Help identifying a Philips reel-to-reel (Identified as an EL3527).

[Phil G4SPZ]

Can anyone please help me find a model number and/or approximate age of this potential donation to the museum where I work as a volunteer? It looks quite early to me, say mid-50s, but I've not seen one like it before.

Many thanks,

Phil

[ms660]

EL3527?

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_el3527.html

Lawrence.

[Phil G4SPZ]

Spot on! Thank you Lawrence, that's a great help.

[ben]

Wonder what's on the tape?

[Phil G4SPZ]

Always interesting to find out, Ben. I do tend to play back any 'found' tapes straight away, although it might be months later that I get round to restoring the machine itself. More often than not, it'll be a mix tape of pop music recorded with the microphone from a tinny transistor radio, but once I found a 1960s recording of the voice of one of my wife's relatives, then aged 20, who died in a car crash just months later. Very poignant. I have also found some interesting business dictation on tapes that came with old Stenorettes.

[Sideband]

The first tape recorder I had given to me back in the 60's. I always liked the fact that it could be used as an amplifier without the motors running. I had a BSR turntable connected to mine and could use it for hours just in the 'AMP' position.

[barrymagrec]

This:- https://www.vintagerecorders.co.uk/V...age.asp?IDS=32 looks to be a predecessor with a similar deck.

[Hartley118]

That brings back fond memories of discovering a similar recorder at the youth club I'd just joined back in the late '50s. The music there had previously been limited to Victor Sylvester and Jimmy Shand on 78s on a vintage Collaro Microgram, so I offered to record some up to date pops from Radio Luxemourg.

Together with building an amplifier with push-pull 6V6s, that revolutionised the music and dramatically increased attendance. We never looked back!

I recall a curiosity of that Philips model was that it left a thump recorded on the tape whenever that central control knob was switched from <play> to <stop>. Maybe it was a fault on our machine or a general feature of the model.

Martin

[Phil G4SPZ]

Some useful information there, thanks again chaps. If all goes according to plan, the EL3527 will be on display as a working exhibit in Stanton's shop at the Black Country Living Museum in five to ten years' time.

[vidjoman]

Originally Posted by barrymagrec

This:- https://www.vintagerecorders.co.uk/V...age.asp?IDS=32 looks to be a predecessor with a similar deck.

There was another between these two types - AG8109. I had one. The magic eye was at the back - one of those bar & dot types. A bit difficult to use but you got used to it after a while.

[Maarten]

Unless it got lost, the type label and the production label on those might be in the mains cord compartment.

[ricard]

Originally Posted by vidjoman

There was another between these two types - AG8109. I had one. The magic eye was at the back - one of those bar & dot types. A bit difficult to use but you got used to it after a while.

It seems to be only in Britain that these early Philips tape recorders had type designations starting with AG, a series which I think was mostly used for record players and associated accessories. The AG8109 is known as the EL3517 elsewhere.

This early Philips 'two 5" reels separated by a diagonal tape slot' was used in a number of models. There were a number of modifications made over the years, for instance the EL3510 has a long spring belt which drives the reels via clutches, whereas at some point later they started using separate (rubber) belts which among other things brought the advantage that the supply reel is not turning backwards in play mode (via its clutch) in order to supply back tension but is stationary, I think in order to minimize wow and flutter.

The earlier machines such as the EL3510/AG8109 and EL3517 use the DM70 'exclamation point' magic eye, whereas later models such as the EL3520 use the EM81.