[Ron Ramirez]

Hi Joe

I saw that Maggie on Louisville Craigslist. I didn't want to spend $125 just to get an FM tuner, and be left with another large console I would have no use for.

Doug Houston tells me that adapting a cartridge to the 256 might be a problem, but he did suggest an Electro-Voice Power Point cartridge. I believe he mentioned as much in a previous post in this thread. Mine currently has no cartridge, but some idler wheels are on the way to me. And, I think, the motor mounts on my 256 are in good shape already.

The grille cloth in my Regency is very similar to Philco "ribbed" cloth. The Regency cloth is redder, but I think the Philco "ribbed" cloth will be a good substitute. Number 14 from Radio Grille Cloth Headquarters.

[Ron Ramirez]

I had mentioned previously that my friend Doug Houston had sent me a Webster Chicago 256 changer, which is the correct changer for a Magnavox. Here it is:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...cy/tt1.jpg]

Notice the Magnavox name molded into the bakelite tone arm:

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...cy/tt2.jpg]

I have the center spindle for the changer, and now have new idler wheels and a Power Point cartridge and mount.

But what I wasn't expecting to receive was the genuine Magnavox CR-206A FM tuner, which arrived today!

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...cy/fm1.jpg]

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...cy/fm2.jpg]

[Image: http://www.philcoradio.com/images/phorum...cy/fm3.jpg]

I'm a happy camper. Once this semester ends, I'll get all of this put together and installed in the Regency. I will not only be able to play 78s with the Webster 256, but LP records as well. Plus, I'll be able to listen to FM on a genuine Magnavox FM tuner!

Thank You, Doug!

[w4rtc]

Hi Ron
Way to go, you hit the jackpot, it sure is good to have friends like that. Those big old black square caps is the ones that were all bad on mine. I made the mistake of turning it on and the 1k resister smoked so I just replaced all of them. I would like to know what you do about the cartridge, I am debating on just buying the orignal type which is for sale on the internet but they want $71 for it but is is the orignal type where the wire from the weight connects to the cartridge and tilts the cartridge to the correct needle position. But that is a lot to pay for a cartridge. I have found that a ronette to-254-us (which is on another later Magnavox) really sounds good. But I cannot find a new one anywhere but they sound good and you can put a .007 needle on it. The orignal cartridge has a output of .35 volts. I tried a 1 volt cart and sounds ok but a little overdrive sound to it. Boy am I windy
Joe

[Doug Houston]

A little comment about the pickup cartridge. The original crystal pickup on the Webster changers was a bit short on frequency response. Output was decent, but the one I sent Ron, (an Astatic Soundflow) has far better response, and is actually better suited to that set. I mentioned to Ron that I think it's the one in my Maggie Windsor, and the set is a killer on audio. My Windsor has the W-C 256 changer in it, so the date on the set would have to be after early summer 1948.

When you install a replacement pickup cartridge in one of those changers, you have to remove the shift wire in the arm, and just use the pivoting weight at the end of the arm....if you want to.

I have a Magnavox Magnasonic player from around 1951. It has a preamp tube in the control next to the changer , and essentially the same amplifier and speakers as on the Regency Synphony and the Belvedere. I haven't looked at it for a while, but the changer is Collaro, and I believe that the pickup is a Ronette. It's a beautiful record player. One of the guys at work asked me if I wanted it. He was going to put it on the curb!! Danmed tootin' I wanted it. The thing is like new.

[w4rtc]

HI Doug
Can I have more info on the Soundflow cartridge. Is it available? I have a about 1958 maganvox and it has a Ronette TO-284 US cart and I tried it in my 256 and it sounded very good but I cannot find another one. So I would like to know about the Soundflow does it have a number?
Thanks
Joe

[Doug Houston]

It does, but it was in a package with another similar pickup, but with no ID. I do think that there is a number on the pickup cartridge. I never made a note of it before packing for Ron. At this time, I'm at a loss for identifying it. I just assembled the pieces he'd need for the Maggie.

I'll look to see if there is a good Ronette pickup around. When they are good, they sound great. No promises, understand.

[Ron Ramirez]

There is a number on the side of the Astatic cartridge...89T. Perhaps that will help? The only other number is what appears to be a date...3-68.

Joe, I will definitely replace all of the big square "Micamolds" in the FM tuner, along with the electrolytics, before I even think about applying power to it. I replaced all of the square "Micamolds" that were actually paper caps in my Maggie's AM-SW tuner and the AMP-101 amplifier. The caps that were connected to the AC line were replaced with X-Y safety caps.

*****

Before posting this message, I looked up "Astatic 89T" on Google. Here's a page that will give you some more info on it:

http://www.radiolaguy.com/stylushelp.htm

The cartridge Doug sent me is a different color than illustrated in the link above, but looks the same otherwise. The flip-under mount is identical.

[Ron Ramirez]

Sonny the Radiola Guy may not have the cartridge with both LP and 78 needles or the flip-under mount, but Garage'A Records has both:

http://www.garage-a-records.com/search.php

[Doug Houston]

Now, there's a prewar Maggie Belvedere for sale nearby. I'd like to see about buying it, but right now, i have no way to get it home. I have a '96 Buick Roadmaster wagon, and the transmission is blown. I'd have had it to a guy to rebuild it, but this snow siege put everything to a stop.

The transmission will take a week, easily. the cause of the trans trouble was a blown-open transmission cooler tube. It dumped the fluid, just as I was approaching an exit on I-75, going 60 MPH. By the time I could get it off of the interstate, the third gear clutches were toast. There's new fluid in the thing now, and I can get first and second, but the clutches are gone for third.

I think that Ron has the same car. The cooler tubes are no longer available from GM. The car is actually a Chevy, with a Buick nameplate. There is an outfit here nearby, named Inline Tube. They will make new cooler tubes for me, when I take the old ones to them. Turnaround time is about a week There might be some way to buy the Magnaox and pick it up in a week or two. If I buy the set, I have no idea where I'd put it. I have a soft spot in my head for those prewar Magnavox sets. I alredy have a Regency-Symphony and Chairside, all from about 1941. Cabinets are similar, but the chassis are different. Re-capped, they are excellent performers, and comparable to the post war models. There was even a prewar Windsor, too, but I've never seen one in the flesh. My Windsor is around a '48 model. Those fine radios get to be a disease for a body.

Now, back to Inline Tube. They make brake line kits for many older model cars, both in galvanized and stainless steel. A couple of years ago, I bought a stainless kit for one of my '41 Cadillacs. It's on the car now, and the mechanic who installed it said that it could have come right from Cadillac parts. I have three more '41 Cadillac kits ordered, for the other three '41 Cadillacs that I have. In my life, I've had four brake lines get a pinhole from rust, and lost brakes. Never again, if I have any say in it!

If I do get the Belvedere, it'll be the second console for me in 6 months. The other one was the 37-650XP Philco.

So, with any luck, I might have another early Maggie. Call me nuts; I am.

[Michael Dennis]

Good luck with the Belvedere, Doug, hope you get it. Mine is postwar.

Mike

[Ron Ramirez]

A prewar Belvedere would be a nice find indeed, I think! Doug, I also hope you are able to get that one.

Yes, I too have a '96 Roadmaster Limited wagon. As Doug says, the Roadmaster wagon is a rebadged Chevy Caprice wagon, with the addition of a "Vista" roof (glass panel above the rear seats, like the late 1960s Oldsmobile Vista Cruisers) and some extra power accessories. The GM service manual covers both the Caprice and Roadmaster. (I have the factory GM two-volume service manual set for my '96 Roady.)

Thanks for the warning about the transmission cooler tubes. Sounds like I should replace mine as a preventive measure, before they blow. The Roady has around 180K on the clock, and has taken one long trip already with no issues other than a windshield wiper bolt coming loose. I've fixed that already.

Edit: I see Inline Tube is online:
http://www.inlinetube.com/

On an unrelated note, I'll have to drop the gas tank in my Roady when spring gets here. My gas gauge does not read correctly. When the tank shows 1/2, the actual fuel level is below 1/4 tank.

[Doug Houston]

Well, I can tell you a lot about the fuel pump and fuel gage.

In about May of 2009, the fuel pump quit. I had it replaced with a United Delco fuel pump and float unit assembly. About $800 worth. The fuel gage didn't work, or was erratic at best. Back to the shop. Unit #2 was installed. no gage action this time. Unit #3 inatalled, and gage reads full tank. Somewhere,here I lost track of what happened. Along the way, the fuel pump quit, so another unit; this time, fuel pump only replaced. Still, gas gage is not functional.

My patience totally gone, I had the mechanic drop the tank, and see if we could see anything wrong. For once, he shone a flashlight into the tank, (It's plastic)and there was a baffle, crowding the float arm, so that the float couldn't move. We then got out the original float unit that I'd saved, and the float unit on the replacement assembly was slightly different from the original one, which cleared the baffle. So, back into the tank with the original float unit, and a new pump. It worked like a champ. Not long after, the fuel pump quit. I lost track of how many fuel pumps that thing has had, but it must be around 6 of them.

I think you know that there are baffles in gas tanks to prevent the fuel from sloshing all the way, one side or another.

Now, on the transmission cooler tubes. The radiator had to be replaced. there is a cooler coil on each side of the radiator. My car has the two electric fans, and no oil cooler, so only the driver side cooler is used, I believe. Anyhoo, the cooler tube fitting was corroded into the old radiator, so the mechanic cut the old tube at the hose section. He fitted a new piece of tubing into the hose, using a flare and a hose clamp. That worked for a while, and then,one night on I-75 at an exit, something went screwy, and I got off right there at an exit. The tube had slipped out of the hose, and dumped the transmission. before i could get the car off of the traffic lane, the third gear was burned up.

The transmission had been rebuilt about 2 years ago, and less than 20K miles back. I'll get it to a guy I know who does my transmissions.

Now, on the cooler tubes. No longer available from GM parts. I called an outfit south of here, named: Inline Tube. I asked if they could duplicate the cooler tubes if I brought them in. Yes, they can, and exactly as the original ones were done. That will solve the cooler tube problem, and I'm sure that they will enter that tube design into their computer, should other customers need them.

Those guys are miracle workers. They make brake line kits for many vintage cars. You can have them in galvanized or stainless steel. ALL of my cars will have stainless brake lines on them. Recently, I had the lines removed from my '41 Chevy; a convertible. They made me a set of stainless lines, and also put the line design into their computer. They now, have stainless lines for Chevrolet convertible from 1941 thru 1948.

Now, back to the Ronette issue. I have several Ronette cartridges in my shop; possibly good, but also possibly dead. I'll bring some upstairs and I'll test them. They seem tho have a life, as a rule, so keep fingers crossed. If they work, they sound very good.

Well, that's tonight's lecture. I'll be back.

[PFJC2]

Just found this very interesting thread while searching for info about my Magnavox Belvedere that I am restoring.
It was made about 1947 or 48 and has the mounting bracket for the optional FM Tuner but no tuner.
I recapped the amp and recveiver and it is a great sounding radio.
It has a WC 356-1 record changer which is a 3 speed replacement for the original. This changer was a real pain to get workong properly,but worth the effort.
I believe a CR189B FM Tuner would be the correct one for this unit, and I hope to one day find one.
This is my first post on this forum but I have corresponded with some of the members here who are also on the ARF.
Best Regards,
Paul

[Bill Cahill]

O.K. It was the Belvedere my father had with the deluxe amp 101 with 4 6L6 output tubes. Tuner had one min. tube for fm, and, the rest octal tubes, and, one eye tube.
A hint. If your panel on front of your radio has a push button marked reject, that connected to a solonoid on record changer so you could reject it without getting up from your chair.
I have a cheaper Magnavox '47 combo with 12" tv, am fm radio, no eye, and, p.p. paralel 6V6 output.
This has the two speed Webster Chicago, and, has the reject feature on front of radio.
I'd like to find another like my fathers' set.
Bill Cahill

[Doug Houston]

BILL:: If your Pop's Maggie had PP-Parallel 6L6 in it, and the panel reject button, it was a Windsor.

Also, remember if you can, that the set should have had another button on the panel for a dynamic noise suppressor. The suppressor worked only on the phonograph. The Webster 256 changer that I sent Ron came from a Windsor, and had the trip solenoid in it. Either Ron will remove the solenoid, or just ignore it.

The postwar Magnavox sets that used the P-P parallel 6V6 were the Belvedere and the Regency Symphony, like Ron has. There were other Magnaxox models, of course, like the Chairside, Georgian, and a couple others that slip my mind now. They had a single chassis, with P-P 6V6 output.

Later, the amplifier was carried over with some changes, to the Magnasonic phonographs. Those appeared around 1951....at least, the one i have is about that vintage. If you ever have a chance to latch on to a Magnasonic, it will probably be priced very reasonably, so grab it. They had Collaro changers in them, and the P-P parallel 6V6 amplifier, so they had it all over many other record players.

Around 1954, Philco had a line that was called: Phonorama. You rarely ever see one, but I had one once, in my garage, where I worked on my cars. The cabinet had been damaged, but the 21 inch TV and the record player all worked like a champ. The audio was wonderful. You never seem to hear of those sets.