Motorola SK12B small stereo console w/remote speaker

[Motorola minion]

The FB marketplace is pretty full of old radios and record player consoles in a 100 mile search radius, rare that I go south of the Mason-Dixon, mainly due to my travels. I seem to be the only buyer who cares not if it works, condition is king, not function when I have spare "M" parts.

Once again, a listing pops up about 30 minutes from work, just a little out of the way going home. Of course it's a relative economy model in this manufacturer's range, rare for a Motorola compared to say, consoles from Silvertone, GE, Westinghouse, Philco and Admiral.

The SK-11 was the first model beginning with this prefix, presumably used by Motorola to designate stereo consoles. There is a fetching picture of this model on the cover of Sams 454 - Folder 10. The SK-12 is identical electrically, with a standard design SE-6BQ5 amp with large OPT's. Speakers are 8" and 3" cone tweeters. Pictures coming soon with the seller's story and my buy back offer explained.

[Motorola minion]

The owner of this was selling it for her parents who lived in a small camp community of cottages. One of her sisters helped me load it in the car, though this model is a lightweight I gladly accepted. I said it may have been a "special model" as it had a BSR player, then I asked who was allowed to use it back in the day. They said their dad put on quite a show when they played everyone's records and there were many good memories. All were concerned when the player went to the basement after her father died. I assured them I saw much worse damage from such fate and there was no reason it couldn't be restored.

After negotiating a fair price, I asked her if she wanted it repaired instead and said she would think about it. We all know how easy these CAN BE but also how frustrating a simple phono only unit can be. I have a few stereo but low power phono-only consoles. Its much easier to move them along as the repairs are usually done faster. The amplifier is a stereo single-ended 6BQ5 with a 12AX7 and 5Y3, just like some so many Zenith consoles and HiFi portables. This tube lineup is a minimum for me personally to consider a console legitimate.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

That's quite the cute Blondes have more fun combo.

Very nice to have the extension speaker.

The amp looks good, and with the speaker
complement, I bet it'll sound very pleasing.

Great score, Dave.

[electra225]

Nice score, Dave! I look forward to seeing your restoration of your new toy....

[Firedome]

Wow I've been out of the loop somewhat the last week in VT without of state family visiting... this is super!! my favorite blonde finish and very compact and with an outboard speaker for superior separation, typically a weak spot for compact consoles. I love this... fabulicious!!

[Motorola minion]

This one is ready to go, another flea market vendor bought it and is now paying me to finish it. The crossover caps in the main cabinet and remote speaker helped 3" tweets get noticed and the remote speaker was coming apart (remember this cabinet is painted hardboard) not veneer on solid like most. I glued several parts of the main cabinet as well, it had been in a flood supposedly.

Very little was wrong with the amplifier chassis, so I changed the first electrolytic as a precaution, upping it from 50 to 68 uf at 450 volts. I believe that alone helped the bass response. I tested the unit a high volume with a CD input and it sounded much better than expected. The main and remote speakers have a slightly different response as they are not matched sizes, the fact you can move them far apart actually improves sound staging. While this may have been in the lower-priced tier of Motorola products, its sound makes you think its more powerful than it is.

The record changer is covered in another thread as it is found on many imported consoles; http://classichificare.com/viewtopic.ph ... 0c15314632 since Motorola used VM almost exclusively.

[electra225]

Thanks for the update, Dave. You are fortunate to have a wealth of equipment in your part of the country to work with. We are in the desert in more ways than one out here. I think many times the other "M" would have done better using VM changers almost exclusively.

[Firedome]

Such a nice and unique unit, I really like Motos and they were smart to use the lift up top panel that I much prefer to a slider. If I had room something like this would be a perfect mate to my 1961 blonde CTC-11 !!

[electra225]

The hinges that hold up the top lifting panels don't always hold them up. The sliders may not be as exotic, but they don't ever fail to work. Unless, of course, your wife puts too much weight on one and causes it to collapse. Don't ask how I know this.