Tellux Record Player (no model no.) - request for help

[alpharadj67]

I am a novice trying to restore an old valve record player made by Tellux and as some threads on the forum have pointed out this is very much a 'made-to-price' type of machine. I’m doing this purely out of genuine interest in vintage electronics as a hobby, and am not intending to sell/pass these things on. This seemed like a fairly easy intro. to valve technology with its basic two-valve (UY85 & UL84) amplifier.

I’ve so far cleaned and re-greased the BSR C129 deck and this now works absolutely fine - the many threads on the forum on this subject have proved invaluable in the process. I’d really appreciate some help and guidance on the following issue, however.

The amplifier had a very loud buzz on it when first connected to mains and the noise/pitch was constant regardless of position of volume and tone controls. I found that the three-wire filter capacitor (red/yellow/'can negative') had come adrift on two points being those of yellow connection at PCB and 'can negative' connection at PCB (not surprising as this bulky/heavy capacitor was secured only by its soldered points to PCB, with no type of brace or clamp, and had been flopping about, thus weakening connections over time).

I re-soldered the filter capacitor leads back to PCB and switched on. This completely cured the buzzing, with only a faint hiss now coming through the speaker, however, there is no output from the BSR X5H cartridge (I assume this is a cartridge problem). My main worry is the fact that the resistor linking the reservoir capacitor and UY85 valve gets extremely hot in a short period of time. It has evidence of scorching on it which was present before I attempted any restoration. I’d be extremely grateful of any help or advice on what may be causing this and what I can do to cure it. Could it be the UY85? Both valves glow moderately brightly and appear ‘healthy’ (although I have no expertise to confirm this).

Unfortunately I can find no schematic on the internet for this (or any) Tellux model, but below are some (rather poor) photos of the amp, if they help – the filter capacitor disconnected again.

The print on the filter capacitor reads exactly as follows:

HUNTS
Capacitors
MADE IN ENGLAND
RED (Res) 32µF
Max Ripple 250 mA
YELLOW 8µF
275v D.C WKG
CAN NEGATIVE
JF 2281
WIT

I tested it in a low cost capacitor tester and got the following readings:

8µF capacitor: 32µF capacitor:

12.65µF 34.85µF
ESR 1.1Ω ESR 1.1Ω
V loss 2.5% V loss 2.2%

Maybe what I am doing will make a lot of experts’ hair stand on end (!) but I’m aware of the dangerous voltages on these amplifiers and the dangers of live chassis. Also I work very much on the principle of ‘plug in and switch on for very brief periods only, at a very safe distance, and touch nothing!’

Any help would be much appreciated. Many thanks and best wishes.

[dave walsh]

You are very welcome here Alpha. Your awareness and general attitude could not be better. You will have no difficulty in finding expert help from members.
The first priority has to be personal safety for the reasons you outlined. If individuals are able to listen and work systematically, there's never a problem Unfortunately some can't manage that!

Dave W

[Techman]

So, as to your fault......

If the resistor that seems to be getting too hot is between the first 'reservoir' section of the large can capacitor and the second 'smoothing' section of this capacitor, then it may indicate that this second capacitor section is leaking internally. A quick test is to run the player for a short time, then switch off and unplug from the mains and feel the can of the capacitor for any signs of warming. If it's starting to run warm then basically it's had it.

If it isn't this resistor that you're referring to (which will likely be of the carbon type with coloured bands round it) and it's a 'wire wound' type with the value actually written on it, then these type of resistors are designed to run a little on the hot side. However, I would still do that temperature check on that electrolytic can capacitor.

[alpharadj67]

Hello Dave and Techman and thank you very much for the warm welcome and advice. Safety will always be my priority while working on electrical equipment and I'll always respect and take expert advice. I will reconnect the large can capacitor first thing tomorrow morning and try the test for heat you recommend and report back. I'll also try to get some clearer photographs of the amp. Again, thank you both for the welcome, the quick replies and great advice. Best wishes.

[Techman]

Yes, don't run the player amplifier for too long, just a couple of minutes to start with. If the capacitor still feels cold then run it again for a bit longer the second time and then feel the can again. The important thing is that if one of the capacitor sections has developed a very bad leak they can go of with a 'bang' in extreme cases, and you don't want to have your head over it if it does, so keep checking for any warming of the can casing.

[RojDW48]

Hello and welcome from a fellow Bristolian. The X5H is a high output cartridge for the single stage amp in your Tellux - so, if you can get at the input (tag strip under the BSR?) with the output of something like a CD player, you could establish whether or not it was dead.

[Techman]

Just re-reading your first post, I think that the resistor that's getting hot is probably a 'wire wound' type between the rectifier valve and the first capacitor in the can, so there may not be anything wrong, but I would always advise checking the can of the main electrolytic capacitor for warming on any piece of kit that's been out of use for a long time.

As said, the X5H is a 'high output' type of cartridge that's only usually found in these single valve with rectifier type amplifiers. High output stereo, and stereo compatible mono cartridges, are now unobtainable, so if faulty, you may need to attempt to repair the one you have.

[Edward Huggins]

Your very logical and well written Post will be appreciated by all Members I'm sure. The warming up of the surge and/or smoothing resistors is quite normal and this may not indicate a fault, but follow the good advice above. If only more were as logical as you!

Now, if that BSR X5H cartidge (which is a Mono, Stereo-Compatible tyope) has failed, you do have a probelm. It's one that afflicts most Buyers of this type of record player.

Whilst you an still buy a (re-manfactured) Mono cartridge, they will not be stereo compatible. Also the few medium output, Stereo cartridges still available, will not give enough output to fully load the amplifier on your Tellux. Such a cartridge will need a pre-amplifier. Whilst you are unlikely to buy an BSR X5H (an Internet search might bring you luck) it may be neccessary to import a near equivalent, most usually from the USA. Cost typiclly c. $40.00 plus shipping. Let us know how you get on.

[Chris55000]

Hi!

Go to the "American Radio History" website, select "Radio Constructor" from the list of magazines available, download the January 1965 issue – the "In Your Workshop" feature for Jan 1965 deals specifically with servicing a typical two valved record player of this type, and an example circuit–diagram is provided you can work from!

Chris Williams

[RojDW48]

What a great resource! But it all seems frightfully British, bearing in mind the title. An advert reminded me of being deeply impressed by the Sinclair micro receiver that a friend built at the time.

[alpharadj67]

Hello again.

First of all my sincere apologies for taking so long to report back. Thank you all very much for your responses – believe me they are so much appreciated.

Techman I have tried your suggestion - running the player for several minutes whilst monitoring the temp of the capacitor can and it remains completely cool at all times (also keeping well clear). The resistor which bridges the reservoir and smoothing sections also remains cool – the first photo gives a (better quality) image of it. The resistor (shown in the second photo) is the one which heats up and it continues to get very hot. It links one of the pins of the UY85 valve to the reservoir capacitor. There is no sign of the wire wound type you mention (I could visually identify this from looking at other threads on the forum) so I assume this must be an alternative type. Naturally the valves get very hot – too hot to touch - but presume this is normal. The output transformer appears healthy. I tested this using the 9 volt battery technique (disconnected from mains of course) and got some loud ‘clicks’ through speaker. This technique I found on a thread about a similar Tellux valve model. Finally, the good news is that the amplifier now works well – again from looking at the same thread I was able to run a test by connecting headphone output of my cheap cd player with the tone arm wire terminals beneath the deck and the audio output is good (in line with the grade of machine this is, of course!).

Edward – thanks for your remarks and advice on the X5H. In line with what you say they are nowhere to be found for sale – old or NOS! Here’s the low-down on this side. When I connected the cd player, I found that the uninsulated leads of two ceramic capacitors mounted to tone arm wire tab beneath the deck were shorting. They are not too well installed, in fact very untidy, and although my ‘tinkering’ may have caused the shorting, it was definitely a problem waiting to happen. The long and the short is that, with the said leads now separated the cartridge works – with great output! I certainly concur that tonal quality is not hifi standard on this record player but it has made a good start for me. Also, not having to replace cartridge is a major relief. Will always bear in mind what you say about the availability and expense of these for future purposes though.

Will probably start to tidy up the work I have done so far now. There is a very slight buzz on the amp which increases/decreases with volume adjustment. I presume I’m getting into realms of replacing capacitors here and also I’m a little concerned about that hot resistor. Any comments would be welcome on this.

Again, really grateful to you all for the great help and kind comments. So sorry about the delay in responding – this is due to house-hunting!

Best wishes.

[Edward Huggins]

It's great to read the OP's positive feedback, we are not always favoured with this.
He has been thorough with his investigations - and what a great relief that the cartridge is still working. The valves and the smoothing and the surge resistors will run very hot. In terms of improving the sound quality there's not much you can do, these budget players are what they are - and this one uses the most basic of any type of valve amplifier. Sometimes fitting a larger loudspeaker (especially one with a soft suspension) can help, but there may not be sufficient room for one.

[Herald1360]

The resistor in the first photo looks suspiciously like the cathode bias resistor for the UL84 given that 30uF electrolytic in parallel with it.

The resistor (220 ohms?) from the UY85 to the reservoir capacitor is clearly overheating. Whether this is down to marginal design (it's a budget machine after all) or a dodgy reservoir or some other HT overload is not so clear. Because of where it is in the circuit, it's difficult to make meaningful measurements since the current through it is a mix of dc and pulses (the ripple current in the reservoir).

If the 30uF electrolytic mentioned above is leaky, that could increase the HT current through the UL84 to give the problem but so could a leaky reservoir cap. To some extent, the hot resistor could be regarded as a cheap'n'cheerful fuse in addition to its obvious role as a surge limiter for the UY85.

[ms660]

That board looks like a bean counter mod, clearly was intended for a 3 capacitor can ( res, filt, cath b/pass)

Lawrence.

[Chris55000]

Hi!

Originally Posted by RojDW48

What a great resource! But it all seems frightfully British, bearing in mind the title. An advert reminded me of being deeply impressed by the Sinclair micro receiver that a friend built at the time.

There's tons and tons of genuine American Electronics & Servicing Literature on A.R.H. as well - scanned in colour as well - do a search for "Tough Dog Problems" and me thinks you'll get far too many examples to count!

There are also some Australian magazines as well!

Chris Williams

[AC/HL]

Reopened by request.

[alpharadj67]

Unfortunately, personal circumstances prevented the completion of this project. I would like to thank sincerely everyone on the forum who provided such great help, support and encouragement. It was and is very much appreciated.

Thanks the moderators for reopening. The thread can now be closed.

R. Jones.

[AC/HL]

It closed automatically when it became dormant. If there are no further posts it will do so again.