maxg Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 Found an old record player / tuner at a neighbours house (very old - 50 plus) built into wooden furniture that has seen better days. Had a pear inside - the record player looks dead - and probably not that good ever - metal TT, slightly smaller than a 12 inch record with the original bakerlite cover that is now brick hard and crumbling. The arm is in pieces and probably has bits missing. One interesting thing - the speed settings on the pickup has, aside from the usual 33/45/78 options an option for 16??? The unit has not played for years and they asked me if I thought it could be repaired - said I would find out. At the back (there is no back - so you can see inside) there appears to be a single woofer at the bottom (12 inch at a guess) and above that the amp. Most of the cables have broken / crumbled away. The amp itself looks vaguely interesting. It has 2 larger tubes (bit dark to see anymore). Pulled one out - obviously blown. The tubes are General Electric and marked JAN 6V6G and made in Canada. Anyone know if these can be found? anyone able to tell me what we are looking at (Push pull / triode etc.) I reckon the amp is probably salvagable and we may be able to get the tuner to go again. Driver probably needs replacing and the pickup is a write-off. The whole unit was made, or at least assembled in England (Hendon from memory) - has the usual "His masters voice" logo on the inside. thoughts anyone? Worth a go at, or better to leave as an item of furniture / conversation piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 Greetings: As it has the logo of His Master's Voice, it is a piece of our audio history. Is the 6V6 metal or glass? I have replacements for both. I am not in the business of selling tubes, but now at my age, I am lowering my stock that will outlast me. I recommend putting a back on the unit for sound value. Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBryan Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 FYI - The "G" on the 6V6G stands for Glass. That suggests a fairly early version of the tube. Later (@1940), the designation changed to "GT" (glass tube) and GB (glass bulb). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 ---------------- On 9/16/2003 8:32:07 AM JBryan wrote: FYI - The "G" on the 6V6G stands for Glass. That suggests a fairly early version of the tube. Later (@1940), the designation changed to "GT" (glass tube) and GB (glass bulb). ---------------- Greetings: I wanted to be sure as I have 5 metal tubes with the glass designation: 6V6G. RCS mis-prints to say the least. I figured if I had some, you never know I have 6V6 GT's grey glass, tung-sols, RCA clear, General Electric, Cunningham metal, and RCA 6V6Gs. Win dodger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 16, 2003 Author Share Posted September 16, 2003 After writing the original post I had a bit of a hunt around the net and discovered that these tubes are indeed very old!! I am guessing pre-war. This makes me suspect that the record player was a later addition, or, a change from the original as it includes both 33 rpm and 45 rpm speeds which, I think, came later. Anyone know anything about a 16 rpm speed? As for the tubes themselves - they do seem to be available. Still dont know much about them though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 ---------------- On 9/16/2003 8:52:18 AM maxg wrote: After writing the original post I had a bit of a hunt around the net and discovered that these tubes are indeed very old!! I am guessing pre-war. This makes me suspect that the record player was a later addition, or, a change from the original as it includes both 33 rpm and 45 rpm speeds which, I think, came later. Anyone know anything about a 16 rpm speed? As for the tubes themselves - they do seem to be available. Still dont know much about them though... ---------------- Greetings: The 6V6GT are a lower power output tube in the line of the 6L6GC. A number of sammler audio tube amps used them as did quite a number of Fender and Gibson Guitar amps. I have a Stromberg-Carlson receiver that uses the 6V6GTs. Also they were popular in radios. 16 rpm was used for mainly reading - voice only and was standard on most turntables - 16, 33 1/3, 45, 78 RPM were the four speeds used. A number of child's records I remember were 16 RPM. The slower the speed, the longer each side could play until compression in recording came about. Win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 Greetings: The amplifier was most likely push-pull. If you have doubts about how far to go PM your address to me. I have some used 6V6GTs with low hours on them that I'll send you. Win dodger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 In that era, 16 RPM was the standard speed for "talking book" records for the blind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 Last night , while surfing ebay, I came across a new in plastic 1/2 speed Who album. Is this 16? Could the dynamics be greater with this speed? Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurdy_gurdyman Posted September 16, 2003 Share Posted September 16, 2003 Last night , while surfing ebay, I came across a new in >>plastic 1/2 speed Who album. Is this 16? Could the dynamics be greater with this speed?<< Half speed mastered LP's have been cut at a slower speed on the master disc, which has the potential to increase quality. The final pressing is still played at standard 33. It should sound cleaner and more dynamic then a standard issue. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 17, 2003 Author Share Posted September 17, 2003 ---------------- On 9/16/2003 2:57:53 PM larryclare wrote: In that era, 16 RPM was the standard speed for "talking book" records for the blind. ---------------- Well you live and learn something new every day. Thanks for that. As for the unit this may be a little more than I can take on. Will try to find someone locally who has the knowledge / ability / time to do this. Thanks all for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 MAx, dont see this is the best thing to do unless you want to make a guitar amp out of that 6V6 beast, something that is not too hard. Still, throwing money into this thing is going to bring some possible sighs down the line. Think twice about the worth, even in pristine. I must be getting old. I remember 16rpm on a lot of the old mono players. I also got a bang out of playing stuff at that speed while I stare at the ceiling... I think it did damage. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Don't sell that thing! It sounds like you may have one of the old Sears consoles, and this could make a really great restoration project. I had a shop teacher friend at school who knew I was interested in tubes, radios, etc., and he told me he and his wife were going to throw on out that they had in their garage. He said if I wanted it, I could have it. Brought it to school, and I saw it had been painted that horrible green color that was popular a few decades ago. The phonograph portion was beat to heck, bent, and really messed up, but the tuner section worked perfectly. The radio in mine is soon to undergo a thorough cleaning, and I have stripped and refinished the original wooden cabinet. The tubes are still probably OK, Max, and replacment 6V6s are easy to find. Although they are very old by the this time, even the power supply electrolytics in equipment that old can be brought back to life by powering up using a variac. My console was built around 1946, and was free of hum with the original capacitors. Enjoy this piece, though...fix it up and use it! Thanks for posting on this neat old find. You can also get replacment styli for these things, as well as find records at antique stores, garage sales, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 17, 2003 Author Share Posted September 17, 2003 So Kelly says no. and Erik says yes. Which way will I go? For this problem's address. The owner just asked. Its of little import. But it was me that was tasked. This thing to support. They really wont mind. If the thing is no go. Or too much of a bind. To be worth the heave-ho. So I said it before And I'll say it anew. I'll leave it for sure. For better hands to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Max: Actually, I misread Kelly's comment, and thought he felt the same as I! But there I think he is really right in terms of what kind of time and money you want to put into the thing. I guess it just has to do with how valuable it is to you, and what you are able to do to fix it yourself. If you have to pay someone else to do electronic work, I would say he (KH -- who is probably thinking about something else right now...) is 100% correct! you could end up paying an arm and a leg to get it working and looking good again. But I know you have done some speaker building, if I remember right, and so maybe any wood repairs could be done by you! And especially watch the money if you have to have a specialist who repairs vintage equipment. Maybe you know someone who will help you out as a friend? I love old electronic equipment, but I enjoy doing much of the repair work myself. It's time consuming though, and you could, depending on the condition, have a large job on your hands. If you stay interested, there are sources of schematics and service information available, too. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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