1949 Magnavox Windsor Imperial Brass TV Knobs

[gdubbs]

Hi all,

Thanks for guidance over the years! I finally have the TV and radio working. The phono needs a new rubber drive wheel (so i'm on the hunt). Moreover, it appears that only one of the two needles is actually present. Not sure if its the 33 or 78 needle. Whichever needle it is, it's definitely changing the lp groove while its playing.

Aesthetically, I'm looking for the brass knobs that were original to the model. Thankfully I have the channel selector knobs. So I'm looking for the 5 other knobs to the left. Any idea where to find them?

Thanks, Greg

[Notimetolooz]

Almost all phone cartridges this old (crystal) will be dead.
I can't help with the knobs but this is my go to place for phono cartridges, needles and idler wheels.

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

More stable cartridges are of the ceramic type.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by gdubbs

Hi all,

Thanks for guidance over the years! I finally have the TV and radio working. The phono needs a new rubber drive wheel (so i'm on the hunt). Moreover, it appears that only one of the two needles is actually present. Not sure if its the 33 or 78 needle. Whichever needle it is, it's definitely changing the lp groove while its playing.

Aesthetically, I'm looking for the brass knobs that were original to the model. Thankfully I have the channel selector knobs. So I'm looking for the 5 other knobs to the left. Any idea where to find them?

Thanks, Greg

I would replace both needles as soon as possible with new ones, as the remaining one in your phono's cartridge will destroy any modern LP records. These old cartridges were probably, even likely, made before LP, and certainly stereo, records were invented. The tracking force of these old cartridges is also likely to alter if not destroy modern LP records, especially stereo records. My advice is not to play any important (one of a kind, for example) records using this changer, for that reason.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Notimetolooz

Almost all phone cartridges this old (crystal) will be dead.
I can't help with the knobs but this is my go to place for phono cartridges, needles and idler wheels.

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/

More stable cartridges are of the ceramic type.

I was going to suggest replacing any crystal phono cartridge with a modern one (such as ceramic) as soon as possible. Even if the cartridge is still good (as was mentioned, most if not all such cartridges are dead by now) it would not work well, if it works at all, with modern LP records.

BTW, I believe restoring any record changer or single-play turntable is usually done these days just as a hobby, as these were made obsolete by magnetic recording tape and, much later, compact discs (CDs) years ago. In fact, before I moved to my apartment 21 years ago, I got rid of all my vinyl phono records and turntables (including my Zenith IS-4041 three-way entertainment unit which had a 3-speed record changer); I bought a three-way (AM/FM radio, cassette and CD) compact disc stereo system to replace it when I moved.

Of course, I bought new CDs as time went on, and now have a small cabinet full of CDs, the CD equivalent of the cassettes and vinyl records I had at my former home. I must say the CDs sound a lot better than my vinyl records ever did, as I expected and as they should. My compact disc stereo system also sounds much better than my Zenith stereo, which, again, I fully expected since the new CD system is more powerful (some 50+ watts per channel) than the other one was (just 5 wpc). On top of that, the Aiwa compact-disc entertainment unit (my present stereo system) has three-way stereo speakers, where the Zenith only had, IIRC, two-way speakers.

The only thing I do not like about my current Aiwa compact-disc system is the fact that the stereo FM tuner is nowhere near as selective (or sensitive) as the one was in my Zenith system. I live in an area some 30 miles from Cleveland and perhaps another 15 miles or so further southwest of the city's FM radio stations, which means a good antenna is just about an absolute must if good stereo FM reception is desired. My Aiwa stereo came with a T-dipole FM antenna which worked, after a fashion, but I was not satisfied with the reception I was getting (some local stations were not coming in well or at all).

I replaced that antenna with a Terk "tower" antenna, which, as expected, improved my FM reception 100 percent, although it still does not come anywhere near making up for the tuner's lack of sensitivity. Using the antenna's built-in amplifier improves reception somewhat, but it also boosts signals from some stations so much it isn't funny (!).

The tuner's AFC cannot be defeated, which means if the tuner receives two stations, one stronger than the other and within 0.2 MHz of the other, the AFC will pull the tuning in the direction of the stronger station. This is an annoyance to me (though I know I cannot do anything about it), since I wish I could get the weaker station (it plays classical music, which I am not fond of but I do miss it, sorta, since Cleveland's classical station changed formats several years ago).

However, what can you do? It's just the way my bookshelf stereo's tuner is designed, so I just tolerate it. When I am in the mood to listen to classical music (which is not often, since I grew up with rock and roll) I can hear it on a Cleveland FM station (WCPN-FM, 90.3 MHz), not to mention WKSV-FM (operated by Kent State University near Akron), so the loss of the local classical station doesn't bother me much, or at all.