Philco Ford battery op record player (skunked again on eBay!)

[1922VV111]

Well this proves I never learn my lesson…now I have this mini record player and AM radio meant for playing those Hip-Pocket records from the 60s. When I looked at the photos and looked at the battery contacts (which I shoulda stopped there) but I thought ok, I would buy this and clean the battery contacts with white vinegar and possibly get it to run. Of course that didn’t work. I opened it up and saw a wire had become desoldered from wherever it’s supposed to be soldered to. And I’m wondering is there any other damage by looking at the board? I want to send it to my repairman but it’s the size of a shoebox tape recorder. I wonder if I can possibly ship it to somebody and pay though PayPal? Just want some opinions for this non technically skilled person! Thanks.

[danrclem]

Does it look like anything has been broken off of the negative post that it's pointing toward?

[TC Chris]

No sense shipping it around until you have checked it out. Solder that wire back on; maybe attend to the ones on the bottom spring contact (looks like some green stuff there). You may also want to attend to the turntable shaft lube, after all these years. Is it an idler wheel or belt drive?

Chris Campbell

[1922VV111]

No sense shipping it around until you have checked it out. Solder that wire back on; maybe attend to the ones on the bottom spring contact (looks like some green stuff there). You may also want to attend to the turntable shaft lube, after all these years. Is it an idler wheel or belt drive?

Chris Campbell

Problem is I have no idea where the wire goes to. This is a philco S-1379GR. I assume idler drive?

[1922VV111]

Does it look like anything has been broken off of the negative post that it's pointing toward?

Honestly I cannot tell. I probably need to see a photo of one in better shape to know where that orange wire goes to.

[TC Chris]

No sense shipping it around until you have checked it out. Solder that wire back on; maybe attend to the ones on the bottom spring contact (looks like some green stuff there). You may also want to attend to the turntable shaft lube, after all these years. Is it an idler wheel or belt drive?

Chris Campbell

Problem is I have no idea where the wire goes to. This is a philco S-1379GR. I assume idler drive?

It would appear that the orange wire goes to the spring, which is usually a negative contact in battery holders. Looks like it goes from the neg. spring in the top row to the positive terminal in the bottom row, putting all 4 cells in series. If nothing else attaches to that top spring terminal, then that cinches it.

Chris Campbell

[1922VV111]

No sense shipping it around until you have checked it out. Solder that wire back on; maybe attend to the ones on the bottom spring contact (looks like some green stuff there). You may also want to attend to the turntable shaft lube, after all these years. Is it an idler wheel or belt drive?

Chris Campbell

Problem is I have no idea where the wire goes to. This is a philco S-1379GR. I assume idler drive?

It would appear that the orange wire goes to the spring, which is usually a negative contact in battery holders. Looks like it goes from the neg. spring in the top row to the positive terminal in the bottom row, putting all 4 cells in series. If nothing else attaches to that top spring terminal, then that cinches it.

Chris Campbell

Makes sense. Here is another photo I took with the bottom off. I dunno if this helps anything.

[danrclem]

I'd say it's almost certain that it's supposed to be connected to the negative post in order to keep the battery series going. That's why I suggested looking to see if it had been connected there. If you connect it to the negative post, it's possible that your unit may work.

[1922VV111]

I'd say it's almost certain that it's supposed to be connected to the negative post in order to keep the battery series going. That's why I suggested looking to see if it had been connected there. If you connect it to the negative post, it's possible that your unit may work.

Ok I’ll try to get a better photo of that spring… by the way I also see it works with AC power, what kind of power brick would I need to find to fit this?

[danrclem]

It's hard to tell. I don't see anything inside of it for it to work with a barrel plug jack. It may be there though. It would have to be something that is around six volts. I've saw a lot of adapters that are five volts, but I don't know if that would be enough or not.

[1922VV111]

It's hard to tell. I don't see anything inside of it for it to work with a barrel plug jack. It may be there though. It would have to be something that is around six volts. I've saw a lot of adapters that are five volts, but I don't know if that would be enough or not.

Maybe it takes this type of plug?

[TC Chris]

That plug would likely work, BUT: what really matters is voltage, kind of voltage (AC/DC), and polarity. Some wall-wart power supplies are just a transformer supplying reduced-voltage AC. Rectification and filtering are done inside the device. Others supply DC. And if it's DC, you need to know which portion of the plug is pos. and which is neg.

It's probably 6 V, since the device uses 4 cells. 4 x 1.5 V = 6 V. But you never can tell....

I would be inclined to solder up that orange wire, add cells, and see what happens.

If you trace the wiring you can probably figure out polarity of the power plug.

Chris Campbell

[1922VV111]

That plug would likely work, BUT: what really matters is voltage, kind of voltage (AC/DC), and polarity. Some wall-wart power supplies are just a transformer supplying reduced-voltage AC. Rectification and filtering are done inside the device. Others supply DC. And if it's DC, you need to know which portion of the plug is pos. and which is neg.

It's probably 6 V, since the device uses 4 cells. 4 x 1.5 V = 6 V. But you never can tell....

I would be inclined to solder up that orange wire, add cells, and see what happens.

If you trace the wiring you can probably figure out polarity of the power plug.

Chris Campbell

I'm a bit of a dummy and I don't think I have the right tools for that? I know I got a few soldering irons but never successfully used one I need to know exactly where that orange wire attaches to first, like I need a photo of the same model in better shape or a graphic tutorial? And I probably need some help because I can't solder for beans! Trust me this is not a job for somebody with very little confidence and knowledge like me.

[TC Chris]

Well, look to see if anything connects that upper spring to the device. If not, the the orange wire is likely intended to be there.

You don't need to solder to try it. Just strip the end of the orange wire of insulation and wrap the wire securely around that upper spring. Insert batteries and see what happens. If you wiggle the volume control, you'll usually get at least some scratchy noise from the speaker, indicating it's alive.

Chris Campbell

[1922VV111]

Well, look to see if anything connects that upper spring to the device. If not, the the orange wire is likely intended to be there.

You don't need to solder to try it. Just strip the end of the orange wire of insulation and wrap the wire securely around that upper spring. Insert batteries and see what happens. If you wiggle the volume control, you'll usually get at least some scratchy noise from the speaker, indicating it's alive.

Chris Campbell

Well I did finally manage to power it on through AC. I took a 3.5mm plug that had two bare wires, I stuck those wires into my multi voltage power supply thingy and I did manage to get it to power on! But unfortunately the radio doesn't pick up stations and the cart is bad and not putting out any audio (seems to be a common issue with these Philcos?)
I made a quick video about it on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcVz8_Sp8rg

[William]

At least you know now that it does power up. Did it make any kind of static noise like it wanted to work in the radio?

Bill

[1922VV111]

At least you know now that it does power up. Did it make any kind of static noise like it wanted to work in the radio?

Bill

It did but nothing was getting picked up though.

[TC Chris]

Polarity correct on the power hook-up?

Chris Campbell

[1922VV111]

Polarity correct on the power hook-up?

Chris Campbell

Well I fiddled with it some more, and was able to pick some stations up with it. The antenna isn't very sensitive. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XBu56XXqf1Y

Oh, and I touched the leads to the cart and got a hum from the speaker so the cart is probably just bad. Seems to be an issue with this model.

[TC Chris]

Check the leads on the antenna--probably a ferrite bar loop? Sometimes the break.

Chris Campbell