Classic Hifi Care

A few weeks ago, a friend, who is one of the local antique dealers and who I have done repairs for, gave me a portable record player. He found it at an estate sale and thought I might like it which I do. Three things make it kind of unusual. First, the wing speakers are missing. Second, I have never seen a more pristine piece of electronics since I have been in this hobby. Of course, me being a cheapskate, I usually go for the almost on the verge of falling apart kind of stuff. Third, is the brand which I am very familiar with in when it comes to radios, not record players. It's kind of sad the speakers are missing.

For being pristine, and kind of large for what it is, this record player is nothing to write home about. There are only two tubes, which are output tubes, and they are a number I have never heard of before. 60FX5 and the only number I see that might resemble a model number is not found on the internet, at least not by me. 99374-1. The changer is VM and looks like it has never been used which falls in line with the way the rest of this unit looks. It has a printed circuit board, and a selenium rectifier so I'm thinking it must be a later model, maybe a 1962 or 1963??? Volume controls only, no tone control so it was definitely an entry level model but by its size one would not think that.

As for now, it will probably sit on a shelf just looking big and pretty. I have several other units ahead of it that I really need to get to sometime soon. Famous last words.

If anyone has any idea/information on this beauty, please feel free to post here so we can all learn something about this brand and this record player. So far, my research has turned up zip, but I will admit I have not spent a lot of time on it yet.

Bill

Arvin was made in Columbus, Indiana, home of Cummins Diesel. They were also known for making car exhaust parts. They had a cut-rate division Cameo. I have one of their radios. Arvin stuff was generally good, although mostly entry-level as you have discovered. That record player is definitely worth saving, if for no other reason than the brand name. Great find, Bill! Do you know what the wing speakers are supposed to look like? Perhaps they could be reproduced or something close that would work. Good luck!

The 60FX5 was one of the high-gain tubes on the order of the 50EH5 that are driven to fill gain at lower grid (cartridge) voltages. They were used commonly in TV audio circuits that used string filaments with no power transformer. Since your record player uses a solid state rectifier, combining the heater voltages in those two tubes would equal line voltage without using a dropping resistor. A cost-saving measure.

A few years back a lady down the alley was having a sale to close out her mom's house, and she gave me a V-M portable with the same issue: speakers were MIA. Or as my Dad would say, hors de combat. It was a little more substantial, being a V-M product, but still not likely to crack the plaster or result in a visit from the local police. I made a YouTube video of it with substitute speakers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRiHJPQnA4&t=151s

Chris Campbell

Hi Bill,
Arvin had all kinds of stuff it branded.

I had a very nice Arvin electric reflective space heater
that was very well made.

Look around under the record changer for the date/model stamp.
It will give you a good idea of the year of manufacture.

I LOVE free stuff, too.

Greg, I'm guessing by the position of the hinges and from the clasps, the wing speakers are the height of the main body, and the length of the main body. I have no idea how deep they would be, but again guessing by the power of the amp the speakers were probably 5" and only one speaker in each wing so probably not very deep.

Chris, your Arvin is definitely nicer and more powerful than my gift. Now I'm curious, why two Arvin's with missing speakers??? Does yours have a model number that goes anywhere on the internet?

Mr. Mogul, I am familiar with all the products that Arvin made and they did make a lot of things. Here is something I did find on the internet that I thought I would share.

http://www.preservingarvin.com/arvin-ra ... graph.html

Bill

Found It !

Thank you, Mr. Mogul, that is awesome and very helpful. It even shows me what the wing speakers would look like. Where ever did you find it???

Bill

William wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 3:55 pm
Chris, your Arvin is definitely nicer and more powerful than my gift. Now I'm curious, why two Arvin's with missing speakers??? Does yours have a model number that goes anywhere on the internet?

Mine is not an Arvin, it's V-M, a good Michigan product.

Chris Campbell

William wrote: ↑Sun Nov 19, 2023 4:01 pm Thank you, Mr. Mogul, that is awesome and very helpful. It even shows me what the wing speakers would look like.

Where ever did you find it??? Bill

Bill, I've gotten pretty good at sifting through Sams
photofacts, using in this case a rough product publish date.

I knew your V-M changer was early 1960's, and I used a
simple filter looking through Sams online,
under brand name Arvin.

After about 50 views, your Arvin came up.

Bill, I'll bet we could make a set of wing speakers that would work. I would volunteer doing the Tolex work, and would also donate a pair of 5" speakers to the project if that would help save your Arvin stereo.

Sorry, Chris, I thought you meant it was an Arvin with a VM changer.

Greg, thank you for the offer. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but it won't get tossed. I do have a couple of cheap sets of speakers that I might hook up just to see what happens. For now, I have several thing a part that I need to finish up before I tackle anything new.

Bill

Thanks, Mr. Mogul, I will keep you searching methods in mind.

Bill

What a thoughtful gift!

That simple/cheapie (parts minimalist) 60XF5 circuitry kinda reminds me of something GE would have done....

It looks greats, now, how will it sound?

Did anybody post that schematic on Downloads?

electra225 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 20, 2023 12:10 am Did anybody post that schematic on Downloads?

Done.

Thank you, Mr. Mogul....

A thank you goes to Mr. Mogul for providing the schematic for this Arvin gift I received in downloads. With me only receiving the main Arvin unit, I had no idea what speakers were in the missing speaker wings. With Mr. Mogul's schematic I now know they were 4" 6-8 ohm.

Thank you,
Bill

Same offer goes for 4" speakers.........

Thanks, Greg, and down the road I may take you up on the offer.

Bill

And of course, if you are building new speaker enclosures, you can size the drivers more generously than the manufacturer's price point allowed.

Chris Campbell