Need help with a Motorola Calypso 3H24 portable phonograph

Hello, I'm new here and found this site because of the trouble I'm having with my record player. I've stumbled into a 1957 Calypso that is not working. The radio is new to me and I'm not familiar with radios in general as most of my hobby time is spent wrenching on 50-60 year old sedans. When I plug the radio in and turn the machine on, it will begin the process for dropping a record onto the turntable and all of that appears to be behaving fine. In fact, I can heard the record as it runs across the needle and it sounds correct. My issue is that the speakers are not playing any sounds at all and what appears to be a main power transformer (largest black transformer under the front panel) is heating up to an extent that it stinks like burnt plastic and sounds like it is boiling something. I suspect the transformer core might be submerged in oil or some other medium and that is what I'm hearing but I've honestly got not clue as to what is making the boiling sounds. When I unplug the unit, the sounds continue for 15-20 seconds but quit and eventually the smell goes away too.

I have no emotional attachment to this unit other than it looks cool and would be an excellent addition to my shop. I'm inclined to gut the fiberglass shell to put modern components inside and just keep the cabinet for looks if I'm unable to get it working properly. My suspicion is that it is not worth fixing to original working order and it may as well be able to play some MP3's or something if I'm going to keep it around. I thought I would check here first in case there is an easy fix to the player.

"My suspicion is that it is not worth fixing to original working order"

You are right.
Bill

And there you have the aweful results of "plugging something in" without first having it professionally serviced.
Hey car buff.... I'll bet you won't take a vintage car out on the highway that has aged/sat for decades.
Why chance ruining a once fine record player?

MattTech wrote:And there you have the aweful results of "plugging something in" without first having it professionally serviced.
Hey car buff.... I'll bet you won't take a vintage car out on the highway that has aged/sat for decades.
Why chance ruining a once fine record player?

And there I see the "aweful" results of an internet connection wasted.

Hey record guy...I've done it twice with two different 55 Chevrolet sedans and both were solid daily drivers within a year. I still have them too. One still sits with tags an insurance ready to ride at this very moment and the other was taken offline to build an alternative fuel dragster. Six years ago I flew out to Denver to buy my DeLorean and drove it home to South Carolina sight unseen. The only guarantee I was given was that it would crank and make it down the street to the Wal-Mart so I could buy tools. All of these cars were put on the road without having any kind of professional service.

I write software for a living but if I bump into any technical item that I don't know enough about, I'm not inclined to pass the buck to someone else when I am much better off by learning how to handle it myself. I am a guy who tolerates a busted appliance for two or three days while waiting for parts or learning how something is supposed to work. I can now tell you all about repairing refrigerators, dryers and washing machines but I couldn't before they were broken. I can also tell you that those kinds of forums are a lot more forthcoming with information on said repairs than I've seen on this board. fwiw, I'm not entirely unfamiliar with leaking capacitors and bum tubes either; just never kept any record players because it is easy to find an application for shortwave and not so much for vinyl:





If this forum is some kind of circle jerk thing between a handful of characters where new people are viewed as simply having the audacity to not know everything about whatever record player they might own before posting a question, then I'll be on my way and you have my apologies for daring to post such a thing. Every radio guy and ham operator I've known is downright cool though and I'm genuinely surprised at such a milquetoast "call a professional" attitude within this particular medium.

Don't take it personally. If you didn't cook the transformer, though I'm afraid you may have, this phonograph may yet be salvagable. That said, this is one cool phono and I would certainly restore it if it was among my stash.

Thom wrote:Don't take it personally. If you didn't cook the transformer, though I'm afraid you may have, this phonograph may yet be salvagable. That said, this is one cool phono and I would certainly restore it if it was among my stash.

Considering that the entire device comprises discrete components, I'd venture that $50 or so would have every single electrical item under the chassis cover replaced. Not really necessary in my case as I found out. Anyway, so this little guy was my problem:



Likely anyone else that bumps into one of these (or any other old radio/tv for that matter) will recognize a dried out filter capacitor. Just a dead short across a $15 (full retail) item that is a simple fix and a reminder that most TV/radio repair jobs are no more professional than any other monkey replacing like components with a soldering iron. Sadly there a lot of lazy/uninformed people out there who are willing to pay big money to get such minor things corrected. Seems that there are still enough shysters willing to take advantage of them though, so that's good. Transformer seems to be fine though I won't know for certain until I get the machine powered up. Considered wiring a trio of 40uf radial caps in lieu of the big daddy to hear it play this evening but I didn't have any large enough on hand. I'll swing by Radio Shack tomorrow and see what they have. If I have to order anything I'll just get a direct replacement. Once I get it running properly, I'll pull the guts out, shelve them and use the case to house a laptop for MP3's and all that jazz.

btw - I took these pictures in case anyone else has one of these players and is curious about what makes the magic happen underneath:





Hardly the kind of rocket surgery that requires professional service.

In that those cans are almost never available I always replace it with individual ones hidden within the chassis or for my more important restorations I gut the can and insert them in there. I doubt RadioShack will have what you need in those voltages. Alas, they no longer serve the electronics hobbiest, just games and gadgets. However, those values are available on the net. I generally get mine through {justradios.com} but there are other sources as well.

Probably the insulation inside the transformer failed with age. Or some liquid may have been spilled in it.

Or if the power supply is a selenium or silicon rectifier, it may have failed, or the power supply filter capacitor may have shorted.

The transformer is the hardest part to get and the most expensive part in any audio equipment.

Wow,I really hope you didn't junk the parts,I collect the Motorola Fiberglass portables and would have bought it from you intact and not working.

The bsr Monarch changers are famous for the speed selector jamming up,and the rubber mat on the turntable platter is always missing or cracked.
I love these players and have gotten every one of mine to work fine again.
Do you still have all the parts?,if it hasn't been modified and you'd be interested in selling it please let me know.

P.S. Is your DeLorean one of the early models with the gas flap on the hood?
I've always wanted a DeLorean,they are such beautifully designed cars.

dmc never came back... he had his hissy fit rant and fled the scene.
Ya gotta love those types.

MattTech wrote:dmc never came back... he had his hissy fit rant and fled the scene.
Ya gotta love those types.

That's really a shame,unfortunately I didn't see this thread until last night.

I was surprised a few people thought it wasn't worth restoring to working order.

I hate to think of it being turned into a laptop carrying case/mp3 player,when with some work it could have been restored to it's former glory.
I have a spare amp from a Calypso that I found with a shattered case so even if the transformer was bad I could have repaired it.

I would have been happy to pay a decent price for it complete and non working,certainly much more than $15 he claimed it to be worth....oh well,I guess I cant save them all.

I'm still looking for the model with the built in am radio.

Ya know, I think we are a strange lot of folks.

We have folks who are in different professions/hobbies, and sorta work in our respective areas similary and get those results. We analyze how different components work in conjunction with each other, and we get our results.

HEY (Mr. Mechanic) ...I rebuilt my carburetor and wiring harness, now my car runs smoothly and the windshield wipers don't turn on every time I hit the brakes (had that happen).

HEY (Mr. Electrician) ...I rewired my house addition, and it doesn't trip the circuit breaker when I run (appliances of your choice).

HEY (Mr. Electronic) ...I replaced caps/resistors, whatever, and finally got my right channel working on my favorite amp without distortion.

I don't think dmc had a "hissy fit rant and fled".. He seems to be very knowledgeable and maybe didn't bother to read old posts. That's my pet peeve when folks join at the last minute asking a redundant question to find a needle/cartridge for their antique/vintage phonograph.

Dmc didn't have an emotional attachment to the unit, or any urgency to get it repaired quickly, so he probably could have taken the time to read through some old posts. But, time seems to be at a premium these days, and maybe he was hoping to get some quick advice here.

I had to delete a few posts myself for striking out at newbies, having my foul moods and intolerances, but let's try to help folks, not be condescending/demeaning to run folks away. It seems like folks are [re]discovering the joy of old vinyl, and we want to encourage them, young and old.

A few folks here have 50,000+ albums in their collections, while I may have about 3,000. It's nice having a small/moderate collection, but have printed musical scores for all the piano music. Bach/Haydn/Schubert/Mozart/Beethoven/Scarlatti/ Rachmanninov/Debussy etc., piano pieces. I'll start playing that stuff again when I get in the mood and loosen up these stiff fingers.

Let's help, not hurt, folks. Maybe send private emails to those newbies for some of their redundant inquiries so we don't have to read 20 answers for a needle for an EV275 cartridge which can be found in the FAQ, or that Astro-Sonic 1-RP679 with no clue of the components inside the cabinet. --BB



Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Bobby Basham wrote:Ya know, I think we are a strange lot of folks.

I don't think dmc had a "hissy fit rant and fled"..
Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

What would you call it then, when dmc seemed to have a condescending attitude towards electronic servicers, like me for instance?
It's clear he was only trying to put down the fine art of restorations by us "professional" servicers, suggesting we're "rip offs" taking advantage of people.
He doesn't figure in labor time, overhead, shipping costs of special parts, or increasing parts costs and research, ....just how much a capacitor costs..... and rambles on like some idiot from there.

As he stated, quote: "and I'm not familiar with radios in general as most of my hobby time is spent wrenching on 50-60 year old sedans"
And ".....is a simple fix and a reminder that most TV/radio repair jobs are no more professional than any other monkey replacing like components with a soldering iron"

The guy doesn't even know what he's talking about, he's a software nerd.
I've seen those headstrong types come and go on the internet, and even at my shops' counter. He didn't like being called out on his ignorance (of plugging in an unrestored phono that sizzled) initially, and got a "hissy fit".

Yet, his attitude wasn't even worth responding to.

If you want to side with that type, it's your perogative.

MattTech wrote:Yet, his attitude wasn't even worth responding to.
If you want to side with that type, it's your perogative.

I'M NOT TAKING ANY SIDES. Reading posts can sometimes be difficult when you can't see a person and hear their tone of voice and see their body language. I tried some humor at times that backfired, people took it seriously and they didn't appreciate it.

I sent him a nice, private email and explained some things, and even said some nice things about YOU. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Hi All,
I get in "trouble" many times on this subject--It seems that I can not keep my big mouth shut, and most of the time I am just "joking"--although, when "people" refuse to read the Service Manual, and go on asking question after question, that is clearly explained in print, I do get tired--
Sometimes, Myself argues with me, and I hit the send or delete button depending on whether me, myself, or I, win the argument--- Ron Rich