Classic Hifi Care

What appeared to be a simple re-cap is not.

I liked the style/color of this little 3 tube player, but boy
does it need nelp.

1. Most all of the contact paper needs re-glueing.
2. The V-M 950 changer has a broken spindle.
3. The electrolytic filter cap leads' wire insulation was
hard as a rock, and very probably would break off at their
solder points in the circuit.
5. Two resistors wired on the 35W4 rectifier are not
the schematic values by a long shot.
6. The photofact B-minus to chassis capacitor is
incorrectly labelled in the Sams bottom view chassis photo.
7. The hard wired audio leads from the amp to the underside
terminal strip of the changer are very, very short.
Fortunately, the AC motor leads use a plug.
8. One lead of the OPT was sitting very close the the
50C5 tube and part of the wire insulation was melted.

I unsoldered the audio leads, so I could remove the amplifier.
I opened up the wax caps in the chassis, so I could remove
the old filter cap wiring.
R10 150 Ohms reads 75 Ohms, so after I replaced the
wiring, I put in a new resistor.
Next will be the wax caps and 3 filter cap
replacements.

Then a perusal of current R11 and R12
resistors, and correct replacements.

If the amp sounds OK testing with another
record changer, I'll order a new 950 spindle from
the V of Music.
And I'll add some wire length to those audio leads,
and use wire nuts for connections.

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That is a nice looking unit, Mr. Mogul. The tone arm is metal, right? The 950 series changer that I have has a plastic tone arm. Yours looks much better.

Bill

William wrote: ↑Sat Aug 16, 2025 11:22 am That is a nice looking unit, Mr. Mogul.
The tone arm is metal, right?
The 950 series changer that I have has a plastic tone arm.
Yours looks much better.
Bill

Hello Bill,
Yes, the tonearm is metal.

These early 1950's Columbia changers are custom
designed from V-M.
You will see them in the ubiquitous "360" series models.

The changer/tonearm metal finish has a nice almost "jappaned"
hammered tone.

That cabinet is probably not covered with Tolex. Most record player cabinets I have worked with used a material much like wallpaper. In my experience, when it gets wet and pulls away from the cabinet, it stretches, then gets brittle. I haven't had a lot of success trying to reglue it. I certainly hope you have better luck.....

I was surprised recently that the speaker surround replacement kit supplied PVA glue. I had always assumed it was best at securing porous materials, and the speaker frames are steel--not too porous. But I assumed that if it was supplied, it must work. I just did a Google search that confirmed that PVA is for porous stuff, as I thought.

It comes in various flavors, from white school glue to waterproof varieties for wood that can be used outdoors. Google says it can be used for wallpaper.

I wonder if it would be suitable for the covering on your portable phono?

Chris Campbell

At final tally, I wager I'll have about 12 hours of labor in this
little player.

All the wax caps are replaced. Chassis to B- replaced
with a 0.01 mF X1Y2 safety cap.

I replaced someone's wrong resistors on the 35W4,
along with a bad tack in of the AC power cord on
a single weak tube pin.
There was a bad 150 Ohm resistor off the 1st filter cap
that was replaced.

I shortened a terminal strip so it would fit in the upper
right corner of the chassis.
I soldered in a jumper wire of AC to the other terminal in the strip,
and connected the plate and heater string resistors on it.
Now that AC wiring is not crowded.

I added some electrical tape insulation near the terminal strip.

Except for the filter caps, just about done with the amp.
I'll temporarily connect the new e-lytics to the new wiring for
a test out.

If this all checks A-OK, the changer will be next. Whew.

.

We're waiting for a report on how it sounds.

Chris Campbell

As always, your work is very neat and looks good.

Bill

You did a nice job straightening out the wiring orientation. The changer repair might be the easiest part....

Permanently installed the 3 filter caps.

The Tone and Vol controls were very hard
to turn.

A good spraying with Nu-trol control cleaner
has the controls moving well.

The tube sockets' pins were so loose, that when
I turned the amp over, all 3 tubes dropped onto
the work area.

I used some needle nose pliers to cinch the
pins a bit.

I'm putting this player aside, for now as I have an
RCA 6-EY-3A from a customer to evaluate.


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I got back to this Columbia, to take on the grime of the V-M 950 changer.

It took at least 4 hours of effort to clean it all up properly.

This was about a 90% dis-assembly, due to 70 year old grease,
now like epoxy.

The new spindle for this will be in this week from V of Music.

I replaced the old hard motor mounts when I removed the motor
for cleaning and lube.
I ran some new tonearm wire as well, as the old wire was stiff.

The crystal cart was defunct, so I hope to install one of my
salvaged ceramic carts into the tonearm.
Due to the tonearm depth, I'll need to add washers
when mounting the cartridge.

The original rubber needle protector was gone, and
a new one installed in the changer base.

To my credit, I did not cuss too much during it all !


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Nice job, Mr. Mogul, it looks nice and clean and hopefully when assembled it will function perfectly.

Bill

Finishing up the glue down of all the loose fabric-like
cabinet covering.

I put in the new spindle, working well.
I installed an Astatic 89T mount and 1959 89T plug-in cart
from my parts collection, into the tonearm.
New wire to the cartridge, also.

I had to add about 5 grams weight to the tonearm,
since it has no graduated tonearm tracking weight
adjustment.
Just a fixed, heavy duty steel spring in the tonearm.

The old crystal cart and its steel mount were
tracking at 8-10 grams per specs.

Maybe tomorrow, I can piece it all back together
into the cabinet !


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I recognize those boxes, they are from Gary, and I see you do what I do using what is handy for weights. Good job Mr. Mogul.

Bill

Got the AC supply wiring re-routed and safer now
than the odd factory spaghetti route.

The small cabinet has little space left over after
all the components assembled.

CBS really wanted to save plywood costs on this one !

The 5 inch speaker puts out very good bass w/o
the lid being closed.

Due to little ventilation, the lid should be kept open.

There are no springs used in the V-M 950 changer, as
there is no plinth per se.

There are 2 wood blocks in the cabinet, that wood screws
go into from the changer base to mount the changer
statically.

Glad it's done, but a heckuva lot more time than I
expected. (but then no on expects the Spanish Inqusition !)


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