1AA that I bought did not have any sort of plinth included with it.

View attachment 2543666

Looking back at these photos again, the dataplate on your 1AA confirms what I'd suspected about the 412s, considering that it's obviously a 1A dataplate that had the extra "A" stamped on it. I don't recall ever seeing another one like that, but it would indicate that 1AA serial numbers are contiguous with the rest of the single-speed variants: the "Basic Chassis," 412-1, and 412-1A. It also gets closer to nailing down when the motor switch occurred, since they probably didn't have too many pre-made 1A dataplates when they ran out of Papst motors. I've never even come close to figuring out how many 412-2s were made, other than "not many," and 412-4s used the 412-1 chassis and as such did not have separate serial numbers. Fairchild seems to have purchased around 8000-8500 Papst motors in 1958 and 1959, with around 7500-7700 of those being installed on 412-1 variants, then switched back to the US-made "Borg Death Cube" motor that they had previously used on the 411. I don't recall seeing any post-1959 date codes on any Fairchild Papst motors, but there may be some out there. After the switch, Fairchild seems to have made about the same number, maybe slightly fewer, of 412-1AA and -1B units before the 412 was withdrawn. Curiously, despite serial numbers into the 14000s appearing, the cube motor units don't seem to show up for sale as much as the earlier Papst motor units.

 

[Joe F]

I wish my SA-12 was that shiny! Any chance you could post a pic of the underside of the base? I've long been curious about the anti-skating system used on the 500.

 

[adnick]

That’s a beauty

You’ll have a killer looking machine when done

VR
Andy

 

[Sam Cogley]

Whatever they used for the anti-skating, it's thoroughly buried in there!