Admiral Stereo console - questions...

I have a nice 60's era Admiral Stereophonic Super 20 phonograph, in a wood cabinet that I would like to restore.

I am a "handy man", but new to this specific type of repair.

Where should I start?

Hey rockpile:

Your question is very open with no details. What exactly is wrong with your unit? If you have turntable problems, Larry (record-changer) is the man with all the answers. Others here may be able to help if you let us know what you need to restore your phono.

BobbyB
Tucson, Arizona

Basically this is a great piece of early 60's furniture with only a turntable, speakers, and amplifier with tubes.

I have not tested anything in it yet, except hooking up power. The turntable rotates at speeds from 33 1/3 to 78 rpm, but makes a regular mechanical "scape" when it turns.

I have not wired up the speakers (wire is decayed) or even checked the needle.

I have a few turntables, but wanted to see if the original equipment can be used, before just transplanting newer components into the chassis.

I was hoping to get a user's manual, repair manual, or parts list so I would have a better picture in my mind of how to troubleshoot problems as I encounter them.

I am basically looking for where I should go for help.

Admiral Sterophonic Super 20
Model 1002
Serial number A509906
Chassis Number 5K5

The chassis is in beautiful condition except on the top where they had a foam backed cloth and something piled on it for years. It would be nice to restore the top to a same shine as the rest of the cabinet.

I guess I should just start messing with it and come back here when I have more specific questions?

So, you have a turntable, speakers and a tube amp. No AM/FM?

The scraping sound could possibly be a worn idler wheel contacting the inside surface of the turntable platter and the motor pole.

I recall someone mentioning years ago that it is not good to run a tube amp without a load across the speaker terminals; possible damage to other components. There are "load" resistors, for lack of a better term, to put across the terminals to simulate a speaker hookup.

Check Record-changer's posts about turntable repairs. The man is awesome and his knowledge is immeasurable. If you go to the Archives, he is known as Larry Robinson. I wish I could have been an apprentice under him.

As far as a parts list, If you have removed the back, there may be a schematic pasted in the base of the unit or the back panel. They used to do that back in the old days. Even a speaker wiring diagram may be included. If you look at the amp itself, most of the components are labeled. You need to have a color chart to read the bands on the resistors to get their values. You could very easily get by without a schematic or service manual. They would really help when you need to do an tuner alignment for the radio section. In that instance, the alignment was set at the factory, and replacing the caps did the job without doing any adjustments.

With a unit that old, I would give it a whole set of fresh Electrolytic caps; probably wouldn't hurt to check resistors, too. Do a visual search for components that look dark/burnt from overheating. I've had a unit with caps popped open at both ends. No wonder it didn't work.

If I find a bad component, I like to use a "ripple" effect to backtrack the audio chain to see if something else caused it to go bad. The only tools I have right now are a True RMS multi-meter and a Weller soldering station.
The meter has alot of features on it to test different semi-conductors, and it's gotten me through so far....would love to get more toys...LOL.

Semi-conductors are cheap, and you can always go online to check the NTE/ECG cross references or get the catalog/downloadable software. You can check out those weird numbers you may find on some parts. The most expensive repair would probably be a power or output transformer.

West-Tech(sp) services, in Florida(?), restores idler wheels, and a guy in Canada rebuilds phono cartridges. Radio Shack, Garage-a-Records and a host of others sell needles and some NOS cartridges. Sam's Photofacts, AG Tannenbaum, can't remember them all right now, have schematics and service manuals. Antique Radio Supply, just up the road in Phoenix, carries tubes, power/output transformers and all types of connections.

Just about anything you need can be had out there if you do a little research. There is hope for your unit and it can be restored. Sorry for all the rambling, just bored on this Thanksgiving day and family is back in Pennsylvania.

Sounds like you have a great unit and I hope you find everything you need to get it going again.

BobbyB
Tucson, Arizona

I have a similar cabinet in my possession and im searching for a replacement cartrige for an old Admiral player