1957 Philco Tabletop Player

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

My plumbers are actually a 2 brother act.
They were trained by their dad, and they
are salt of the Earth.

They know I have this record player hobby, so
they finally brought over their Mom
and Dad's Philco bought new in the 1950's.

It has a nice 50's style cabinet.
It has a 3 tube amp, and 3 speakers, thus the
Philco moniker of "Wrap Around Sound".

I really do not like Philco's use of a large terminal
strip mounted underneath the V-M 959 changer.

The AC power cord is soldered right onto the terminal,
and other AC legs are soldered on that go to the amp,
and the record changer motor.

I don't know why Philco could not have used some
plastic plug connectors like many other makers.
I had to sever all those wires to get the changer out
first.

The V-M 959 changer is another odd-ball.
It has a small belt and an idler wheel, instead
of just an idler wheel.
I don't understand the concept there.

Oh, by the way, including a photo of a bunch of 45 record inserts,
that came tumbling out like from a slot machine,
when I removed the bottom panel. Ha ha ! Viva Las Vegas !

[electra225]

Not to sound like the expert (which I certainly ain't ), but I have never seen a V-M changer with a belt like that one has. That looks more RCA-ish than V-M. Somebody has the market cornered on 45 adapters, didn't they?

Philco didn't use plugs on anything, did they? All the Philco radios I have use a plug for the speaker, but the antenna and record player connections all have to be unsoldered to remove the chassis. Kinda silly if you ask me.

[TC Chris]

I have a1950 Philco tabletop (50-1424) and the innards from a weather-damaged console (51-1733) and a 1946 big console (46-1213) that must have had its changer replaced when LPs came out. All used the green Philco changers. I wonder if the one with the VM changer was made for Philco to their specs and design, by VM? The parts are definitely VM, at least above deck. I've got one of the chagngers out in the shp ad when I go out later to lock up and turn off the radio, I'll look to see if it used a belt. That was a Garrard method too (RC-80, 88 at least).

Chris Campbell

[hermitcrab]

The motor looks out of place in that changer

[William]

Actually, that is totally a VM changer, designed by VM and sold as a bottom-line changer. My little Phonola three channel stereo has the same changer and has the same motor with the belt. I also have a VM changer that uses turrets for the different speeds. Gary at VM told me about these particular changers. They are good changers, just a different design.

Do I see a printed circuit board in the amp?

Bill

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Greg,
Here's how the 959 normally would be wired.

I think I've only seen one other manufacturer use
the 959, but I cannot remember who it was.

Bill, thanks for your information.

No, thank goodness, no friable PC board there !

Also guys, what does C2 and C9 perform as in this circuit ?
Oh, I think C9 is a B- to chassis cap.

Thanks !

[TC Chris]

I really do not like Philco's use of a large terminal
strip mounted underneath the V-M 959 changer.

I don't know why Philco could not have used some
plastic plug connectors like many other makers.
I had to sever all those wires to get the changer out
first.

My little Home-Mark console has one of those darn plastic plugs that all the makers of that era used (senior moment; can't remember the plug name).

All three power wires are blue, and when they disengaged themselves from the stupid plug, it created a problem of figuring out which wire goes in which hole. @#^%$*&!!!!

Molex, that's it. Darn thing. Color-coded wires and soldered connections get my vote.

Chris Campbell

[TC Chris]

OK, I just went out to the shop to do a veneer repair on the mirror that I rescued from the alley. Can't give it away until it's done right. I'm using veneer that delaminated from the old 1951 Philco console that I found at my old office after the snowbank that it was under melted (!!). And right there on the radial-arm saw sits its changer. I forgot to bring the model # in with me. But I did snag a photo. Note that it has the same belt/turret idler wheel drive that the VM unit in question has, but this is distinctly a Philco changer.

Chris Campbell

[William]

Interesting, Chris. Now I'm thinking that the drive design was something Alliance Motor Company came up with and then sold to changer manufacturers. Or VM designed all of the speed changing and the drive and Alliance just supplied the motor. VM sold a lot of their changers and their parts to other manufacturers. I guess my next question would be, did Philco every build changers? I know Admiral built their own.

Bill

[hermitcrab]

Bill I would say they probably did...unless the beam of light tone arm was their idea put on another mfg's base?

[Ken Doyle]

The Beam of Light changers were often Webster-Chicago changers.

The green Philco changers of the 1950s were Philco's own.

I believe the 3 and 4 speed motors with the belt were supplied by General Industries. They were also common on Admiral changers.

[William]

Thanks, Ken, I was thinking the motors were Alliance. VM must have used the same motor assemble as I have a VM changer with the same motor, belt design.

Bill

[TC Chris]

All three Philco multi-speed changers I have are pusher-types in green and they don't resemble other makes, at least superficially. They look in-house.

Chris Campbell

[Motorola minion]

Philco's used an M-number, starting in mid 1930's.
This is a 1946 M4 - the later models were green

Philco M4.jpg (104.95 KiB) Viewed 6652 times

[electra225]

Mr. Mogul, C2 is connected to the shield on the wiring from cartridge to amp. I'd say it was there to run hum to ground. C9 appears to be a line isolating cap.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

I dis-assembled the V-M 959 changer.
Quite a bit of baked-on grease, which is curious as
the tubes in the amplifier are not under the
changer base.

When I took the motor off the changer base, I
undid the motor wiring from the base and removed
the On/Off switch with it.

The motor rotor had some really thick baked-on grease above
the top bearing housing, which I did not expect to see.

The motor board/speed selector cam assembly
was bound up with old grease.

Motor mounts were hard as a rock and broke up on
removal.

Mechanism and motor are now nice and clean and lubed.

I did a manual test on the cycling mechanism.
The changer works perfectly for record size selection, tonearm pick up
at the end of record groove and switch turn off after last
record plays.

Next on to the amplifier and how to re-configure the AC
power wiring from that large terminal strip.

[electra225]

Thanks for the detailed pictures. Any clues/theories as to how the grease got so baked?

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Thanks for the detailed pictures. Any clues/theories as to how the grease got so baked?

Greg,
It came to me this morning I remembered
that those 2 pole motors run very hot.

I think that can explain the hardened oil (I said grease
incorrectly) on the top rotor bearing housing.

As far as the cycling mechanism, not a clue.

[electra225]

One would have to wonder about the dependability or lifespan of a motor that ran so warm that it cooked its lubrication. Do you utilize or know of any method/lubrication that would potentially lower the operating temperature?

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Greg,
After a thorough cleaning, and sometimes
several days of soaking the bearing housings,
I always apply high speed turbine oil from ZoomSpout.

The rotor spindle and the bearing housings
were made of quality materials.

I guess that's why so many motors from the 1930's on
can be made to run again.