Newcomb TR-16-AM record player

[electra225]

I am in cleaning mode, awaiting parts. I was digging under the bench then came across dad's old Newcomb record player. He bought this brand new in the 1953-'54 range. His brother-in-law, Uncle Russell was an auctioneer. He used the amplifier on this thing along with an RCA microphone that was heavy enough to be registered as a lethal weapon. He would use it to cry auctions. Dad used it to call square dances and used it for his barn dances. Dad didn't like running a record player. When I was little, he conned Uncle Vic into running it for him. When I was about five, I started playing records at square dances for dad. Country music and these dances were about the only connection dad and I had. I have played Cliffie Stone square dance records on this thing for hours on end. For barn dances, we had a collection of country records, with lots of Carl Smith in the mix. This thing is a 3-speed record player, but I don't ever remember anything other than 78's being played on it. The tone arm has two settings for weight, one for "standard" cartridges, one for "Mag". You can change it by moving a little red lever. The spring on that lever has gotten pretty stretched, so tone arm weight is 26+ grams in "std" and is 17+ grams in "Mag". It has a General Electric variable reluctance cartridge. One part of the needle is gone, presumably the LP side. I have no idea if or when the needle was ever changed. It may be the original one to the record player. Dad may have had it changed when I was little and I didn't know or remember. I don't know what the recommended tracking force of a GE VR cartridge is, but I'll bet it's lighter than 26 grams. The last time I used it, I had to let the motor run in "Neutral" for about 15 minutes before it would turn the platter up to 78 rpm. I want to clean and lube the motor and then check the speed control. It has a huge four-pole motor, looking much like the ones on Collaro changers. The flocking is mostly all gone on the platter. It was gold originally, and it was getting pretty worn when dad quit doing dances in the early 1960's. This thing has kicked around our family ever since.

This is getting pretty long in the tooth. The painted parts are like new. The Tolex is getting scuffed up. The two halves of the cabinet had been together so long, I had to pry them apart. I don't know what, if anything, I'll do to this. I don't have a use for it anymore.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

The V-M site says a GE RPX -040 mono tracks at 14 grams.

Turn-around stylus GE RPX-050, 052 tracks 6-8 grams.

Is your GE cart missing the turn-around knob ?

I can't tell from the photos.

[TC Chris]

GE spec'd different pressure for 78 and microgroove, I think. I had a Lincoln both-sides record changer, the one using a vacuum pump (since donated to a music-player museum). It had separate GE cartridges for the 2 grooves. The 78 one had an extra weight attached, a factory device, serving the same purpose as your spring-stretcher.

Looks like you should be organizing square dances.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

There was a two-colored knob (as I remember) you used to turn the needle. It fell off in about 1957 or so. We never moved the needle, we only played 78s, so we didn't need the knob. This one has the turn-around needle, so it would track at 6 to 8 grams. How do I identify what model if is?

I gave dad's Cliffie Stone records to a cousin, Uncle Russel's boy. Cliffie Stone records didn't have a lot of bass, so you could run the volume fairly advanced with no worries about hurting the speaker. We had a home-made 12" companion speaker we used at barn dances. The bass was more in country music, so we ran two speakers so we didn't have to run the one so loud. All Cliffie Stone was is fiddle, accordian, mandolin and banjo with rythmn guitar. There might have been a bass player, but his output wasn't amplified.

Square dance music gets old. Very repetitive. The calls were the same, but dad could mix up the calls to make each dance appear different. Farmers in clodhoppers and women in working waists would "trip the light fantastic" in a neighbor's tromp shed or machinery shed that had been cleared to accomodate the crowd. There were adult beverages, but people minded their manners. They had to stay sober so they wouldn't be hung over during Sunday preaching. I liked square dancing, although I wasn't good at it. Dad was a good square dancer. He would have Uncle Russel or grandpa call a dance so he could participate.

[electra225]

While I wait on parts for other projects, I have decided to try and find out why this thing runs so slow when it's cold. The motor has to run about 15 minutes before it gets up to speed. The speed control appears to be working. The shaft for the platter and the turret seem to be fairly stiff. The motor shaft turns okay, but it doesn't coast long after you shut the motor off. This thing is set up with a neutral setting on the drive so the drive tire doesn't stay in contact with the motor shaft and platter, making a flat spot. The drive tire is still very flexible, after all these years. The motor gets pretty warm after only running for a few minutes. There is a strobe control under the platter so you can see if the platter is running at speed. This outfit was high tech in 1953.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Have you cleaned and lubed the motor ?

What do you mean by a stiff platter shaft and turret ?

[electra225]

I just got through taking the motor all apart, cleaning it, then lubing everything. The shaft the platter sets on can be removed by loosening a set screw, then extracting the shaft. It was black with old dried lubricant. I cleaned it up with alcohol, then used 0000 steel wool to brighten the shaft. The speed changing mechanism that I called a turret rides on a shaft that was also sticky with old lubricant. That wouldn't affect speed, but it made it hard to change speeds and hard to maneuver the neutral setting. The big four-pole motor was built by General Industries. The bearings were fairly dry, but they weren't all that dirty.

[electra225]

I'm afraid that dad's old Newcomb record player has done its duty and can now be a fond memory. It is going to take a lot of work to make it right again. I believe the motor is weak. I helped it by cleaning it and lubing the bearings, but I fear it has been run dry of lube too long. The motor has likely run very warm for a very long time. The platter is wobbly, and has been for decades. I have tried to find a replacement with no luck. Somebody, sometime didn't wind the power cord around the stakes in the lid, but bunched it up and laid it on the platter. Then the speaker cabinet was mated with the bottom part, the speaker pushed against the power cord laying on the platter and bent it so it wobbles when it turns. The lightest I can get the GE VR cartridge to track is about 15 grams, but the needle may be shot as well. It just skids across a record set at 8 grams. Even if I fix the electronics, then the cabinet will need work. I have other more modern record players that can play 78's. I may rob the amp, speaker and the cartridge, then toss the rest. I wonder if the GE VR cartridge would work in that RCA 45 player I have. As far as sound is concerned, this old thing sounds as good as I remembered from 65 years ago.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

I'm sure you can use that nice amplifier and other parts
to create another hi-fi.

The GE VR cart runs on 10 mV, so you'd need a pre-amp
stage in the RCA you mention, I reckon.

[electra225]

The RCA 45 changer I have is a 9JY. One you use with a radio. I believe it has a ceramic cartridge currently. I thought I read someplace that someone used a GE VR cartridge is one. That would make a good setup. You would have to use the model of VR cartridge that did not have a needle you can change. I'm not sure I can take it apart, since it was dad's. I keep all the old family junk, so I reckon this will be a part of that.