Seeburg S100

[JohnCT]

Hey guys, I have a Seeburg S100 from I believe 1968 that I've owned for 35 years. It's never gotten a *lot* of use but it's never been serviced either. If it was ever serviced, it was before I got it.

For the heck of it, I tried it last night after many years of not being run (it's in my home theater room where it's safe and warm) and it worked just as it always did.

But it got me to thinking that there should be at least some maintenance to perform. Are there lube points that should be addressed, should the tormat contacts be cleaned and if so, how?

Seeing that it was maybe only 20 years old when I got it, I would guess it's never been recapped - does this amplifier need recapping? It sounds like it did when I got it - not great and rolled off in the highs I would say, but I assume this was done to deal with badly mishandled and scratched records by the vendors that operated them.

Thoughts?

John

[nasadowsk]

Recap, and GET A MANUAL. These mechanisms are very complex, and you can not just fudge any adjustments when they get out of adjustment. They’re like aligning a TV set, almost. There’s also a few books on dealing with the Tormat, they’re great when they work right…

Follow the lube instructions. Nobody did, so be the first to.

Great machines, just a bit less tolerant than a Rock-Ola, or AMI, or even Wurlitzer.

Also, I don’t think many S100s were made, and a lot were exported.

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

Recap, and GET A MANUAL.

I'm 99 percent sure I have the manual(s) inside. I'll have to check, but I also might have the tormat specific manual as well. In the meantime, being that this is a late 60s production, are the film caps also on the list to be changed, or just the electrolytics? Do you know if this uses silicon or germanium transistors? (if it does, I'll start looking and hording..)

Follow the lube instructions. Nobody did, so be the first to.

This was given to me by my buddy who was an operator, so I assume they did at least some maintenance on it, but it will be the first maintenance in at least 35 years.

Any suggestions for modern lubrication? I've been using Mobil 1 0-16 for light oil in many things including vintage clock escape mechanisms and it works well and doesn't break down and I use black moly grease for heavier duty applications. I also have red grease if that's better.

John

EDIT: Regarding rarity - there's a production number of 400 placed on this machine all over the web, but I think that's a mistake that's been requoted many times. I would guess the production more like 4000 to 10000 if I had to bet on it.

[nasadowsk]

I think they used some silicon and some germanium. It changed from amp to amp.

For lubricants, Seeburg said SAE 20 for oil, and aero lubriplate for grease. The grease points are few. Most of the machine gets oil.

Production numbers probably exceeded 400, but I doubt hit 4000. I don’t know where the production claims come from, since I’ve seen numbers for other machines from others manufacturers that make zero sense.

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

I think they used some silicon and some germanium. It changed from amp to amp.

For lubricants, Seeburg said SAE 20 for oil, and aero lubriplate for grease. The grease points are few. Most of the machine gets oil.

Thank you so much for that info. I have Mobil 1 in 20 weight, so I'm all set there. I also have a vintage tube of Lubriplate, but is "aero" different?

John

[nasadowsk]

I’m not sure what makes aero different from regular. There are very few grease points. Most people slather it onto everything, but only a few points actually get it.

Read up on the amp, too. Some of them had a few failure modes where they’d literally catch in fire. No fun.

[JohnCT]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

Read up on the amp, too. Some of them had a few failure modes where they’d literally catch in fire. No fun.

I'm doing a Rowe stereo amp right now - someone decided those four pesky 5A fuses on the driver boards weren't needed...

John