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from an old couple who said that they bought it new in 1960 as a wedding gift for themselves. The model name is RCA Victor Stereo Orthophonic High Fidelity that came with a pair of Goodmans two-way speaker system of which I thought sounded quite good after it's been sitting for almost 60 years in the basement as a dust collector. Everything works on it including the record changer, which was the main reason why I purchased it. The record changer can play 16, 33, 45 and 78 record speed. I have a bunch of 78 records that I bought 3 months ago that I was able to play on it with excellent results aside from lack of audiophile's version of top and bottom end frequencies, it sounded pretty good without being pretentious. I was listening to Bing Crosby, Andrew Sisters, Bill Johnson and his orchestra, Jerry Gray and his orchestra, Mills Brothers just to name a few and I find myself in a nostalgic frame of mind for a few hours.Anyway, as usual like any other antique objects there bound to be some issues with it. The issue with it is the speakers on the left as it will lose the sound after a few hours of operation. I replaced the pair of 6BQ5/EL84 power output tubes with brand new ones a couple of days ago and it seems to fix the problem for a few hours and then after that the left speaker lost its sound again.
I ordered the new replacement for the rest of the tubes of which I hope will fix the problem and it should arrive in a week or so. In the meantime any ideas why it's doing this?
TIA...
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Edits: 03/07/17 03/07/17Follow Ups:
I replaced all the tubes with brand new ones and the problem still persists so I'm going to take it to a tech and get it fix properly.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Hi
Even if it works now, the power supply caps are on borrowed time. There are not many parts in there I will wager. Just change the power supply caps and diodes and the coupling caps and it will probably run a long time. If you throw new tubes in there you are risking killing them when it fails. I don't have a schematic in front of me, but I bet it is cathode biased. If so, the cathode resistor value will probably need to be adjusted for modern wall voltage. Really, it is probably a simple rebuild and it will be reliable. Right now it is a bomb waiting to go off.......
good luck...
Don
put the unit on oscilloscope. Again, the turntable, AM and FM functions are working properly on it so hopefully it won't cost me too much to get it in proper running order again.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Stunning. Too many people overlook the consoles. Perhaps room for it is an issue.
This console is on the medium size side with a dimension of 3'WX16"D and 30"H so it does need a bit of space for it to breathe properly.BTW, the solid wood red Mahogany chassis is in excellent condition aside from normal scratches on the side. Once it's working properly again I will be putting it on the alcove in our living room as part of the entertainment system.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Edits: 03/11/17
Vintage tube gear can be amazing ! A 60 year old unit will need a tune-up, soon or sooner. The record player will probably need maintenance more often. So, it is definitely amazing that a sixty year old, original amp and tuner still play at all.
RCA console amps of that era usually used 6BQ5/EL84 output tubes. Their power supplies were varied, but they will/do need some electrolytic capacitors replaced, as well as possibly the original solid state diodes. Likewise, the final stage coupling caps, connected to the EL84s, probably require immediate replacement. They are either .027 uf or .047 uf.
As the original amps "warm-up," it is possible the power supply caps or the coupling caps "derate" or leak voltages. That can "cut-off" the tubes as you mention. How is the hum level ?
that it might need a tune up soon. I will wait until I retubed it as I hope it will fix the left speaker's issue. However, if the problem persist then off to the tech it goes.
I'm still amazed at the condition of this unit after all those years as a dust collector in the basement.
The tube electronics
The Goodmans speakers
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
You could also try rotating the speakers to relieve some of that coil sag.
Bad cap on tweeter, plus coils could be rubbing, sitting
in the same position all these years. I'd probably replace
(upgrade) the tweeter.
I will definitely replaced the caps and perhaps the tweeters as well. Thanks for the heads up.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
Thanks, well I'm familier with that type tweeter, used in many
consoles...every one I've come across just sounded terrible.
I think even a new $5.-$10. paper cone tweeter would be superior.
That is a Canadian RCA model. the Canadian RCA's used Garrard or Collaro
changers instead of the RCA made changers in the US models. Yours
has a Collaro.
For reliability and safety the amplifier capacitors should be replaced
and the resistors checked.
Your channel dropping out could be a number of things but in my experience when it goes out after playing awhile it indicates
a bad or dirty tube socket connection. Wiggle the tubes slightly when
it goes out and see if that restores sound. If it does, you can
clean the socket and tube pins with deoxit and possibly will need
to re-tension the offending socket or replace it.
A bad capacitor or resistor can also cause the loss of sound.
that the issue is caused by bad tubes. I will find out soon enough once I retubed them with brand new ones in a couple of days.
Also, I agree that the record changer was made by Collaro from England given that it has a pair of Goodmans speakers and it is a Canadian model.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
I did not say bad tubes! I said bad(or loose) tube connection of the tube pins to the socket contacts.
Wiggle the input tubes and see if it comes back. If it does, clean the tube pins and sockets with deoxit and a pipe cleaner. If it still goes away, you may need to tighten the socket contacts
or replace the offending socket. Slightly bending the tube pins outward can also work in a
pinch.
We don't often see an intermittent tube in my experience
I have seen a least a dozen or more bad pin to socket connections, all on mid 50's to early 60's home consoles or conseletes.
All would have the same symptoms, play great for a few hours, then
nothing.
I will look into it.
If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well
(Proverb)
I just recapped a 1949 Magnavox Chairside. I updated both the PS caps and tone stack. while I'm not expecting great fidelity, it is fun to get it working. The original tubes tested fine and all voltages are within 10%.
I even added a ipod/phone/3.5mm plug for the 'tv' setting.
I haven't looked at your RCA closely but they can be fun have.
looking for some jazz and a little libations - joe strummer
Sounds like something heating up. Obviously it needs TLC. So also check out those resistors as well as caps.
Congrats, that looks like a wonderful piece to restore in it's original cabinet.
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