Classic Hifi Care

Yesterday's mail brought the latest magazine from the Michigan Vintage Electronics Club, formerly the Michigan Antique Radio Club. It's always interesting and I usually read it right through when it arrives. The classifieds contain an ad for a guy who repairs changers--VM, Magnavox, Garrard. It's David Ziolkowski in Dearborn Heights, MI: dziolk1957@yahoo.com. 313-410-4547. Those of you who don't like chasing Jesus springs around the shop floor might consider having somebody else do it.

Chris Campbell

Chris,
That is a great ad to find.

David works with Gary at The V of Music.

He is THE guy to really refurbish a record changer.
This is from my experience with him
years ago.

It's good to hear he's still doing the work.

Still doing the work? "deleted", that "1957" means he's a mere child with years left in him.

I have a daily after-work walking route, 3-1/2 miles with one big hill to cover every day to make up for bad dietary choices in past years and to keep the ticker working. Tonight I was pondering my new office space, which we were moving furniture around in today. Because of my seniority and because I have lots of stuff, they gave me the biggest office this time. Corner, windows on both sides. Cool. Walking along tonight the thought came that this was probably going to be my last office move. That prompted a count of how many so far. Eleven, near as I can recall. Same line of work for 46 years so far. Once you've acquired skills, it seems a shame to stop using them. David probably enjoys his work. He probably has a good supply of Jesus clips so when one flings itself into oblivion, he can replace it.

Chris Campbell

He's 6 years older than me, so I can really understand that. I was an electronic tech first, mechanic second.

Being in the servicing business 40 years ago, I was afraid record changers were going away in favor of turntables, so I was only interested in making BSR, Mag and RCA changers work enough to call it a repair.

I was certainly not patient enough then and I had a few basket cases of my own but I had to become detail-oriented to do it right. For VM especially, the devil IS in the details.

I have ABSOLUTELY NO patience when it comes to working on changers. I am hoping to change that, considering the talent we have on this forum. We are fortunate to have several members who are well-versed on changers. Perhaps some of that talent will rub off on me.

I think my attitude towards changers was different from Greg's, I was intimidated by the complexity of them. That went away when I started to work on them for myself. I didn't have to worry about damaging them and having to tell a client that it's "done for". That changed my attitude because I wasn't afraid of failure. I started on the VM ones and the 1200 series is a good platform to start on, they are very robust and tough changers. After several of those changers I picked up a couple of KLH modular stereos with the Garrard 3000 changers. The way I look at them is, they all perform the same function. As long as I can get a service manual and take pictures, I am comfortable with the disassembly. So far I have worked on VM, Garrard, Collaro, Dual, and one Zenith in house changer with the built in 45 RPM adapter. They all posed challenges and if I got stuck, I'd walk away for some time and then come back with a clear head. Every one poses a learning experience.

The biggest takeaway is make sure you get the old grease removed from the moving parts, and then lubricate sparingly. That epoxy lubricant I've seen in every brand I've worked on.

Steve

Excellent advice, Steve, and that is exactly how I started working on changers. It definitely helps to have the service manual and take lots of photos. Once you do a couple it gets easier. VM is the place to start your learning curve with changers. I'm still afraid of Collaro!

Bill

I just have a brain block when it comes to changers. I worked with a guy at the shop who was the best driveability man I ever knew. If he couldn't tune your car up, you needed a new one. But he would not attempt to rebuild a carburetor and he always got plug wires crossed. I think he'd get wires crossed on a one cylinder engine. I had to do his carb work and install plug wires for him. I guess that's been my experience with changers. I typically make them worse.