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Old 01-27-2018, 01:12 PM
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davet753 davet753 is offline
David Thomas
 
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Zenith Record Changer

This 1961 record changer is from a Zenith console I recently picked up. It was barely working, so I took it out and cleaned / greased everything and all was good. However, before I was able to get it back into the cabinet it fell off the workbench and broke the support bracket for the tone arm assembly. If anyone has a parts unit laying around, I would be interested.

This particular changer is a belt drive made by Zenith, and was the 1st generation (later known as their 2G micro-touch when they updated the tone arm). The bracket is specific to the 1st generation model only, so I don't have a lot of hope when it comes to finding a parts unit.
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  #2  
Old 01-27-2018, 02:52 PM
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zeno zeno is offline
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They were wickid pissah with that flip-up 45 adapter !
Dont know the site but there is a site for VM parts. This cat
seems to have everything.

GL Zeno
LFOD !
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Old 01-27-2018, 03:39 PM
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This guy: https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

If you can't find the part then perhaps you can put the original back into shape or fabricate another. I have a high-end Admiral tube stereo portable changer where the tonearm is plastic...The back where it connects to the pivot was mashed up, but I was able to piece it back together such that it works like new and unless taken apart and scrutinized is indistinguishable from factory...Only thing that sucks about that changer is that the LP styli chipped off and I can't source a replacement (Twas a great sounding unit when the styli was still there).
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
What I want. --> http://www.videokarma.org/showpost.p...62&postcount=4
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Old 01-27-2018, 04:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
This guy: https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

If you can't find the part then perhaps you can put the original back into shape or fabricate another. I have a high-end Admiral tube stereo portable changer where the tonearm is plastic...The back where it connects to the pivot was mashed up, but I was able to piece it back together such that it works like new and unless taken apart and scrutinized is indistinguishable from factory...Only thing that sucks about that changer is that the LP styli chipped off and I can't source a replacement (Twas a great sounding unit when the styli was still there).
Is it a Tetrad cartridge ? If so easy to get around. Just replace it with
a cartridge with the same color connector. They are just glued into the head shell & pop out easy. We ended up just stocking a few needles for them.
Only a few covered hundreds of them. Most differences were flipper arm length, 33-78, 33-33, one siders etc....

73 Zeno
LFOD !
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Old 01-27-2018, 05:47 PM
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David Thomas
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
This guy: https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

If you can't find the part then perhaps you can put the original back into shape or fabricate another. I have a high-end Admiral tube stereo portable changer where the tonearm is plastic...The back where it connects to the pivot was mashed up, but I was able to piece it back together such that it works like new and unless taken apart and scrutinized is indistinguishable from factory...Only thing that sucks about that changer is that the LP styli chipped off and I can't source a replacement (Twas a great sounding unit when the styli was still there).
I soldered the sub-plate back on, and that worked out fine. The part that I can't seem to fix is the metal bracket that the tone arm pivots up and down on. It's made from a solid piece of metal bent up at both ends, and one of the ends broke right in the middle of the bend.

I've soldered it back together, but it won't take the pressure. If it were a bog-standard VM changer, I wouldn't sweat it....but you just don't see too many of these Zenith built belt/idler drive changers with the cobra style tone arm. I think 1961 was pretty much the only year for them and 1962 brought the micro-touch 2G style arms.
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Old 01-27-2018, 07:28 PM
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Isn't it just a bent piece of thick sheet steel? Have it welded.
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Old 01-28-2018, 08:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zeno View Post
Is it a Tetrad cartridge ? If so easy to get around. Just replace it with
a cartridge with the same color connector. They are just glued into the head shell & pop out easy. We ended up just stocking a few needles for them.
Only a few covered hundreds of them. Most differences were flipper arm length, 33-78, 33-33, one siders etc....

73 Zeno
LFOD !
Nope, Astatic 710 d. All I was able to find back around Christmas was a whole cart for $60....Being unemployed then the prospect of spending 3X what the player that needs it cost me (albeit I got a killer deal on that Admiral) seemed like a bad idea.
Same change in the console in this thread. http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=269968

Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMan View Post
Isn't it just a bent piece of thick sheet steel? Have it welded.
Most tone arm hardware is small and delicate/precise enough that welding seems like shooting flies with a bazooka...Soldering may be the way to go. I have some 150W irons the BIG old ones. Those can make new chassis ground solder points better than factory on TV and radio chassis and join steel pieces really well. The trick is to clean (sand down to fresh metal if you must) and tin the pieces with (LEAD*) solder first not in the crack but on the adjacent edges, place the crack back together as it was before the split then join the tinning with the iron, holding the pieces absolutely still till cool. One can make some surprisingly strong solder joints that way.

*ROHS can kiss my but! Silver solder takes too much heat, makes lousy joints, mixes poorly with lead joints, and flows wierdly.
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Tom C.

Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
What I want. --> http://www.videokarma.org/showpost.p...62&postcount=4

Last edited by Electronic M; 01-28-2018 at 08:17 PM.
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Old 01-28-2018, 11:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
Most tone arm hardware is small and delicate/precise enough that welding seems like shooting flies with a bazooka...
If it's really a bent piece of sheet steel, I know I could weld it.
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Old 03-21-2019, 12:14 AM
vortalexfan vortalexfan is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
Nope, Astatic 710 d. All I was able to find back around Christmas was a whole cart for $60....Being unemployed then the prospect of spending 3X what the player that needs it cost me (albeit I got a killer deal on that Admiral) seemed like a bad idea.
Same change in the console in this thread. http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=269968



Most tone arm hardware is small and delicate/precise enough that welding seems like shooting flies with a bazooka...Soldering may be the way to go. I have some 150W irons the BIG old ones. Those can make new chassis ground solder points better than factory on TV and radio chassis and join steel pieces really well. The trick is to clean (sand down to fresh metal if you must) and tin the pieces with (LEAD*) solder first not in the crack but on the adjacent edges, place the crack back together as it was before the split then join the tinning with the iron, holding the pieces absolutely still till cool. One can make some surprisingly strong solder joints that way.

*ROHS can kiss my but! Silver solder takes too much heat, makes lousy joints, mixes poorly with lead joints, and flows wierdly.
Actually Silver solder is the solder of choice for repairing antique fan cages where the original spot welds had failed and it forms a nice strong bond on both steel and brass fan cages and it cleans up to the point of being nearly invisible (the repair that is). So Silver Solder isn't that bad!
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