Heirloom item help please

[Roger Ramjet]

Not withstanding the internals, that's a really attractive cabinet that's bang on trend with today's interiors. Wish it was mine....
Jealous Rog

[FrankSinatra]

Thanks I may try to re paint as I'm not sure my wife will be keen long term on the vintage varnish.

Going to look at the deck tonight and hope the stylus turns up tomorrow.

[paulsherwin]

It's yours to do with as you wish of course, but as Roger says, that late 60s teak look is very fashionable at the moment. You could strip the old varnish off and treat it with Danish oil or wax polish. There's lots of info on cabinet refinishing in the appropriate section, and some forum members are real woodworking craftsmen.

[FrankSinatra]

Thanks will have a browse before consulting the boss.

Spotted these two connectors this evening, what would they be for?

[FrankSinatra]

These are the underside of the deck after looking tonight, the greased areas are still slick and not hardened.

[paulsherwin]

Originally Posted by FrankSinatra

Spotted these two connectors this evening, what would they be for?

It looks like cable joints, maybe in the speaker wiring. You need to trace the wiring. It's just possible that the mains wiring has been spliced like that, which would be a bit dodgy.

[FrankSinatra]

And this is under the turntable

[FrankSinatra]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

It looks like cable joints, maybe in the speaker wiring. You need to trace the wiring. It's just possible that the mains wiring has been spliced like that, which would be a bit dodgy.

OK will do

[paulsherwin]

It looks very clean under the deck.

[FrankSinatra]

Yes not sure where it was kept in the house or how often used/last used.

[FrankSinatra]

There was a 13A fuse in there so changed to 3A.

Cleaned and greased where needed etc now running very smoothly and the arm drop/stack mechanism is also functioning, looking forward to the stylus landing soon so I can hear it.

Slight buzz on the right speaker at certain volume levels and the balance appears to tip the sound in one way or the other but leaves sound on the one it shouldn't?

Quite pleased with myself so far and thanks for all the help.

Looks like I will be painting it and I am very curious on the next steps for bluetooth novelty.

[Analogue man]

Originally Posted by FrankSinatra

Slight buzz on the right speaker at certain volume levels and the balance appears to tip the sound in one way or the other but leaves sound on the one it shouldn't?

Some balance controls are designed that way.

[FrankSinatra]

Been running the deck and having power for a couple of hours (stylus not arrived yet) and noticed after 20mins or so an increasing sound from the speakers.

Almost sounds like someone is brushing the stylus which then gets louder. If I adjust the tone control it dissappears, sometimes returning on the alternative tone.

Any ideas on this one?

[paulsherwin]

Have you cleaned all the controls and switches with contact cleaner yet?

[FrankSinatra]

No not yet Paul been working from home this week so not been out, do you think that will cure it?

Stylus just arrived and plays find and sounds fantastic on 78,45 and 33 with all stacking, return and off mechanisms working well, sounds fantastic.

[FrankSinatra]

This is the stylus I'm using

[Sideband]

I wouldn't be confident using it for any length of time without some very basic maintenance of the amplifier. The fact that it works doesn't mean it's working properly and some faults don't show up until it's too late....! The audio coupling capacitors should be changed at least as a bare minimum. These going leaky could destroy the output transformers. The EL84's look as if they have had a hard time although some go on like that for ages. Still worth checking over the very basics though.

[paulsherwin]

While that is generally good advice, this radiogram comes from the end of the valve era, and the coupling caps will probably have survived much better than those from the 50s and earlier. A closeup picture of the underside of the chassis will help us make a judgment.

Ideally you would check all the key circuit voltages with a meter for anything unusual, but I suspect you don't have the expertise to do that.

Dirty controls may well be causing the noise you're hearing, especially if it goes away when you adjust them.

[FrankSinatra]

I will get a picture shortly, thanks Gents.

It does go away on adjustment Paul, I've ordered the cleaner from amazon for tomorrow as I won't get out now and I'm getting excited/impatient.

Looking increasingly likely my wife wants the cabinet painted.

[paulsherwin]

To be fair, some cabinets of that era *were* painted - white was very popular.