Magnavox Astro-Sonic Console Info Needed

Just a guess--look back a few posts, there is an instruction as to how to change the needles-
I would assume that the "arm" is not being held in the centering "block", as shown--
Ron Rich

Hurricane wrote:Hello all, well I got my new needle and now another problem. Before I tried to play a record and got all this skipping and distortion sound. So I did get a new needle from eBay and it exactly matched the old needle when I received it. It says 557-DS73 on the new needle. Anyway I put it in but now I have no sound coming out of the speakers! When I have the dial turned to the radio I hear sound just fine. But when I turn it up to phono , nothing...except just the faint sound of the record without amplification. Did I do something wrong? Thanks! Hurricane

Is the metal shank of the needle properly seated in the small notch in the rubber yoke?
Does the lever flip smoothly back & forth in the cartridge?

Yes to both questions. But now I'm thinking that there is a completely different problem than just needing a new needle because today I could hear sound out of the speakers but once again it was very distorted. When I touch or move the tonearm there is a lot of noise and amplified scratchy sound. Maybe there is a problem with the wiring?

Time for some serious professional servicing.

Yes I think I came to that conclusion earlier today. Now if I can just find someone in the area to do it. I live in Galveston, Tx and Magnavox console service techs don't hang out on every corner. LOL Thanks for the help everyone.

Hurricane wrote:Yes I think I came to that conclusion earlier today. Now if I can just find someone in the area to do it. I live in Galveston, Tx and Magnavox console service techs don't hang out on every corner. LOL Thanks for the help everyone.

Galveston! I guess that explains the name. I really don't understand how a city as large as Houston doesn't have one qualified service tech for these old consoles.....or maybe we do, but he's too old to use the web. Either way, if you ever do find someone local, please let all of us know.

Sadly, a lot of the "old techs" have retired or died off.
In addition, modern technology has also pretty much crushed out "old school" repair shops.
So there's few of us around these days.
But lots of online tinkerers that make claims of knowing how to service these things.
This is where you have to worry, and weed out those types, who are nothing more than "ole Harry next door with a toolbox".
They'll mess the set up worse than it is now.

Trust me, I've seen Ole Harry's work

The other ones are snotnosed college punks who think they know it all - trust me, they don't.

Pick & choose carefully - get references, just like hunting for anybody to do a job.
Roofers, landscapers, car repairs, etc.

To: Bobby Basham

Relative to your post May 1, 2011 7:42 pm.

You have three needles pictured in one frame. I believe that I need the one in the middle that is not in a case. Could you please tell me what number it is. Also, I have been trying to loosen the screw that holds the cartridge in place, with no success. Any suggestions.

Does anyone know about the wiring on these vintage stereos? One day I was filling my record compartment, and as soon as I got
them all in, the thing caved threw and all of my wires got knocked out. Some plug into the speakers, the tuner, theres also a
thing on the side(by the record compartment) that has wires plugged into it. I tried to plug them back in, but the sound on the
stereo is no where near right.

*Note* The stereo sounded perfectly before this happened

my model number for this set is 1RP656. It looks exactly like the set first displayed in this forum. Can someone help me?

There should be a wiring diagram pasted to the inside bottom of the cabinet. Sometimes, the dust is so thick you can't even see the paper. It's a color-labeled diagram that shows you where each wire goes.

To: WaldoWeasel64

Check out the FAQ about needles/stylus. There's a ton of info there. I'm no expert or certified/licensed tech, but have been around the block a few times.

There are still some professionals hanging around here, and from what I've seen, they're here to help us restore these units at a reasonable price, and not get ripped off.

I will reiterate that I am no professional by any means, but folks can email me privately for any simple issues. We're here for one cause, to keep the Magnificent, vintage relics roaring. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona
rwbasham@yahoo.com

I just got one very similar but larger...same design but one extra panel. It's exactly the same one I grew up with and I was amazed to find this one. The sound is really wonderful, very warm and ... well "BIG" is the best way to describe it. It's almost weird to plug my iPod into the tape inputs in the back! The stylus is broken off the tone arm and I'm looking for a replacement. Thanks for the info here, it should help.

If anyone has any additional information about this one, that would be great. I'm assuming that it must be very similar to the one in this thread, but it just has a lot of record album storage space. These aren't the best pics but you get the idea.

Needles are readily available on eBay. Just search 557-DS73, and you'll find plenty of them around $6.

Your longer model is a higher grade model, probably late 1967 or early 1968 "500 Series" 50-watt. Likely a model 3813. However, if you compare the control panels, this one appears to be a "100 Series" (1967 and earlier) or "1000 Series" (1968 and later) 100-watt model. Can't locate this specific one with that control panel in the available catalogs.

gerryu21220 wrote:Needles are readily available on eBay. Just search 557-DS73, and you'll find plenty of them around $6.

Your longer model is a higher grade model, probably late 1967 or early 1968 "500 Series" 50-watt. Likely a model 3813. However, if you compare the control panels, this one appears to be a "100 Series" (1967 and earlier) or "1000 Series" (1968 and later) 100-watt model. Can't locate this specific one with that control panel in the available catalogs.

Thanks! I really appreciate it. You're right, I found info on the back; it's a model 1P3813, pecan finish. It says it's 45 watts. Interesting about the control panel. Maybe it was replaced at some point.

I looks like I need the whole cartridge piece, not just the needle. That part is gone and it's just 4 wires. But I'm sure I can find it.

Actually, those cartridges are scarce, and quite expensive to buy. Might actually be cheaper to buy a duplicate changer and use the cartridge from it, or just swap changers. Good luck!

BTW: 45 watts listed on the label only refers to A/C power consumption, not audio output.