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Success Stories If you have successfully repaired or restored a piece of equipment, why not write up what you did and post details here. Particularly if it was interesting, unusual or challenging. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE! |
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5th Feb 2009, 8:03 pm | #1 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 696
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EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Hi all,
This is one I finished this week. After the radiogram from Ampthill this was bought to me from the same guy after visiting reletives in York. This is lovely, it's an EAR 1960 Protable Record Reproducer. The guy bought it new ! It's still in regular use (every fortnight anyway) and the complaint was that after it had been on for a while it began to hummmmmmmmmm. I did run it up when I got it and it took about 15 mins for this to happen, but it was quit intrusive. This is a lovely thing to work on, the whole thing is built on a wooden chassis and can be removed from the box in 1 piece. (see pictures) Once out, I couldn't believe my eyes, the mains lead was extended using the speaker nuts on the Live side of the cable, So naturally that was the first thing to go. Next to the amp, a few waxies and a lovely (Ahem...) brown Hunts cap all replaced. I also took a look at the Resistors, out of all the R's there were only 2 that were anywhere near the correct value, so they were all changed. After a biggy like this I like to wind things up slowly on a variac monitoring voltages etc to make sure there's no 'unpleasentness' ! Everything seemed fine, all voltages as to be expected, no hum and tonnes of volume when the headshell was tapped. So we chose a James Brown 7' to test this one... The volumes control 'volumed'. The Treble controle 'trebled' and the Bass control 'Changed the volume' Oh bt, what the hell have I done And I can't find a circuit anywhere... Luckily I took a load of photo's and found that I'd connected the cap from the ECC83 to the Bass control's wrong pin, putting it on the opposite end cured the 'Volume control' effect and bass was restored. Next to the deck, this actually needed little more that an oil change (as my dad called it). The only problem was that it didn't recognise 1 record, if you played 2, it would play the bottom one then stop leaving a single on the top. Tis took a bit of head scratching (No wonder I'm losing my hair !) It turned out to be the record stabilizer arm (The one you put on top of the record) had come undone and the length of thread that was undone was tricking the deck into thinking there wasn't any records left ! Ta daaaa ! So I stuck it in it's box and played it for several hours, the hum's gone and it actually sounds really nice ! Thanks for reading this, and if you're into your vintage record players I highly recommend one of these. They sound really nice and are a piece of cake to work on. Kind Regards Dr. Dave
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6th Feb 2009, 12:29 am | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 6,644
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
They are a nice machine, great for 60s Motown! Well done that man.
Cheers, Steve P.
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6th Feb 2009, 8:37 am | #3 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2006
Location: St Albans, Herts, UK.
Posts: 2,193
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Nice restoration Dave - and still with its original owner too
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All the very best, Tas |
6th Feb 2009, 10:13 am | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 3,310
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Very nice.
Hmmmmm I am starting to get more interested in record players. This one has certainly helped.
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6th Feb 2009, 2:16 pm | #5 |
Heptode
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Posts: 674
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Man, I know that situation in the variac picture well.
I wear Kevlar, stand at least 10 feet back from the receiver, twist the knob, and...and.........and........
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6th Feb 2009, 4:54 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Great looking machine, and nicely built even for the time with that "quick release" chassis! I see an earth wire in the mains lead and E-type valves, so it's even transformer-fed. It evidently wouldn't have been cheap when it was bought.
By the way, I don't think I've ever seen an E.A.R. with an autochanger before -- all the ones I've seen have been single-players. Is that one of those Collaro changers that measures the record with the tonearm before it drops?
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6th Feb 2009, 5:19 pm | #7 |
Retired Dormant Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: North London, UK.
Posts: 6,168
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
We had an EAR gramophone at home when I was a kid. Not this precise model. Certainly around in 1960. It used a similar Collaro autochanger and had 3 valves: EZ80, EL84, ECC83. I usd to play records on it for hours, especially 78s.
I don't know anything about the history of the EAR company but my dad used to say that it was started by a cousin of his. |
6th Feb 2009, 7:34 pm | #8 | |
Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Wembley, Middlesex
Posts: 7,225
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Quote:
Incidentally I understand that Collaro were in breach of Patent rights on the record size detector when they brought out this deck and so designed the Conquest to get round the problem. |
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6th Feb 2009, 7:40 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,861
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
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6th Feb 2009, 9:47 pm | #10 |
Heptode
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 696
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Bang on Michael
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7th Feb 2009, 1:05 am | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Madrid, Spain / Wirral, UK
Posts: 7,498
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Great job!
Fond memories there. My first record player was almost identical, an EAR 'music maker'. I recall as a kid it was the only one which would autochange correctly my 6" kidditunes lumar discs! thanks to the conquest mech. one day i'll get another one...
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11th Feb 2009, 5:13 pm | #12 |
Pentode
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Wigan, Greater Manchester, UK.
Posts: 163
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Re: EAR 1960 Portable Reproducer
Looking closer.. yup.. the deck is different to the one that was in mine as a teenager.
That was lacking a cart so I ran it with an sp25 sitting on a baseboard on the top.. I much prefer this one, the red looks great, mine was grey/blue. |