1958 Continental

[William]

Very impressive, I never thought about Finesse.

Bill

[Hydrolastic]

Hello All, I have installed the tuner and the amp and i decided to go through the speaker selector switches there were 3 of them and instead of figuring it out i just removed them and it was clear that there were three wires for the main cabinet speakers and a terminal strip (3 wires) for the external speaker, There was a channel one and a channel two rca plug for the input and i put my bluetooth adapter and inline amp on the tape inputs.
i had to resolder two leads on the speaker inputs once i removed the switches inline. The original speaker selector switch now does left, right and both as the bezel describes. All good so i thought i would fire it up after many years of not working. I was bummed when the horns did not work on either channel and the mode selector switch did not work. I don't know how to describe it but i made a movie to show you guy's So strange i am at a loss as to what is wrong. my wiring or the tuner ? https://flic.kr/p/2mj3LQc

[electra225]

Recheck your wiring. The function switch is not doing anything, not changing modes. Something is wired wrong. Good luck.

[Hydrolastic]

Thank you Greg, I think i already have some luck because one of the issues is the horns are not working and there is a set from the extra imperial cabinet with the same number on the back. I put a request in for a SAMS for the amp and the preamp. I think also that the speaker selector switch has an issue because when i looked at it closer the selector is backwards from the bezel. Hydro

[Hydrolastic]

Hello Guy's, Got the SAMS and i am heading to fed ex to get them printed. Couple of things, i tried to copy the (Chassis rear section) but computer won't let me copy it. I wanted to show you the rear panel on mine is the 54-01 model. Which has 4 rca jacks the 03 model and 05 have 5 or more jacks it looks like the 54-01 only has one tape "play" and one tape "record" jack. Also mono only on the tape selector setting. The bluetooth adapter has two output jacks . Apparently the only way this console will play in stereo is through the phono jacks. I will have to do a switch to turn the preamp on in phono mode. As far as the simultaneous playing problem it looks like i have the pre amp outputs correct on the amp and the channel 1 and 2 speaker connections are correct. Maybe the stereo bluetooth on the tape in and tape out was causing the band crossover. I can only run it and check it out. will let you know. Hydro

[electra225]

Would it be out of the question to bridge the bluetooth for mono and use it like that?

[Moto_TJ]

I have the same 54-01 tuner in my Continental, and yes, tape is mono. If you do plug the bluetooth to the tape out, you will get bluetooth audio on every input selection and it bypasses the tone controls so it has a different sound to it too... I bridge my bluetooth to mono with no issues.

I have a few of the 54 series tuners, both for projects and in use, here are their differences:

The 54-01 - Magnavox's first "Stereo" preamp & tuner from 1958, hence why it is only stereo for Phono. It has a filament transformer installed as it was often pared with the amp-150, which is mono, and doesn't have the extra windings in the power transformer to power the 6 volt rails in the tuner/preamp. To get stereo with the amp-150, you would need an extension speaker with another amp-150 (or similar, there were many amps with the same tube layout, just different capcitor/resistor configurations). Also uses a single 12AX7 as the phono prreamp and two more 12AX7 as preamp and cathode follower combos, one for each channel.

The 54-02 - Another early stereo preamp and tuner, rare, but not as rare as the 54-04 but this one has stereo tape inputs and it also has a full power transformer and 5y3 rectifier onboard. I have only ever seen this tuner used with the big, Mono amp-148 (the amp with 8 6V6 tubes). My Brittany has this config, and I have an extension speaker with an amp-150 that I connect to the tuner for full stereo. The Amp-148 does not have a power umbilical connection to the tuner like other amps do, hence the need for the full transformer and rectifier. Uses the same Phono preamp and preamp/cathode follower tube configuration as the 54-01

The 54-03 - the preamp/tuner usually pared with the Amp-182, the bi-amp stereo amplifier. This tuner does not have a filament transformer nor does it have the full transformer/rectifier setup as it gets all of its power needs from the amp, the 54-03 can also be used with the early AMP-175 with the circular power connector. Still uses 3 12AX7 tubes, but now a single 12AX7 acts as the cathode follower and the other two are combo phono preamp, and preamp stages, one for each channel.

The 54-04 is the 54-03 with a filament transformer. This was the preamp/tuner used on the '58 concert grand and is quite rare. Uses the same phono/preamp stage as the 54-03. I am looking for one if anyone has a 54-04!

I have seen reference to the 54-05 but never seen on in any pictures to know what it was used in, possibly the '59 imperials with the amp-182?

The 61-01 that was used in the '59 Concert grand is basically a 54 series tuner with a motor and some other components to link to the remote chassis for the remote control.

[electra225]

It is my understanding that the '59 stereo Imperials used the 64-series tuner with the 81-series amplifier. There may have been two Imperial stereos made in early 1959. This may be the one you refer to. The 64-series tuner was stereo-compatible, with a connection for an MPX. My '60 Imperial uses the 64-series tuner, with the 81-series amp and the 70-series MPX, added when I restored the chassis. The 64-series tuner has the dubious honor of introducing the infamous 6EU7 to Magnavox instruments.

[Moto_TJ]

It is my understanding that the '59 stereo Imperials used the 64-series tuner with the 81-series amplifier. There may have been two Imperial stereos made in early 1959. This may be the one you refer to. The 64-series tuner was stereo-compatible, with a connection for an MPX. My '60 Imperial uses the 64-series tuner, with the 81-series amp and the 70-series MPX, added when I restored the chassis. The 64-series tuner has the dubious honor of introducing the infamous 6EU7 to Magnavox instruments.

I did a quick google search after posting and the the 54-05 was used on the 59 imperials with the 81 series amp. The 64 series tuners may have been the late year replacement for 59 units and continued through 1960.

[electra225]

Was the 54-series tuner stereo-compatible? I don't believe I ever heard of the 54-series until now. Thanks for straightening me out.

[Moto_TJ]

The 54 series are stereo in terms of the Phono and tape inputs except for the 54-01, which was stereo for the phono only. They do not have an MPX connector on them for stereo radio.

There was also the 52,55, and 57 series tuners which were used on lower-end units. They did not have a phono preamp stage, nor did they have a cathode follower. The tape input was mono and they did not have a power outlet on them for accessories.

The 57 series lived on into the '60s and eventually got the stereo tape input, MPX input, tuning meter, and the accessory outlet. It did not get the phono preamp or the cathode follower stage.

[electra225]

Then there is your difference. There were two series of Imperials built in at least early 1959, apparently. The first series was two piece, wasn't it? Then there is the single cabinet stereo Imperial like mine that came out in 1959. My knowledge of the early "kinda stereo" instruments from middle 1958 to middle 1959 is rather foggy. I appreciate your taking the time to clarify some of this for me.

The only Magnavox instruments that I own with cathode follower circuits in the tuner are the 61-series tuner in the Concert Grand and the obscure 79-series tuner in the Stereo Theater. I never did find a correct schematic for the tuner in the Stereo Theater. It has three 6EU7's in it.

[Hydrolastic]

Hello, Is the cathode follower tube the 6e5 Magic eye tube ?

[electra225]

No. The cathode follower is typically a 12AX7 in a Magnavox. Later ones sometimes used a 6EU7. Both tubes are dual triodes.

Try this:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=cathode+f ... A1&PC=HCTS

[Hydrolastic]

Hello Guys, Update. I received an email that explained that a tube had to be replaced and that was the source of the dead treble channels.It was driving me crazy. But now its fixed. I am trying to determine if i am going to drive down this week.Uhgg. I probably will wait till the stereorama is done and pick up both units.

[electra225]

Thanks for the update, Hydro!

[William]

I'm glad it was that simple to repair. You must have good luck, for me it would have been something very complicated.

Bill

[Hydrolastic]

Hello Guy's, Spent an hour this morning on the Continental badge. I purchased another badge cause i didn't know if i would just screw up the nice one i already purchased. First cut a chip brush down to stiffen the bristles. Then scrubbed it with rubbing compound the the same with polishing compound. Buffed it with a rag then clear coated it. Here are photo's

[Hydrolastic]

More photo's

[electra225]

It looks good! Great job!