Motorola 3-Channel Saved From Dump!

[holmesuser01]

I was at the thrift store the other day and found a Motorola SK39M8 3-Channel stereo in a solid mahogany cabinet by Drexel. It was sitting by the doors to the dumpster. I knew its fate. I finagled with the store manager, and got the thing for $5. It weighed alot more than I thought it would.


Heres the big glitch. Somewhere, the cabinet top was ripped off and destroyed. We have the piano hinge, and the tensioning lift springs, so all I need is to find a suitable lid for my cabinet, which, has only one light scratch on the rest of the carved wood.

The only real problem with this unit was the dirty controls, which responded well to de-oxit spray. All of the tubes are original, save one, the 5U4GB which is a Tung-Sol. I have ordered 6 capacitors for the amp itself. 2 get noticably warm after a few minutes, but it plays well after a soft-start.

I had to make room for it in the house, so, it sat in the back of my covered truck for several days. While there, I pulled the V-M turntable, and cleaned and lubed it for all it is worth. The original Sonotone cartridge was in the tonearm, but I temporarily replaced it witn a Varco cartridge.

Inside the stereo were lots of leaves and pine needles. This thing sat out in the weather for awhile, and I'm glad I didnt run it before I vacuumed it out!

Now its clean. Turntable works, and the tuner is sensitive on both AM and FM. I DID pull and test all of the tubes in the amplifier chassis, and all of them test at almost 100% on my Sencore tester.

I polished up all the gold trim on the tuner and turntable. It all looks like new.

Im thinking of just putting some lemon oil on the cabinet. It looks pretty good as it sits, but the oil would make it sparkle!

3-Channels. I guess this is Motorolas way to be cheap and look good too. It has one 15" woofer, and 2 hinged doors that open to expose the left and right midranges and tweeters mounted there. The audio outputs are push-pull 6BQ5's and the preamps are 12AX7's from Holland with Motorola in red lettering on them.

Pictures will follow at a later time. Right now, its playing under supervision to let the cabinet dry out. I can smell some moisture as the cabinet gets warm.

Its vintage 1960. I've never seen another one like it.

I just couldn't let it go to the dump, broken lid and all!

Anybody got one of these things in their collections?

Bruce

[Nolan Woodbury]

Two things jumped out about your post Bruce. One, I'm totally into 60s consoles and two, saving something like a quality old stereo from the dumpster is admirable. Kinda' makes it yours forever, you know? Everyone knows that strays are the most faithful...

As for that missing lid, you're fortunate to have the hinge; you're halfway there. I assume it mounts flush on the top, and if that's the case you'll need to source a nice piece of hardwood, like oak or maple. Radio-cabinet makers used quality hardwoods like this for high-stress areas like lids and corner trim for durability. Screw holes were drilled and (just slightly) larger screws run inside with a dab of glue, making them hellish strong. Kind of makes you wonder what freak of nature was abusive enough to tear something like that off?

After it is recapped and otherwise sorted, I’d take it to a trustworthy cabinet shop. You might be able to get the lid cut and attached, but you'll need a professional to match the stain, which I assume is either cherry or mahogany. They might also be convinced to router a finger-hold if the lid doesn't use hardware or a pull to open and close. Most of the guys in the biz I know are more than happy to help on special projects like this, and like it or not the condition of the cabinet is vital to the set's future.

No info on my files tho...sorry. Motorola was a very popular maker; I'm sure someone around here has the schematic and specs.

Good luck Bruce, you done good! Keep us posted-

Looking forward to seeing the pics.

[Donny]

Thats a killer deal! I have a similar unit that was givin to me at a garage sale but the cab was shot! It looked like a rat chewed a leg off but the amp worked so I built a case and did a recap.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40266

[holmesuser01]

Thanks guys, as usual, I'm speechless...

Donny: Yours is similar to mine. This 'un has a HUGE power transformer, and 3 output transformers... 2 for the midrange/tweeters, and one larger one for the woofer.

Nolan, I have just a piece of the lid attached to the hinge. Its mahogany, and a nice 1/2" slab would look nice. My roommate loves to stain wood. He likes the color that the Motorola is, currently.

The only drawback with this system to me is: NO RECORD STORAGE!

Its on and running now. Listening to local talk radio on AM. FM generally stinks around here... all automated programming! This one is FM mono. It uses a tuning eye. I think that it was mostly used for the phono, as the tuning eye only turns on when the tuner is being used. It is very bright and green, like it has seen little use. It had all the original pilot lights in it, and they all worked, but, I replaced them all with new ones anyway, while I had it all apart.

The first time I looked at this unit, the selector switch was good and tight. 2 days later, when I bought it, someone had turned the control past its stop points. Why do people do this? It took awhile to get the switches in the correct positions! At any rate, it is safe now.

IF a lid is available, it would really look nice in a new home. I wont hold my breath, though.

[Donny]

I don't know what the lid should look like but you could prob make a decent one with a router and table saw. Mdf and vener it? Solid wood as an edge? Just an idea anyway.

[Tony V]

I've had two of these Motorola's of the same vintage. One was the basic 3 channel set up like yours and the other was 3 channel but also had reverb. These play great and if you have any discreet stereo recordings such as the Mama's and Papa's you'll see just how well these are with the stereo separation. They're not the most powerful consoles out there but when recapped and tweaked they definately get noticed and are ideal for playing the older recordings whether stereo or mono. Only drawback i had with mine was the FM had a little bit of drift because they didnt have an AFC circuit. If i came across another one of the same era i would buy it in a heartbeat. The newer ones werent as good perfomers as the one you have and that i had. The Sonotone cartridge with the J-style needle worked best in these so i would recommend finding another one for it instead of using the Varco cartridge. You will definately notice a big difference. Definately a good find!
-Tony

[steve328is]

Good on ya! I've gotten some stereo equipment that way...I hope when I get back I'll score me a console. Get this--my WIFE want's to go radio hunting! There has to be an ulterior motive there...

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by Tony V

I've had two of these Motorola's of the same vintage. One was the basic 3 channel set up like yours and the other was 3 channel but also had reverb. These play great and if you have any discreet stereo recordings such as the Mama's and Papa's you'll see just how well these are with the stereo separation. They're not the most powerful consoles out there but when recapped and tweaked they definately get noticed and are ideal for playing the older recordings whether stereo or mono. Only drawback i had with mine was the FM had a little bit of drift because they didnt have an AFC circuit. If i came across another one of the same era i would buy it in a heartbeat. The newer ones werent as good perfomers as the one you have and that i had. The Sonotone cartridge with the J-style needle worked best in these so i would recommend finding another one for it instead of using the Varco cartridge. You will definately notice a big difference. Definately a good find!
-Tony

I've got lots of LP's. Thousands. Ditto for 45's.

This tuner has AFC for FM, and it seems to stay on frequency pretty well, so far.

The Sonotone cartridge is safe, and I do want to find the J-style needle for it. This Varco cartridge is very hard to balance in the tonearm. This arm uses a spring counterweight. Its either too light, or too heavy. As I said, this is a temporary swap. Could always install a coin over the Motorola 'M' on the arm

I am keeping an eye out for a large finished piece of wood to fit this cabinet. I can always change it out later. I just want to protect the turntable and tuner.

The whole cabinet got lemon oiled last night. The whole house reeks of oil now. This morning, I notice that the cabinet has soaked up the oil. Im sure it needed this, and will get some more in a day or two.

I sure do appreciate all the interest in this old baby. I cant wait to post pictures.

Bruce

[Tony V]

Bruce,
If your looking for the J-style needle for your Sonotone cartridge, it is one of the most common needles that pop up on Ebay. Also several of the jukebox sites carry them also as that cartridge was used in a few Wurlitzer jukes. Good thing is that its a cheap one that only fetches a couple bucks. I ran into the same problem with balance when i tried to use a sub in that particular changer. And if you get the weight right then you have problems with it tripping the mechanism at the end of the record. Its the same type of problem i've run into when trying to sub out a cartridge in a Magnavox micromatic changer. If you need links just let me know and i'll look them up for you. Somewhere i have a pic of a Motorola in the Drexel cabinet that you descibed and if i find it i'll post it so you'll have a reference of what the original top looked like. It had a scalloped edge similar to what you find on french provincial furniture.
-Tony

[Nolan Woodbury]

Bruce,

To find a (temporary, or not so temporary) lid, you might consider heading back to the thrift circuit in search of a old dining room table. Many of these use nice chunks of hardwood for the top, and you might even luck out and find one with a suitable center-extend piece. Along those lines, some period, high quality shelving might also have sections large enough to trim for a lid.

Just make sure the potentional donor isn't worth more than the radio...

[holmesuser01]

Tony V, I would appreciate links for the needle, and would LOVE to see the cabinet pix.

Nolan, I have already started lurking at the thrift stores and have the measurements in my wallet, and a tape measure in my pocket!

UPDATE: Lemon Oil on the cabinet really helps. Ordered electrolytics, and a few others this week. Soon, it will sound even better.

[Tube Radio]

IMHO use Kramers Best Antique Improver on the finish and leave the lemon oil alone. Check it out here to see why I recommend using this stuff. http://www.kramerize.com/ Personally I have used it and seen excellent results several times.

[ldatlof]

holmesuser01: I just picked up a 3 channel Motorola console made by Drexel. I don't think it's mahogony but you can have the lids if you want them. The are two lids on each side and solid peice in the middle that doesn't move. I can't take pictures of it now but will post some later. Cheers, Loren.

[holmesuser01]

I have finally developed the pictures of the Motorola.

Loren, I apologize. I never received a notice that you had replied to this thread.

Here are the pics. One is a blurry close-up of the tuner, and the other is the open speaker doors.

[Tony V]

Bruce,
Thats the same model i had. Your going to like it. As far as the needles go the cheapest place to find them is to sniff out Ebay. They usually have at least one NOS J-style needle going on there a week and are regularly in the $2 to $3 price range. Just do a search and type in Sonotone.
-Tony