Invicta Record Player (1958) Repair.

[Station X]

Rubbish soldering too!

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Yes, they could be Panasonic metallised polyester, and as Nickthedentist says, certainly not original (I don't think the soldering's original quality either). However, they're not X or Y rated from the markings visible in the photographs, so it would be a good idea to replace them with something reputable with the right markings.

[Nickthedentist]

Agree on both points.

But to be fair to the previous "restorer", these caps will probably be far less dodgy than the original 60-70 year-old waxed paper ones would be by now.

[Graham G3ZVT]

I can't look at that without thinking of Anglia (TV not the car) and a fanfare based on Handel's Water Music.

[Ed_Dinning]

Note that Y caps are not easily obtained above 10nF.
Even at 10nF you may get a tingle from them due to the capacitive reactance of the cap combined with 240v mains. Only a tingle mind not a full blown "belt"

Ed

[Sideband]

I would check those values before you invest in Y caps. Those are definitely not original and judging by the soldering, not fitted by a particularly skilled person. Therefore they might have fitted what they had available. The reason I say this is that .01uF and especially 0.1uF seem far too high in value for mains isolation.....you'll get quite a tingle through those. Generally you'll not find isolation caps in this position much above 470 - 1000pF. I think about the highest 'Y' type you can get is 4,700pF (0.0047uF).


Best to try and find out (a) if they are isolation caps and (b) what value they should be.

[kirstyd]

i was given one of these many years ago while i was still at school .After cleaning the collaro dck it worked very well with a really good sound . I have vague memories of the name TRIXETTE being on it somewhere but i may be wrong .It was a long time ago

[Edward Huggins]

I would agree that the case design, the "slot" type mesh grille and casing hardware is reminiscent of a Trixette, but I'm convinced this is an Invicta. Also Trixette used Garrard decks.

[OldTechFan96]

Thanks again for the hints.

I think we are looking at an Invicta badge. When searching 'invicta record player', nothing similar shows up. Once the player is finished I will take some reference photographs.

It looks like an identical player turned up in 2016.

It looks like TRIXETTE made something that looked similar.

Find attached some photos or the amplifier. If anybody wants to draw it out, feel free!

[OldTechFan96]

Thanks for the above, gentleman.

When I get to the turntable I will draw out what is connected and where.

[OldTechFan96]

I've been given a box of components that belonged to this record player.

Both look to be rated for AC voltages. One is 0.1uf and the other is 0.01uf.

[Paul_RK]

The Trixette model seems to have sold in larger numbers than the Invicta going by how many turn up, but I doubt the similarity is more than accidental. Cabinets are alike at first glance, but the Invicta has a lid that's deeply curved at top front, while every Trixette example is much less so -

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...cord-160903412
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...eck-1691243625 -

and has an amplifier whose three controls are near the cabinet back, while the Invicta has just two controls which are near the front. And there's the matter of the deck, and the unlikeliness unless anyone has information to the contrary of Trix and Pye collaborating in a design.

Pye of course were very well known at the time for the relatively upmarket Black Box range, and seem not to have been offering anything much at all by way of portable record players: perhaps this one was a dipping of toes into the water much as the Pam 710 had been in the radio field, again hived off to a subsidiary brand, in this instance so as not to dent the Black Box prestige?

Paul

[OldTechFan96]

I've just recently switched the amplifier on for the first time after replacing some components and tidying up the previous wiring.

My plug in RCD tripped so I switched everything off and started doing some cold checks.

A few measurements with my DMM told me all was not right with the metal rectifier.

I unsoldered the Sentercel C2D and unscrewed it from the chassis. Using the diode check on my DMM the diode tested as open no matter where I placed my probes. My little component tester thought that is was a 150pf capacitor.

The diode looks in rough shape and has a faint burnt smell.

Would a 1N4007 be a drop in replacement for the Sentercel?

[Techman]

Originally Posted by OldTechFan96

Would a 1N4007 be a drop in replacement for the Sentercel?

Yes it will, but not on its own. You'll have to calculate the value of, and add a 7 to 10 watt resistor in series with it to keep the designed HT voltage under load the same as it would have been with the original rectifier. You might need up to, or above, a couple of hundred ohms, depending. That particular type of rectifier are nearly always found to be dud.

[Techman]

They probably are the original capacitors then.

You're lucky that it actually has isolation - some didn't!

[OldTechFan96]

It looks like a new rectifier and dropping resistor are needed.

The photo shows how things were originally set up.

Mains live flows into the anode of the Sentercel via a 100ohm (a new one was fitted due to the original having a broken leg) 3W resistor. The resulting DC passes on to the smoothing can.

I replaced the Sentercel with a 1N4007 and kept the original 100ohm resistor. Predictably, the HT was too high. I measured around 230V-250V with the lamp limiter in circuit. I will try some higher values soon. The good news is the amplifier does work with my audio generator.

Would anybody know a sensible HT value (measured at the cathode of the rectifier) that I should be aiming for? Between 200V and 250V I'd assume? It's kind of tricky without the circuit!

[Edward Huggins]

Reference to an ECL82 operating characteristics should help, but I reckon 220V HT as a minmum will be needed. In terms of any comparisom with the Trixette record players included within Post #22, both these are AC/DC unlike this Invicta. I do not personally from my time there, recall any links betren Pye and Trixette. Indeed they would have been be in diret competition due their PA offerings via Pam (Pamphonic/Pye) and Trix (Trixette).

[Edward Huggins]

Originally Posted by OldTechFan96

I've been given a box of components that belonged to this record player.

Both look to be rated for AC voltages. One is 0.1uf and the other is 0.01uf.

Gosh - don't trust those!!!!

[DMcMahon]

What is the Record player model that the Collaro deck is being used in ?

David

[OldTechFan96]

It's going into an unknown Invicta model, discussed here.

It is a live chassis set with an auto transformer.