Phonoland

I bought a Magnavox Astro-Sonic stereo counsel a few years back. I heard the sound on it and was blown away. It worked perfectly when I bought it, but after playing records for ~6 hours a day for a year the auto drop broke.

But that is not the real problem since the manual play still works fine. The real problem is that last week I moved to a city with a real honest-to-goodness record store, and the brand new records I bought there yesterday keep skipping.

Searching around the internet tells me it might be the auto-tracking? not sure if this counsel even has such a thing. Some people suggest putting a penny on the needle, but I feel uncomfortable about that.

I am not opposed to replacing the turntable completely if that is what I need to do.

Please advise - I love this beast & want to listen to records every day.

Thanks

If you're not technically inclined, I'd suggest having the changer serviced and a new needle installed.
I assume it's not had servicing in its lifetime..... and...... would you drive an old car on the highway without having it checked out first?

I tell customers all the time.... just because it plays, doesn't mean it'll be reliable without some maintenence.

Plus, the penny trick is not a good idea if you wish to keep your vinyl in good shape.

Right - do you know how I would go about locating a local service tech?
in
Boise - Idaho
?

Because it would be awesome if I didn't have to ship it anywhere...

Try the local phone book -- "Radio-TV repairs"-- or "Electronic supplies"-- Ron Rich

OK there is only one place locally which does repairs & the reviews on google are pretty bad. Couldn't I just get a whole new turntable? Pretty confident I could handle the replacement job myself ...

Sure, If you have the skills needed to install it into the cabinet--all TT's are not the same dimensions, and your unit may require a different type input/connection, electronics "set-up"--or not ? Do some research first--then decide. Ron Rich

This is why my customers call me "A Dying Breed"
It's a shame a lot of good servicers are gone, or just far away.

Matt, I'm curious what would be a fair price to have a Smart/Great/Knowledgable Tech rebuild my True Tone tube amp?

deash wrote:Matt, I'm curious what would be a fair price to have a Smart/Great/Knowledgable Tech rebuild my True Tone tube amp?

With vintage equipment, it's difficult to "estimate" costs due to the fact that numerous "surprises" seem to arise during the restoration process.
Some of these surprises are due to natural aging/wear, other surprises come from previous "surgery" that a sloppy tech has done in the past. (think butcher-job)
The latter usually causes the biggest headache.

Also, if service literature is available, things can go smoothly, but without it even a good tech can spend numerous hours having to go over circuitry.... this causes labor rates to jump.
And not every tech has all the service info on every set, but luckily there are resources (Sams Photofacts, etc).... which cost, of course.
Other costs can arise from having to "custom build" parts that are no longer available these days.

So the range can vary widely depending on what is needed to be done.

In all honesty, that Truetone console has "budget" circuitry, meaning it's a lower-end product from the 60s.
Single-ended 6BQ5 outputs, an inexpensive stamped-metal dialplate, inexpensive speakers.

These were sold inexpensively at department stores and under various brand names.

Bottom line is, how much it it all worth to invest a lot of trouble in?

Matt.
I love your explanation of costs !
There have been (too) many times when someone has asked for an estimate, where I have lost many hours, due to a previous "surgeon", having made an error ! Also, just one "rusted screw" that HAS to come off, in order to "save something", can cost many hours. I really don't know how you guys in the "electronic repair field" can give an "estimate"-- I no longer do so--or if I do, I "Highball" it, or give a "range" only. I do have an "opt-out" on my work order form, that allows the customer to "stop work" at a given point--he must decide to "fill in" the amount space, as it's blank on the form-- Ron Rich

Ron Rich wrote:Matt.
I love your explanation of costs !
There have been (too) many times when someone has asked for an estimate, where I have lost many hours, due to a previous "surgeon", having made an error ! Also, just one "rusted screw" that HAS to come off, in order to "save something", can cost many hours. I really don't know how you guys in the "electronic repair field" can give an "estimate"-- I no longer do so--or if I do, I "Highball" it, or give a "range" only. I do have an "opt-out" on my work order form, that allows the customer to "stop work" at a given point--he must decide to "fill in" the amount space, as it's blank on the form-- Ron Rich

Well Ron, you being one of the kings of Juke, know all too well when working on old, neglected equipment it's loaded with surprises.
I can mostly "ballpark" a restoration job, (having done so many over the years) but indeed it's difficult to give a specific figure.
Plain & simple, they're all different!
One Philco console might run $275 to restore..... yet another identical set might cost $125 more... it may have other issues, a bad speaker, etc.

See what I mean?

And of course, I always add in some form of protection that wasn't designed in.... like fuses or polarized plugs for proper grounding.
Old stuff was built in the era of different electrical safety codes, and I tell my customers it's totally safe to use.



As for putting a cap on costs... I refrain from that practice simply because I dislike doing a "partial" restore on something.... it either gets done right or not.
After me investing the time and parts costs, it would be a shame to cut corners on a job, resulting in possible problems later on, and I like to avoid the tedious dis-assembly required sometimes required on a set when the job should have been completed in the first place.
Besides, it's a one-time-deal, and properly and completely restoring a set will undoubtably insure it'll last, and these treasures of yore deserve that.
Trust me, I try to keep costs reasonable...... sometimes it's difficult though.

Mostly, customers appreciate me "going that extra mile", it's rough work at times, but the end satisfaction for me and the customer is worth it.

As for you, Ron, I give you credit... the couple of jukeboxes I've done (AMI-Wurlitzer-Rockola-MusicMite, etc.) are a real pain..... like working on an old car!
I refer people to you out west by the way.

But oh, they sound so sweet when done!

Matt,
That "cap" only stops me at that point--I , like you refuse to "cut corners", as I learned long ago--doing so WILL come back to bite you---
So if a customer says he only wants to spend X amount of $$, I make it VERY clear, that I shall do my best work to that point--whereby, I will no longer do any more work on it--Just like turning off the water faucet--it STOPS ! If I think he has cut the price too low, I just refuse the job, and do not start--
We are both in similar positions, in that the equipment we are working on is not always sale-able for the amount needed to restore it--let along to attempt to make a profit--- Ron Rich

As far as "saleable", indeed sometimes it doesn't reach restoration costs, but luckily the people I deal with are more interested in having a great vintage piece in proper working order and safe to use.
A lot of times it's a family heirloom....... other times it's just a nice piece they want to own, enjoy, and hand down.

Matt and Ron I get what you are saying ,hard to estimate without having the amp and a photo fact for that model sitting in front of you
also I understand that True Tone is the lower end of vintage stereo console's I still have a disire to repair the one I have knowing it is not something of great or any value.. the one channel that plays sounds pretty good and I would hate to haul it to the dump after having it in my home for the last couple months.
I'll try to fix it myself with advice from others.

What I really want is to have one GREAT sounding vintage console stereo in our home and it's clear from reading all the post here that Magnavox is the one that everyone loves....so what's the best sounding Maggie ? again I just want to play my albums don't care about the radio, I just want great sound I will redo the cabinet to match our furnishings.

I'm posting 3 pic's of Magnavox console's for sale in Nashville right now...are any of them on any one's top 5 list ? and why ?

Matt and Ron thanks again for all your help with my record changer it operates perfectly now...no slow start or stalling when dropping LP it's like new!