Magnavox Imperial [Collaro] record changer

[kirstyd]

Hi all.
I have spent most of today stripping and cleaning this machine, with the help of Michael Maurice's excellent pictorial guide [thanks Michael]. Everything went like clockwork till it was time to remove the large toothed wheel. As I carefully pulled it off two parts fell out [photo 1]. Now, I have sussed out where the small wheel fits, but I can't for the life of me work out where the other part came from, and I can't spot anything like it in any of Michael's photos. I am beginning to wonder if it belongs in there at all. It appears to be bent and may have been fouling the mechanism. Anyone recognise it?

[kirstyd]

hmm i think i have just spotted the offending part in Michaels guide [last photo post 7].It seems the bit of metal should be flat [god knows what must have happened for it to end up bent almost double ]

[peter_sol]

That is the trip lever
See Collaro conquest sticky post 5 bottom picture where it states"remove this circlip"
I doubt you will straighten it well enough
I can send you one in the post. what is the other round piece?

[kirstyd]

Thanks peter .The other bit fits onto the pin on the underside of the large cogged wheel near the centre[you can see it in Michaels guide] although how your supposed to keep it in position whilst reassembling the thing i have no idea i supose a little grease would keep it there while it was refitted .theres no groove for a cir clip nothing .Thanks for the offer if i cant get this one straight i will let you know .Knowing what that part is explains why the thing wont cycle after playing a record

[peter_sol]

It is not supposed to be exactly straight so PM me with your address if you need it. Mine is from a conquest model

[Michael Maurice]

Be careful, I dont think that the cam wheels between the Conquest and the Studio are interchangeable.

[kirstyd]

Hi Maurice
the cam wheels are ok its just the trip arm thats bent.I have straightened it out as best as i can and fitted it back onto the rest of the machine .It seems to move freely however i wont know if it works till i put the whole thing back together at the weekend

[kirstyd]

Hi all
Well i have spent today fitting the new trip lever [Many thanks to you Peter for sending me a new one ]I have carefully cleaned and lubed everything as i reassembled the unit .On switching on for the first time the thing didn't work properly so back to the drawing board and then i saw that i hadn't pushed the pickup operating lever back onto the cam .Did all of that switched on and bingo it went right through the cycle .I have since played a 78/45 and an LP it worked perfectly every time There is a flat side on the cycle change wheel so theres a clunking sound while the record is being changed but once the arm settles onto the record its fine .As you can see from the photos the trip lever that Peter sent me is much more substantial than the one i tried to straighten out .There are other small differences to the deck in Maurice's thread for example the overarm is different on my machine .It can be pushed down and locked out of the way i would imagine for manual playing of records .The record deck is from a Magnavox console [What we would call a radiogram ] it has a separate tuner and amplifier both valve units .There are 6 speakers in the cabinet three for each channel so it should sound quite nice once its up and running .No doubt i will be needing some help with those .Thanks again guys for the usual expert help and advice

[peter_sol]

Hi Kirsty
Glad it is sorted
I think Collaro tried to make the trip lever lighter by making it thinner to reduce drag, but perhaps went too far

[Audio1950]

Originally Posted by kirstyd

There are other small differences to the deck in Maurice's thread for example the overarm is different on my machine .It can be pushed down and locked out of the way i would imagine for manual playing of records .

Well done! Good to see one of these beautiful changers brought back to full working condition. The facility to lock the overarm is provided for when the deck is fitted to a conventional portable record player, which, when tipped on it's side for transportation, would cause a loose overarm to move about, and sustain possible damage.

[kirstyd]

yes i see what you mean .I suppose when you think about what it actually does theres not a lot of strain on it . I would imagine someone must have physically forced the turntable round to cause that kind of damage the motor alone would not have been powerful enough just glad its working properly and i really like the way the changer cycle stays at the same speed even when playing 78s
thanks again peter