Silvertone manumatic & Motorola portable record players

[radiotvnut]

I'll get the model numbers and post them.

After re-reading my post, I realized that I wasn't very clear on the Silvertone. The Silvertone has a speed lever that selects either 16 auto, 33, 45 auto, 78, and N. In order for the mechanism to work in auto mode, the speed selector lever must be in either 16 auto or 45 auto and the adapter must be placed over the single play spindle. When small hole LP's or 78's are to be played, the speed lever is set to the correct speed and the record is played manually with the single play spindle.

And, yes, I've seen those Magnavox changers in which you speak. IMHO, that was the biggest piece of junk for a record changer that I've ever seen. I knew a Magnavox dealer and he told me that he burnt their ears over that one. Their excuse was that they were trying to keep up with the competition. Well, even the cheapest plastic BSR changer of the day would have been better than that Magnavox pile of crap.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

I'll get the model numbers and post them.

After re-reading my post, I realized that I wasn't very clear on the Silvertone. The Silvertone has a speed lever that selects either 16 auto, 33, 45 auto, 78, and N. In order for the mechanism to work in auto mode, the speed selector lever must be in either 16 auto or 45 auto and the adapter must be placed over the single play spindle. When small hole LP's or 78's are to be played, the speed lever is set to the correct speed and the record is played manually with the single play spindle.

And, yes, I've seen those Magnavox changers in which you speak. IMHO, that was the biggest piece of junk for a record changer that I've ever seen. I knew a Magnavox dealer and he told me that he burnt their ears over that one. Their excuse was that they were trying to keep up with the competition. Well, even the cheapest plastic BSR changer of the day would have been better than that Magnavox pile of crap.

I ended up installing a V-M changer for the customer. They were tired of the problems with the changer, plus they wanted to play their old 78's.

[dieseljeep]

One of our neighbors had an RCA portable phonograph, that only played 45's automatically. It looked simular to the other RCA changers, but it had a short spindle for the small hole records. The 45 spindle had a shaft that was actuated by the change mechanism.

[Jeffhs]

I am surprised Magnavox would ever dare use any kind of cheap plastic record changer in its phonographs or radio/phono combination units; after all, Magnavox (the original Magnavox Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana) was one of the best manufacturers of stereo combo units, phonographs, TVs, and radios in the '50s through the '70s or so, second only to Zenith and Motorola. I've seen several '50s Magnavox consoles personally, plus the occasional one that shows up on eBay; every one of them had the Magnavox Micromatic 4-speed record changer with very low tracking force. One ad in the '60s for a Magnavox 3-way console entertainment unit (TV, phono, AM/FM radio) stated the record changer had very low tracking force and that "your records can last a lifetime" when played on it. I simply cannot believe Magnavox would abandon this type of changer for a cheap plastic one, unless the phonograph you are referring to was a cheap rebadged offshore import -- the Magnavox name plastered onto a piece of junk. (I wonder if any of Magnavox's 3-way entertainment centers of the '70s had this kind of changer.) If I had one of these sets and the changer went West for any reason, I'd pull it and replace it with a decent one without thinking twice.

BTW, the Motorola phono mentioned in this thread, IMHO, also deserves much better than a plastic changer; I'm glad that one has a real changer made primarily of metal parts. Moto is, again IMHO, in the same class with Magnavox and Zenith sets of the '50s through the end of the sixties; as such, any piece of entertainment gear made by Motorola deserves the best as far as replacement parts are concerned, including the entire record changer if such needs to be replaced.