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Vintage Record Player Humming/Buzzing!

DoctorJon

DoctorJon

Member
Hello,

I recently acquired what I presume to be a Sylvania Record Player from the 1950s. It plays records excellent without problems, however.... it has this buzzing coming from the speakers that can't be ignored when on medium/high volumes. It only starts when the record turntable is engaged and stops when the volume is all the the way down it cannot be heard. I also noticed that the bass knob amplifies the buzz when turned up as well as the volume knob. If you could give me any information or advice that would help me fix this, I would be really grateful. If its a bad ground how would I locate the problem and fix it.

Here are the pics:
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h8RsM70.jpg

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aUtNWpe.jpg
 
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DoctorJon said:
I would be really grateful. If its a bad ground how would I locate the problem and fix it
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I'd give ya the best free tip you can ever get. This isn't vintage, it's just old tube gear with the usual associated high temperatures and insane voltages. The humming isn't necessarily a ground issue, it could be a bad tube or equally likely a bad DC filtering capacitor. You could try the optimistic approach and clean all pots with a contact cleaner and exercise them thoroughly after that. If that doesn't help and unless you're a seasoned electronics DIY'er, leave it well alone and live longer. If by some odd reason you insist on playing vinyl on this lowly portable - get it to a tech for troubleshooting b/c the retarded technology of tube gear is not a joke and it could kill you.
 
tnsilver said:
I'd give ya the best free tip you can ever get. This isn't vintage, it's just old tube gear with the usual associated high temperatures and insane voltages. The humming isn't necessarily a ground issue, it could be a bad tube or equally likely a bad DC filtering capacitor. You could try the optimistic approach and clean all pots with a contact cleaner and exercise them thoroughly after that. If that doesn't help and unless you're a seasoned electronics DIY'er, leave it well alone and live longer. If by some odd reason you insist on playing vinyl on this lowly portable - get it to a tech for troubleshooting b/c the retarded technology of tube gear is not a joke and it could kill you.
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Thanks, I'll get this thing out of my home then. Apprieciate the advice.
 
While I agree that a danger is present (requiring service by a qualified tech) I also think you have a beautiful piece of history there. Proper restoration by a professional if you have sentimental attachment!!
 
Point to point (P2P) wiring makes them a nightmare to troubleshoot. Stamped updates to the schematic....

Hum is likely from the old electrolytic capacitors, lots of dc leakage and now way off spec.

As an antique, it’s worthy of restoration. I’m AMAZED it even works as well as it does!
 
tnsilver said:
I'd give ya the best free tip you can ever get. This isn't vintage, it's just old tube gear with the usual associated high temperatures and insane voltages. The humming isn't necessarily a ground issue, it could be a bad tube or equally likely a bad DC filtering capacitor. You could try the optimistic approach and clean all pots with a contact cleaner and exercise them thoroughly after that. If that doesn't help and unless you're a seasoned electronics DIY'er, leave it well alone and live longer. If by some odd reason you insist on playing vinyl on this lowly portable - get it to a tech for troubleshooting b/c the retarded technology of tube gear is not a joke and it could kill you.
Click to expand...

LOL this is quite a condemnation of anything old. I think versus the ratings of the components, the voltages are most likely very sane, and the technology is old but hardly retarded. Heck it even uses negative feedback an is push pull - how many tube portable record players have those features? Many people love old tube gear. Safety is a concern but it is not like having some radioactive asbestos dust in your house, it's just a matter of not touching high voltage things, and making sure to keep it off when you aren't around.

This amp needs a replacement of all the paper and electrolytic capacitors, but if the hum goes away when you turn it all the way down, I would be suspecting a bad ground in the cable connecting the cartridge to the amplifier directly causing the issue.

This old unit should be regarded as a fun antique, rather than a modern way to play records. In that context I think it is quite nice.
 
maxhifi said:
That looks like the knob for the "flip over" cartridge, to select either the "microgroove" needle for 33/45, or the "standard" 78RPM needle.
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Right...questioned how it would have a modern cart but just thought I'd throw that out there.
 
maxhifi said:
LOL this is quite a condemnation of anything old.
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Give it a break max, it's a piece of junk in a mass produced plywood cabinet. A fine exemplar of Sylvania home audio for more than half a century. Vintage doesn't mean just "old". For something to be "vintage" - it has to be of value from the get go. This isn't the case. Imagine calling a modern Crosley portable "vintage" 60 years from now. ...and yes - vacuum tube technology is inefficient, takes lot's of space, involves high temperature, high rate of ware and unreasonable voltages. Specifically in hi-fi it also includes funny THD rates. Adding insult to injury the above point to point wiring is not only retarded in comparison with modern PCB technology, it's not even par with old primitive masonite boards. I'd rather work on an electric chair than this.
 
tnsilver said:
Give it a break max, it's a piece of junk in a mass produced plywood cabinet. A fine exemplar of Sylvania home audio for more than half a century. Vintage doesn't mean just "old". For something to be "vintage" - it has to be of value from the get go. This isn't the case. Imagine calling a modern Crosley portable "vintage" 60 years from now. ...and yes - vacuum tube technology is inefficient, takes lot's of space, involves high temperature, high rate of ware and unreasonable voltages. Specifically in hi-fi it also includes funny THD rates. Adding insult to injury the above point to point wiring is not only retarded in comparison with modern PCB technology, it's not even par with old primitive masonite boards. I'd rather work on an electric chair than this.
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I think it has kitsch value, like old radios, or those clocks with the cat eyes moving back and forth. Point to point wiring is incredibly easy to work on for the initiated, and tube electronics can be extremely reliable. Don't believe me? Well it's still working now, and it's older than most people here! I'm not suggesting this is a replacement for a proper hi-fi system, or that it will sound as good, but rather that it's an interesting machine from the past. Perhaps not interesting to you, but a lot of people like to relive the past with artifacts from their youth rather than focus on objectively better performance.

Obviously if someone is interested in extracting the most information from their LPs, this is absolutely the wrong approach. If this were mine I'd have a lot more fun fixing it up than actually using it.

Also - this does not look like a Sylvania at all, to me it looks like a Columbia 360, which was quite a neat machine in its day. The Columbia LP logo is molded into the end of the tonearm of the VM changer. As these portables go, this is hardly a bad one.
 
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There are folks out there that dig those old record changers and know how to work on them. I'm not one of those people and it doesn't seem like OP is either, so if I were OP I'd offload it to someone that is. Agree this is not a project for a novice/beginner.
 
maxhifi said:
Also - this does not look like a Sylvania at all, to me it looks like a Columbia 360, which was quite a neat machine in its day.
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Nice spotting! :thumbsup: I would still not approach it with a 9 foot probe, nor change my mind about old tube gear and point to point wiring - but definitely changes my view on the antique factor.
 
tnsilver said:
Nice spotting! :thumbsup: I would still not approach it with a 9 foot probe, nor change my mind about old tube gear and point to point wiring - but definitely changes my view on the antique factor.
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The Columbia 360 was the Bose wave radio of the mid 1950s ;)

The logo in my avatar is from another old Columbia player.. I restored it, and it lives on the bookshelf in my office as a bit of decor, because I like how it looks. Playing records is what the Thorens in my listening room is for, but I do like how the Columbia looks, and it is fun to interact with antiques.
 
tnsilver said:
Give it a break max, it's a piece of junk in a mass produced plywood cabinet. A fine exemplar of Sylvania home audio for more than half a century. Vintage doesn't mean just "old". For something to be "vintage" - it has to be of value from the get go. This isn't the case. Imagine calling a modern Crosley portable "vintage" 60 years from now. ...and yes - vacuum tube technology is inefficient, takes lot's of space, involves high temperature, high rate of ware and unreasonable voltages. Specifically in hi-fi it also includes funny THD rates. Adding insult to injury the above point to point wiring is not only retarded in comparison with modern PCB technology, it's not even par with old primitive masonite boards. I'd rather work on an electric chair than this.
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.
Your statement above made me curious on the actual accepted definition of "vintage", since it is a word that is thrown around on AK all over the place.

Your assertion that it "has to be of value from the get go" doesn't seem to be included in the below definition. ;)

Also, what is "of value" to one person is often not "of value" to another (one man's junk is another man's treasure....).



From Webster:

vin·tage | \ ˈvin-tij \

Definition of vintage
(Entry 1 of 2)

1 a (1): a season's yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard
(2): WINEespecially : a usually superior wine all or most of which comes from a single year
b: a collection of contemporaneous and similar persons or things : CROP
2: the act or time of harvesting grapes or making wine
3 a: a period of origin or manufacture "a piano of 1845 vintage"
b: length of existence : AGE


vintage

adjective
Definition of vintage (Entry 2 of 2)

1 of wine : of, relating to, or produced in a particular vintage
2 : of old, recognized, and enduring interest, importance, or quality : CLASSIC
3 a: dating from the past : OLD
b: OUTMODED, OLD-FASHIONED
4 : of the best and most characteristic —used with a proper noun "vintage Shaw: a wise and winning comedy— Time"

.
 
yzzaj said:
Also, what is "of value" to one person is often not "of value" to another (one man's junk is another man's treasure....).
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Fine. Go stick a probe in a 70 y/o point to point wiring 400VDC tube mount. Talk to me when you get that cute charcoal sun tan and the 80's thorny hairstyle - if you could still talk.
 
maxhifi said:
LOL this is quite a condemnation of anything old. I think versus the ratings of the components, the voltages are most likely very sane, and the technology is old but hardly retarded. Heck it even uses negative feedback an is push pull - how many tube portable record players have those features? Many people love old tube gear. Safety is a concern but it is not like having some radioactive asbestos dust in your house, it's just a matter of not touching high voltage things, and making sure to keep it off when you aren't around.

This amp needs a replacement of all the paper and electrolytic capacitors, but if the hum goes away when you turn it all the way down, I would be suspecting a bad ground in the cable connecting the cartridge to the amplifier directly causing the issue.

This old unit should be regarded as a fun antique, rather than a modern way to play records. In that context I think it is quite nice.
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QFT and saved me from posting it :D


tnsilver said:
Fine. Go stick a probe in a 70 y/o point to point wiring 400VDC tube mount. Talk to me when you get that cute charcoal sun tan and the 80's thorny hairstyle - if you could still talk.
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Don’t go through life being scared man! Be safe don’t be scared:thumbsup: I have done just that may times... no magic smoke or charcoal :dunno:
 
^^^ no need to. The OP with a little research could jump right in and actually learn something if they wish.

I am still waiting to hear about all those rookies and no nothings that where murdered by the thousands of tube amp kits that have been built for decades :confused: o_O

:bigok:
 
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