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Old 9th Nov 2011, 1:41 am   #16
Darren-UK
Retired Dormant Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Blackpool, Lancashire, UK.
Posts: 4,061
Default Philips (Non auto).

As stated way back at the beginning, we're adhering to the common types and brands of record player. The vast majority of those will be fitted with decks by BSR, Garrard and Collaro. Unfortunately Philips machines from the 1950's/60's still turn up frequently and these contraptions are a law unto themselves.

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^ This image appears elsewhere but it's convenient to repeat it here. What we can see is the usual cause of trouble with Philips machines of the relevant era; the 'rocking' combined headshell and cartridge. This particular headshell is an AG3016 but there were several versions with, of course, differing part numbers. Another version is seen fitted to the Stella contraption in the previous post. Incidentally, if the Philips/Stella thing is confusing then we'll explain. Philips and Stella were essentially the same, the difference being that Philips badged items were sold only via appointed Philips dealers and Stella badged items could, for all intents and purposes, be sold via any Tom, Dick or Harry. This was not unusual, HMV and Marconiphone being the same (HMV - appointed dealers, Marconiphone - Tom, Dick or Harry).

The underside view, above right, shows the two adjacent styli and the entire head can be turned through, I don't know, some 20 or 30 degrees to enable selection of either stylus. Of the 'M N' markings on the top; 'M' is for the Microgroove stylus (in other words, vinyl records) whereas 'N' is for 'Normal'. The latter means 78RPM records, these still being the standard (hence, Normal) type of record at that time.

So if the Philips headshell/cartridge fails - which it will do if it hasn't done so already, what do you do? As said elsewhere, replacements can just about still be purchased but they're expensive and differ somewhat in external appearance. These replacements are also fixed, ie they no longer use the 'rocking' feature, and a conventional flipover stylus is used. An alternative is to gut the old headshell and fit a conventional cartridge. This operation is fiddly, often messy and requires some adaption, whilst only a very few conventional cartridges are small enough to fit. Ask in the forums if you find yourself facing this predicament.

If, however, you have one of these rocking heads which is still in good order and need new styli then styli are still obtainable. Check our Suppliers sticky in the Vintage Audio section. See also post #17 below and the warning therein.

Moving on now, we'll mention the various types of Philips record player from the era concerned. Essentially there were two; the add-on effort seen in the previous post and the 'Disc Jockey' range.

Several variants of the Disc Jockey were produced, the vast majority used the odd headshell/cartridge arrangement already described but a very small few were made with a more conventional tonearm arrangement. Most Disc Jockeys which turn up have the loudspeaker mounted in the lid, protected externally by an expanded metal grille and internally by sturdy wire mesh. The idea was this; the operator (the disc jockey, if you like) would play records with the lid up and thus with the loudspeaker facing the room full of bopping teenagers.

Philips operating instructions stated the following:
Quote:
The lid is detachable and the instrument may be played with the lid on or off. The quality is best with the lid off and placed across the corner of the room.
To facilitate this (dubiously desirable) feature, which is probably responsible for so many of the pesky things surviving today, a lengthy 'speaker lead was fitted. In some instances this connected to the amplifier via two 'Wander' plugs which fitted into sockets on the deck plinth. These plugs/sockets can give problems; poor plug-to-socket connections due to dirt and/or wear and poor connections between 'speaker wire(s) and plug(s). In other instances the 'speaker wire disappeared beneath the plinth (the wooden board the deck mounts upon) to be connected directly to the amplifier.

The loudspeaker arrangement, as might be expected with Philips, has its problems. With the lid shut the loudpeaker is horizontal and, because it's designed to operate in the vertical plane, can suffer from less-than-acceptable frequency response. On the other hand, with the lid open and/or detached, anyone in close proximity to the deck can hear the mechanically produced acoustics from the stylus. Of course, you can turn up the volume to drown this out but then you might have a problem with the lid vibrating and, if it's been moved from the deck and placed on a table, sideboard or whatever, may gradually creep and end up crashing to the floor.

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^ This is in fact the same deck as appeared towards the bottom of the previous post but with the lead moved out of the way. It's convenient to reuse the image as that very same deck was also used on Philips/Stella single play record players (that is, self contained with amplifier and loudspeaker as opposed to add-on). Incidentally, the should be a Philips badge on this deck, mounted just above the turntable, but it's absent on this example.

Towards the top of the image we can see the speed change lever, awkwardly located beneath the tonearm and close to the rear of the cabinet. These levers do not have a very positive feel to them when in use, mainly because they operate via a number of springs. Any problems here and you should suspect springs (broken, detached, missing or stretched) and/or other parts of the linkage which may have seized due to the familiar lubrication issues.

At the base (the dome shaped part) of the tonearm we can see another control (The "Auto Stop Lever") with an operating lever and, diametrically opposite, a pointer and scale (the latter is none too clear on the image. These decks are designed to shut down when the tonearm has reached the end of a record and the control in question is used to set the point of shut down. It can be very fiddly to set up so as to work correctly and thus is one of the common 'fault assumptions', shall we say, with these decks. Philips operating instructions state the following:
Quote:
This adjustment makes it possible to set the player to accommodate all standard sizes of record. This lever should be turned in a fully clockwise direction before attempting any adjustment. The record which it is desired to play should be placed on the turntable and the motor should be started by gently swinging the pick-up arm back away from the turntable. The pick-up arm should then be held over the beginning of the run-off groove of the record and the auto stop lever turned in an anti-clockwise direction until the motor stops. The adjustment is now correct for this record. By noting the position of the pointer against the marking, this adjustment can be pre-set for other records.
Why Philips thought this rigmarole was necessary is a mystery, especially when considering other manufacturers fitted auto shut-off to their single-play decks which required the operator to do - nothing. So if you can get this feature to work properly, and repeatedly so, then well done. Otherwise there'll be problems with worn and/or damaged linkages which can be awkward to sort out; create a forum thread giving details and images if you find yourself in this position.

Caution: The linkage for the motor start and auto shut-off features operates, obviously, a mains switch located below the deck. You are therefore advised to ensure the machine is disconnected from the mains supply before attempting repairs or adjustments to the below-deck mechanism.
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