murphy radiogram

[anthony lawrenc]

hi everyone i got this murphy from a skip over the weekend on getting it home i had a quick look around its not in bad nick inside and out as its previous owner had already powered it up i diddnt bother with the lamp limiter and switched it on after a brief warm up it worked record player only the radio isnt working on any waveband any ideas anyone i then took the back off and was suprised to see a seperate amp and tuner plus two large speakers and a couple of tweeters i had intended to strip this gram of its usefull parts [only wanted it for the mint garrard auto slim deck ]but it seems a shame so i have decided to try and get it working properly i have already got the service sheet but if anyone shed any light on the dead tuner i would be most greatfull i have counted about 15 hunts caps that look a bit iffy i will change them as soon as i get some replacements look forward to your expert help cheers Anthony ps its an A881 asr and a fiew pics to be going on with

[Herald1360]

Dodgy AF11X transistors in the tuner must figure fairly high on the suspect list!

[David G4EBT]

Originally Posted by Herald1360

Dodgy AF11X transistors in the tuner must figure fairly high on the suspect list!

Yes, try snipping off the screen lead of the AF11x transistors - nothing to lose by doing that, (so long as you double check that you snip threough the right leads - not the emmitter, collector or base!), and it just might burst into life. At least the PCBs look easy to work on, and it doesn't use these ghastly Mullard units in little tin boxes, as used in for example, some Roberts.

Odd that they used a valve amp, and transistor tuner, but clearly, they had good audio reproduction in mind. I bet it was quite expensive in its day - IMHO, most Murphy stuff tended to be a cut above the rest till it became Rank/Bush Murphy.

The cabinet wouldn't be to everyone's taste today, and radiograms are so bulky compared to their modern equivalent, that thay've gone right out of vogue. That said, I've no doubt that in its day, it was considered very stylish. Shame it has to be canibalised, but at least it's been saved from landfill!

Have fun!

David

[anthony lawrenc]

thanks for those tips both Herald and David i will try your sugestions and let you know the outcome i have been looking at some literature on this gram on the Murphybillia site its quite interesting the gram has 7 valves and 7 transistors the amp has a 5 watt per channel output and when playing records it has a really nice sound as you say it would have been a cut above the rest when it was new it also has a big brother the a891sr a bigger cabinet and even bigger speakers i quite like the 60s styling myself however i already have three grams 2 50s bush and a hmv so theres no room here for it but dont worry when its repaired my daughter wants she loves 60s furniture so its going to have a new home in her dinning room she also wants to play her ipod through it should sound quite good cheers guys Anthony

[anthony lawrenc]

hello again guys just looking at these transistors they have 4 leads coming from them they are coloured blue black green and yellow dont supose you know which is the screen i have done a test and the black wire is conected to the transistors casing could this be it Anthony

['LIVEWIRE?']

Anthony, you're almost certainly correct that the black sleeved lead is the screen. In the AF11x series(and the earlier OC170) the leads are arranged accross the bottom of the transistor as follows; e.b.s. c., so the screen is the third lead out of four with a gap between it and the collector lead. AFAIK there was no standard colour coding for the sleeving used on the leads, so check carefully before cutting any of them

[JoshWard]

Wow that is fantastically 60s looking!

I love it!

[fidobsa]

Interesting to see a hybrid radiogram. I'm surprised they were not using a PCB for the valve circuitry by that stage in the development of audio equipment.

[mark pirate]

I broke up an earlier (all valve) murphy stereogram, yours uses the same nice celestian speakers, mine was in poor external condition, but yours looks in good nick, glad it is going to be kept

Mark

[anthony lawrenc]

well guys i cut the black wire [the screen] and as usual your advice was spot on it came on loud and clear i have to say this is realy a nice bit of kit well built i switched it to gram but didnt have a record playing and was suprised not to hear any mains hum at all even with the vol up to max you have to put your ear right next to the speaker and then theres a very faint hum hardly noticable when playing records the sound is amazing crystal clear but plenty of bass as well the deck is fitted witha sonotone 9ta cart the only thing that lets it down is the autoslim i would have thought with the good quality electronics Murphy might have fitted a better turntable probably trying to keep the price down it cost 104gins in 1964 a lot of dosh in those days have ordered some new caps today and have stripped out the cabinet ready for a full refurbish when its finished i will post some befor and afters so to speak thanks again guys Anthony

[chipp1968]

That is definitely worth restoring ,interesting and nice looking in a 60s way