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Old 14th Jan 2016, 6:37 pm   #1
mark pirate
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Default Radiogram Revival

I was helping a good friend clear his mothers house after she passed away last year, not a happy task.
Among the items destined for disposal was a 1970's Ferguson 3366 radiogram, apparently not used for 30 years other than as a table.
Lifting the lid showed it to be a timewarp, it was full of pop records from the 1970's!

I needed another radiogram like a hole in the head, but it ended up here anyway

I fitted a plug and switched on, there was a loud hum for a few seconds as the smoothing cap was woken from it's long sleep.
To my amazement, the radio burst in to life and sounded excellent. Being a later model it has FM stereo, MW and LW also worked well. Even the dial lights were fine!
The only issues were noisy switches and pots.

The Record deck made a brave attempt at working too, but the old dried up grease made it's presence felt.The Tetrad cartridge was still OK with plenty of output.

After giving it some thought, I would not just restore it, but bring it into the 21st century

Work began with removing the Radio/amp chassis, it was given a good clean and Servisol soon remedied the noisy pots and switches.
A date of 1974 was found stamped in the cabinet.


Time for me to try out my idea, I had bought some MP3/FM radio modules to make up stand alone units to play through the Gram sockets of my vintage radios, one of which was also Bluetooth enabled.
This was lashed in to the Tape input and tested, I was very impressed with the sound quality and the decision was made to fit it in to the aluminium front panel.

After carefully measuring the unit I made up a template and fixed it with masking tape to the panel, I drilled holes at the corners and carefully cut with a jigsaw. I drilled out holes for the fixing screws, deburred the cutout and fitted the unit.

Now to think about the wiring. The unit itself requires a 5vdc power supply, a mobile phone charger was ideal for the task.
This was wired to the unit with it's mains supply taken from the Radiogram's power supply, this had the advantage of being both switched and fused.

I wanted to leave the Tape input in place, so wired the audio input directly to the tape switch connections on the Radio/amp circuit board.
The unit has an FM tuner built in, so I ran a wire inside the cabinet to act as an aerial, so that can be used if required.


I refitted it back into the cabinet and turned my attention to the autochanger.
I first thought this was a BSR, but turned out to be a Glenburn deck, it was riddled with old dried grease and had to be really stripped down to get it cleaned up properly and relube.

As I could not find any service info, Plenty of notes were made and many photos were taken during this operation. It is so easy to make a mistake when reassembling, the photos and notes certainly came in handy.

With the deck refitted, I had to set up the tonearm to drop in the correct place and adjust the tracking weight.

A new stylus was obtained online, and a good clean and polish completed the project.

I must admit that these little units are excellent for the money, it has a micro SD slot, a standard USB input, FM stereo radio, 3.5mm aux input and Bluetooth connectivity.
It even comes with a remote control!

My friend was blown away by how well it all works and sounds now, he was particularly impressed at how it is wirelessly paired to my Ipod.

It may not impress the purists, but it has added to the functionality of the Radiogram and I think the little MP3 unit does not look too out of place.
It still works as Ferguson intended, but is now well and truly usable in the 21st century.

Mark
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Old 14th Jan 2016, 6:50 pm   #2
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Fantastic job. And you're not here to impress purists, each to their own and in any case, this is a 70s gram not a Marconi V2. Enjoy!
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Old 14th Jan 2016, 6:59 pm   #3
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Some people might be sniffy, but it's a lot better than dumping it in a skip.

I have one of those MP3 players, without Bluetooth in my case. I fitted it in a small wooden box and powered it by a spare wall wart. It's hooked up to the main hifi and is useful for playing USB dongles or downloaded radio stuff.
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Old 14th Jan 2016, 7:26 pm   #4
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Well done Paul. My friend at school had exactly the same model. Sometimes we used to skip school in the afternoon and have some long listening sessions before his parents got home from work, those were the days.
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Old 14th Jan 2016, 7:53 pm   #5
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Quote:
Some people might be sniffy, but it's a lot better than dumping it in a skip.
It was far too good for that, apart from a few knocks here and there, it is in great condition for it's age.

It is not a rare item so I did not feel guilty about 'updating' it. I believe the trendy call it 'upcycling' or 'restomodding'

I will be fitting one to my Bush SRG91, but this will be mounted on a removable box, as I want to keep it original.

They are a cracking little unit though, I have an 8GB card with many hours of great music on it. Sound quality is very good, even via Bluetooth.

Here are some photos of the 'guts'.

Mark
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 12:30 am   #6
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Quote:
[ I believe the trendy call it 'upcycling'
No, that's when you daub Farrow and Ball paint all over it, scrape the paint off the edges to reveal the wood underneath, then ask £450.00 for it.
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 11:32 am   #7
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

When I first read the phrase "Bring it into the 21st century" I thought oh dear, but was presently pleased to see the finished result. Given it a new lease of life. I think the designers left that space for just such an improvement possibly MK2 version of that model.
What next a mirror lid flat screen TV over the Player? if you can sort out how to reverse the picture.

Well done, John.
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 12:59 pm   #8
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

I used to have the Marconi version of this radiogram. It had a BSR deck, a C142R I think, I remember thinking I'd dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st century by plugging my Hinari CD player into the tape socket. It didn't complain and sounded suprisingly good through the built-in speakers. But what you've done is the proper job and I think it was a great idea. Cabinet looks good and tidy too.

Regards,
Paul
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 7:13 pm   #9
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Quote:
Originally Posted by mark pirate View Post
It still works as Ferguson intended, but is now well and truly usable in the 21st century.
I think you have done a lovely job resurrecting vintage stuff rather than it going to land fill or smashed up. I hate to see waste just because it isn't in vogue or it hasn't got that extra chrome twiddly bit. Thanks for the heads up on the module nice addition, just one question does the module produce stereo?
All the best
Steve
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 8:13 pm   #10
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Quote:
When I first read the phrase "Bring it into the 21st century" I thought oh dear, but was presently pleased to see the finished result.
I know exactly what you mean John, I have seen some truly awful modifications recently.

I have tried to achieve a sympathetic update, without removing it's character or original function.

Quote:
I remember thinking I'd dragged it kicking and screaming into the 21st century by plugging my Hinari CD player into the tape socket. It didn't complain and sounded suprisingly good through the built-in speakers.
Hi Paul, I did exactly the same to my late fathers Dynatron radiogram, he was most impressed that it now had a CD player.

Another bonus of the unit I fitted to the Ferguson is that it has a 'Line in' socket that could be used to plug in a CD player.
The original tape Din socket could be used to connect a cassette deck as well if needed.

This has certainly turned out to be one of my better ideas, A few friends have seen it and been very impressed with it's new functions and sound quality.
One wanted to buy it, but his other half said NO!

Mark
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Old 15th Jan 2016, 9:22 pm   #11
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Steve, the standard modules are all very similar and play MP3 files stored on USB sticks or SD cards in stereo. There is also a stereo FM tuner, a passthrough line level input and a clock. Not bad for less than a fiver. The sound quality is very good.

They are supplied with almost no documentation though, so you need to be reasonably technically competent to work out what goes where.
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 9:09 am   #12
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Cheers Paul
I've had a look on ebay yes price is as usual for circuits from the east I often check before I make from scratch some of the modules available are pretty sofisticated I am thinking of installing one in the Rigonda I have just bought once I have sorted out the switches record deck and non working channel.
BTW on another thread I have taken the advice and purchased a secondhand variac

All the best
Steve
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 9:27 am   #13
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Steve, Be aware that some of the sellers are quoting that they run on 12v, I can assure you they don't!
They require 5v and draw very little current, an old mobile phone charger is an ideal power source.

I have ordered two more of the Bluetooth version, one of which will be built into a small project box for use with my pantry transmitters.

You could mount yours in a similar box facing upwards mounted to the back of your Rigonda, thus keeping it original.
If memory serves me correctly, the Rigonda does have an auxillary input at the rear.

Mark
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 10:26 am   #14
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Cheers Mark oh! good morning
Yes I have read the full story and took note about the 4v input
Will be ordering one/two they arn't too obtrusive so can fit well in yes the Rigonda does hae aux input
All the best Steve
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 12:02 pm   #15
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

Mine has a 7805 directly after the power connection so will run on a wide range of voltages. You don't need to supply a regulated 5V. I don't know if they're all like that though.
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 3:00 pm   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 60 oldjohn View Post
What next a mirror lid flat screen TV over the Player? if you can sort out how to reverse the picture.
Hide a flat screen TV in the box, facing forwards. Use two mirrors in a periscope arrangement with top mirror attached to lid.

Maybe easier just to attach the flat screen set to the inside of the lid and open 90°.
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Old 17th Jan 2016, 10:11 am   #17
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Very neat job!
I've ordered one of the MP3 modules to box up with a class D amp as a standalone device.
I'm intrigued as to how a Glenburn deck found its way into a British production unit.
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Old 18th Jan 2016, 10:05 pm   #18
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After seeing Marks splendid modification to the radiogram it got me thinking.

So today I bought a Phillips NG5055 portable valve record player off ebay it needs some work maybe some chrome catches and cosmetics it works intermittently so a overhaul of components and valves but it looks in pretty good nick. I intend fitting one of the modules which I think will make a smashing unit... I hope!

Giving myself even more work

Steve
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Old 19th Jan 2016, 12:11 am   #19
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

I've got the 'tabletop' music centre version of that with seperate speakers. Ferguson around this time made some fairly solid music centres. Mine was similarly woken up and worked first time, it serves as the background FM radio in Dad's workshop. The music centre version has a green VFD digital clock
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Old 19th Jan 2016, 10:56 am   #20
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Default Re: Radiogram Revival

A music centre would be an ideal candidate for one of these modules, I have a decent quality Hitachi in the roundtuit pile, but I am too busy with other projects at the moment.

I have got a stand alone unit that records from an analogue source to MP3, that would also be a nice idea...

Mark
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