Magnavox TP-241 record player

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Greg,
I had bought a TP-237 (The Troubador) for parts, that came in red/black.

It was in much worse shape than your TP-241.
It only had Tone and Volume controls.

I found photos of a TP-237 in turquoise and beige that really
looks nice.

So, those were two color combos from Magnavox for these
portables.

[electra225]

Mine does not have the Magnavox coat of arms emblem on the changer, doesn't appear that it ever had it. Wonder if that was unique to a year or certain model? I like it, though and would like to find one. I already need the Magnavox script for the speaker grille.

I also notice that the motor board/plinth is covered with Tolex, so mine must be right. I also see that the covering on the player you posted a pic of is not much better than mine was. Reckon they are ALL that bad? I can't imagine Magnavox selling something so poorly done.

And....what is the correct position for the clamp that holds the 45 adapter?

[TC Chris]

Strangest thing--while trying to reply, the most recent posts disappeared--including the discussion of the clamps. ????? had the same thought as Bill--they are good-looking clamps. And Harbor Freight??? (Must have plastic bearings....). No, really, they look sturdy and lighter than pipe clamps and maybe more rigid than bar clamps.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

The discussion about clamps was on the Cabinets and Grille Cloth board. This discussion concerns the electrical part.

[electra225]

I have been tinkering with the amp on this little record player some this afternoon. You may remember earlier I was having an issue with the little speaker cutting out occasionally. I blamed this on the external speaker wiring. Today I had a minute, so I got this thing back out, jumpered the power plug that goes to the changer, then connected my AM-FM mono tuner to the RCA jack where the phono cartridge input is connected. The noise I had in the big speaker than I blamed on a rubbing voice coil does not seem to be as pronounced as it was with the record player. Perhaps the needle is causing that, or the cartridge? The little speaker still is cutting out. I have completely bypassed the external speaker connections, so they aren't the problem. The crossover cap is a 2uf at 50 volts electrolytic. I replaced it with a non-polarized cap. I'm not so sure that's right. I don't see anything on the old cap that indicates it's non-polarized. I thought I had the drawing for this amp here, or that it had been posted on the forum, but I can't find it. Does anybody know whether that cap is non-polarized and would be kind enough to advise me. I'm working with the AMP-168 chassis. Thanks in advance for your help.

[TC Chris]

I think the cap has to be non-polarized for proper sound.

As to the speaker drop-out, I had a portable radio direction finder (RDF) with the problem. It drove me nuts until I finally tried another speaker. Problem solved. It had a bad voice coil--would work just fine then give up. Substitute another speaker and see what happens.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

The reason I asked is that I kept the old capacitor. Typically, a non-polarized capacitor says "NP" on it somewhere. This one looks like a regular capacitor. It has a band on the negative end like a normal coupling cap. Its capacity would indicate it is an electrolytic capacitor. I don't see "NP" on it anywhere. I just need to know so I don't chase my tail simply because I used the wrong capacitor.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Greg,
In similar RCA PP amps, the crossover cap is NP.
And the new cap you installed would be NP, also.

So, to clarify, is the woofer working OK ?

Are the 2 wire leads going to the VC of the
little speaker loose or torn at the cone ?

[electra225]

Thank you, Mr. Mogul for posting the schematic. It definitely shows a non-polarized cap, so I am good there. I don't see a thing amiss with the little speaker. The big speaker does not cut out. The big speaker had a muddiness, that I attributed to a possible rubbing voice coil. That condition seemed some better with the tuner as input vs. the phono cartridge. I'll replace the smaller speaker as a test. I may also replace the larger speaker and see if it sounds better. I hate to give up the original speakers, but they can be rebuilt if I want to keep it strictly original. Subbing the speakers may make my decision of whether to replace the cartridge or not.

[electra225]

I was upstairs this afternoon digging around in the stuff I will probably never need.

I ran across an RCA 3-RF-9 spare chassis that had a good 8 inch pincushion speaker. I kluged up connections so as to not damage the original connections and put it into the Magnavox speaker board. All I can say is this little record player is a Magnavox in every sense of the word. Even with a needle in unknown condition, it sounds magnificent. Lots of bass, nice crisp highs, plenty of volume. I have some 78's in good condition and they sound really good on this record player. The RCA speaker will give me time to figure out what I want to do to restore the original speaker. I'm looking forward to getting the Tolex done and playing some 45's. I believe I'll leave the original cartridge in it for the time being. I can't imagine it sounding better with a different cartridge.

[William]

That is good news, Greg. Does it fit so that everything can go back into the cabinet? If so, and it sounds so good, why not just leave it? I can't remember, what cartridge is in the Maggie portable?

Bill

[electra225]

Sonotone 2-T. It will stay where it is. I'll get a new needle, rebuild the drive tire, replace the motor mounts, and put a new platter mat on. I can't imagine it sounding any better than it does now. A stereo cartridge can always be added later.

[electra225]

A minor miracle on the little record player this morning. Following the advice from Uncle Doug's video, instead of using contact cement like Uncle Doug did, I used GC Service Cement. I actually had to do it twice. I put one very heavy coat around the rim of the speaker cone, next to the gasket. This proved to be not totally satisfactory. So I did it a second time, this time making sure I got the cement thoroughly in contact with the gasket. That seems to have done the trick. The original Magnavox-built 8" speaker is now back in the chassis assembly. I'm thrilled to have it back. I was going to have it reconed, although the speaker cone is perfect. I can recommend Uncle Doug's procedure for fixing a rattly speaker. I posted the link above.

[William]

For some reason I can't find your link to Uncle Doug's speaker fix.

Bill

[electra225]

Sorry, Bill. I THOUGHT I posted it.

Kindly refer to the topic, "Speaker rejuvenation without reconing" I started in "Components". Hopefully, that will fill in the blanks.

[William]

Thank you, I will check it out.

Bill