Columbia Stereogram 5396 - When was it made?

[PMurrills]

Ooh, I like the MA70 - you don't know where I can get one of those do you

[Nickthedentist]

Would the single-play MP60 also fit, Ben?

[ben]

I'm 99% sure it would, Nick. One thing to watch, those better BSRs had a 4 pole motor which is bulkier and might come into contact with any electronics mounted below the deck, if the radiogram has any. I once had this problem when replacing as DUAL deck in a music centre. Had to move a heat sink out the way.

Another thign to check is the cabinet clearance at the end of the arm - the MA70 c142 and MP60 (amongst others) have an overhanging counterweight at the end of the arm. Even the c141 has a small one.

[PMurrills]

Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler

At the same time Thorn were turning out loads of other models of stereograms under their Ferguson brand. It's highly likely that it shares a chassis with one of them. Photos of the controls/tuning scale and of the insides may help someone recognise what you have.

As requested David - here's the tuner / controls section.

[Radio Wrangler]

The control layout looks rather familiar. If you trawl for photos of late model Fergusons I think you'll find the same panel with varied graphics in a variety of different cabinets. This may be your best route into finding service information.

David

[ben]

First time I've seen a radiogram of this era with just a 'tone' control instead of proper bass and treble. That plus the cheap deck suggests it was a more 'budget' model.

[PMurrills]

And it's made of MDF

[Cobaltblue]

There is a sort of family resemblance to a Ferguson 3322 with the push buttons it has an extra knob though.

The tone controls are "off board" so replacing Bass and Treble with Tone would not have been too hard.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ferguson_3322.html

Dates don't seem to match though

Cheers

Mike T

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by PMurrills

And it's made of MDF

...and they've resurrected the "Columbia" branding, so as not to sully the good Ferguson name

[dazzlevision]

Originally Posted by Cobaltblue

There is a sort of family resemblance to a Ferguson 3322 with the push buttons it has an extra knob though.

The tone controls are "off board" so replacing Bass and Treble with Tone would not have been too hard.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/ferguson_3322.html

Dates don't seem to match though

Cheers

Mike T

The Ferguson 3322 is much earlier and has a much better specification.

[Cobaltblue]

Yes it's always going to be tough just looking at the dial and knob layout pictures of the chassis is what we need to see.

Cheers

Mike T

[Edward Huggins]

I seem to remember Thorn using their access to the long-dormant "Columbia" brand so that these units could be sold via non-traditional sales outlets such as Furniture stores. Yes, they had a more basic specification from Ferguson, HMV, Ultra et al.

[PMurrills]

Originally Posted by ben

I'm 99% sure it would, Nick. One thing to watch, those better BSRs had a 4 pole motor which is bulkier and might come into contact with any electronics mounted below the deck, if the radiogram has any. I once had this problem when replacing as DUAL deck in a music centre. Had to move a heat sink out the way.

Another thign to check is the cabinet clearance at the end of the arm - the MA70 c142 and MP60 (amongst others) have an overhanging counterweight at the end of the arm. Even the c141 has a small one.

Cheers Ben, looking at the cabinet around the TT I would be surprised if I could fit another, better, turntable in there. It's very close and I think a counterweight would be a stretch to far. Ah well.

[PMurrills]

Just looking around the web for other radiograms, honestly some of the prices people are putting on theirs! Someone in London is selling a Bush one, decent enough nick but certainly not a top of the range job, £300! And guess what, that's a price reduction haha! I'd be amazed if they manage to sell it for that much. Still, very possible some hipster will take it

[ben]

About a decade or so ago, you couldn't give these things away. Their size and bulk make them hard to transport and find space for in today's average home. What has saved them is the vinyl revival I suppose, but I still don't know how people find the space!

And yes, the prices some people are asking are absurd. Note that the only real indication of value is what price the things actually sold for -after all, there's nothing to stop me placing an ad and asking 1 grand for some garage find, means nothing!

[PMurrills]

Exactly. It's only worth what someone is willing to pay. I paid £60 for mine which was right at the top end of what I wanted to pay for one, and that was nearly a year ago I suppose. There were nice examples on offer for £200+ at that time too. I'm lucky in that I have a good sized bay window in my lounge so it sits in there perfectly, although I'm under no illusion that someday I may have trouble shifting it if I needed to get rid.

It's nice that these sorts of things have had their lives saved by the recent surge in vinyl popularity (personally, I've never stopped buying vinyl so it makes no odds to me) but yeah, long live unwieldy, cheaply made, inferior quality crusty old stereograms!

[kirstyd]

i certainly wouldn't bother changing the TT .I doubt it will make any significant improvement to the sound after all it is only a stereo gram and not a very good one at that

[PMurrills]

Oi! That's my baby you're talking about!

[Cobaltblue]

Still be nice to get some pictures of you Baby's Chassis

Cheers

Mike T

[Herald1360]

For cheap tat, look no further than Dansette (mostly) and the prices they command. It's all about image and nostalgia ( or is that smoke and mirrors?).

A better deck/cartridge would be a bit kinder to the records even if it didn't sound vastly different.