Magnavox combo in Fluton KY
 

Found this on Craigslist in Fulton KY. Thinking about getting it, but right now the price is a little steep. The owner said the radio and phono work, but she was unsure of the tv. So I would assume the tv is not working. Any opinions.

Mid-Century 1960's Magnavox Astro Sonic TV/ Stereo Console - $150 (Fulton)
post id: 4627908987
Attachment 184150

If the CRT is good and the amp is tube, then those parts alone are worth the 150$.

I believe Astro sonics are SS amps

yep astrosonic = SS, but still good sounding. I have a astro maggie roundie tv very nice. Agree worth it IF the CRT test well. Combos are not very popular so you are really looking at the value of the CRT.

I have 1 1963 Model with the tube amp. Makes the TV sound great. I thought of adding a MTS stereo decoder to make it a little nicer(if it would work)

Ad actually said $150 or best offer. I could test the crt. It is about 70 miles from me. She said it needs to be gone this week since they are moving. I may be able to get much better price. Fingers crossed.

there you go. I really doubt anyone else (non vintage tv guys anyway) will have ANY interest in it, so you should be able to get a reasonable price. Most folks would pay to have it removed, sometimes we forget how small the interest is in these things, and like I said combos are really really hard to get rid of.
If the CRT test great its worth a few bucks, if not then its really at best a free parts set IMHO. Oh and remember even a CRT that test fine may still have issues and can go to air at any time so its aways a gamble.

It's fairly rare for all glass color tubes to go to air, but it does happen, and I have an example of it.

I have a 1964 Maggie combo (the one in my avatar), with a Sylvania CRT. It produces a great picture, and the Astro Sonic stereo is about as close to sounding like a tube amp as a solid state can get.

Just thought I'd brighten up the photo a bit. Nice elegant set.

-Steve D.

That's a very nice looking set. If the CRT is OK, you should go get it.

got an email this afternoon saying she had someone coming tomorrow to get it. We shall see.

Well interesting twist. I didn't get to get it from the original seller. This morning my wife and I were hitting some flea markets and antique shops and what do you know. There in the back of the shop was this set. Even still had the catalog and owners manual. Long story short it is in the van with me now. Got it for $40.

Excellent. Looking forward to some pix. :thmbsp:

Glad you got it! Looking forward to pictures,, that's a nice looking Combination Set, and for solid state, the Astro Sonic Magnavox Stereo can sound really nice, most have a pair of horn tweeters, and 15" woofers.

Does anyone remember the F.R.E.D. from Recoton, a small add-on stereo decoder box that would attach to a set? It had a little probe that you would stick to a sound IF can and it would decode the stereo via RCA outputs to an amp. It sounds perfect for this/these combo sets...if it is still useable in todays digital box world. I don't know if any cable box analog output still carries MTS stereo. I may still have one around here somewhere. I never throw anything out.

Alas, set top boxes only modulate over RF mono audio. You would need a BTSC stereo encoder to get the stereo through the antenna connection of a set.

With analog cable nearly extinct, and NTSC OTA all but nigh gone I doubt that analog BTSC (MTS) TV stereo is still available anywhere.

Dave-

Yes, I remember those, and I think I have one in its box in my storage as well, along with a couple of other stereo-TV decoders.

The catch is, very few in-home devices or modulators were ever made with stereo sound (BTSC) encoders. A few of the high-end big-dish satellite TV receivers had stereo modulators, and there was one Radio Shack stand-alone TV modulator with stereo sound (as opposed to the many mono ones with stereo audio input jacks that are still common).

There should also be outboard MTS encoders intended for use with commercial modulators like the Blonder-Tongue ones out there, too.

Got the set inside this evening. Here is what I know. There is a Sylvania RE21FBP22 CRT. But it is weak. Have done no other tests on the tv section. The radio will pick up stations, but performance is poor and volume is low. Only get sound from one side of the amp. All controls really dirty and the sound that I do get is not really great. The record changer works, sort of. It lifts the arm up way to high to tap the record, but it will set down in the right place if it does tap a record. Probably need a new stylus as well. Volume from phono is much louder than the radio, but again not as clear as it should be. I will probably test the tv shortly since the crt while weak should still make some kind of picture.

TV produces no HV and no audio. Also notice the dial indicator lights for the tv tuner do not work. The tubes all light up, but nobody is home. I will let the CRT cook for a few hours one day when I am here to watch it. Don't want to leave it unattended.

Pulled the radio chassis out tonight. What a pain. I found the cap in the -15volt source was bad. I think this was the cause of low output from the tuner. It appears that the right channel output transistors may be bad. There are several caps in the amp that check bad. so I will change them and take the transistors out to check them. All the controls need a good cleaning. Imagine that. I will have to figure out how to power it up to make voltage checks. I think two pins of the molex connector supply the AC. On the TV side not so good news. The CRT is extremely week, and it is not wakeing up. Looks like I will need another CRT. This one should make a picture, although it will not be good. I have not checked, but i dont think the TV chassis comes up due to bad degausing componants. I have tube filiments, but no B+. Plan is to get the radio/amplifier up first. Then I will tackle the record changer. It will need a cleaning and adjustment, as well as possibly a new cartridge and stylus. It sort of worked. I will have to find out why it lifts the tone arm so high to tap the record, but otherwise the changer part is working, and it seems to be running smooth and close to the correct speed. Cartridge output may be a little low. More to come later.

Hi Bill, those record changers in the older Maggie's, are made by Collaro, in England, and rarely need much to get them going, mechanically, aside from cleaning and re-lube. The "record tapping" is a strange looking, but normal function, to index the tone arm, to land on the record correctly. I've found that the solid state Astro Sonic, used cheaper caps, that need replacing. I have one that I've cleaned all controls, have it working and sounding nice, except for FM Stereo, it's fine in mono, but I have to re-cap the FM MPX section. Over the years, I've owned several Magnavox tube stereo consoles, and a couple solid state Astro Sonic models. They look and sound quite nice, for what they are, when repaired. Best of luck with your restoration, I hope the TV section is an easy fix.

check the instant on switch. B+ has a relay as well. Lots of wires involved in the power up of the tv.

see if turning off and on the instant on is controlling the filaments.

Noise in the transistors on the preamp is a common problem. You can trace it with a scope.

CRT with no cataracts? may be a later replacement, so more likely to be in decent condition - fingers crossed for you!

Oops - didn't see your report before posting, for some reason - sorry about the weak CRT

Actually the CRT is the FBP22 which has a seperate safety glass. Instant on is off. Since I will have to find a better CRT the TV will have to wait. I was going to do it last. The record tapping issue is that it raises the tone arm about 2 inchs to high to tap the record. It works ok other than that. If I hold my hand up above the records and it taps it then it wil set down on the record in the correct place.

That story is WILD. SOMEBODY wanted YOU to have that set..

Yeah, you should have seen the look on the lady's face when I told her where it came from. There aren't to many color sets that show up here I don't know about since my wife and I both look for them. I may have to loose part of the hearth in front of the fireplace to put it where I wanted it though.

those maggie chassis are odd (at least the one I have) its like a CTC-15 but with the power trans and the flyback swapped. Other than that the pcbs seem like RCA's.

I'm looking at one almost like it tomorrow
http://boise.craigslist.org/clt/4678969521.html

The ad says 1980s. I wish they made sets like that in the 80s. Those Maggie cabinets are stunning.

maggies I am sure were hits with the housewives trying to get the furniture coordinated. My fav was the roundie combo with the tambor doors.

Like this?

Well I have the amplifier working on both channels now. Replaced some of the caps and the output transistors on that channel. Replaced the filter cap in the -15volt line for the radio. AM performance seems ok, but FM is not as good. Low audio and stations are not comming in on the correct dial location. Looks like I will need to check the transistors in the front end, and it seams the alignment is off.

Further update. I replaced the RF amp transistor and that got the FM sesitivity back up. I touched up the OSC adjustments and now all the stations come in at the right location. As for the low audio on FM, I replaced both coupling capacitors on the multiplex board. Now FM will rock the house. There are still some caps I will need to replace, then I will touch up the alignment, but for now the old Maggie sounds really good. I will move on to the changer next. Anyone have a good cartridge and stylus for one of these just in case?

I have mine on right now, replaced all the electros, really sounds nice. The 12" paper cone and horns sound very nice.

I'm glad you saved it. I'm still looking for a color entertainment center like these.

Pulled the changer this evening. I gave it a good cleaning and lubrication. I got the tonearm hight adjusted so that it taps the records right. It now drops records and shuts off correctly. It is tracking at 3.7 grams. Think I will leave that alone. It actually sounded better after playing a few albums. I am sure it had not been played in years. I do need a new stylus though, and the idler will need to be replaced, but for now it is working fine. If anyone has a stylus or idler, I am interested. It has the grey cartridge. The label with the model number was not readable, but it is covered in Sam's 848 folder 5. That covers the 602 through 608 series. I will start on the TV next, but really no hurry until I find a good CRT.

Glad to hear that the changer is working properly now, those are nice record changers, I especially enjoy putting stacks of 45rpm's on them! For the cartridge and stylus, I have had good results with West-Tech Services, they are in Kent, OH, try:[email protected] Best of luck on the TV and finding a usable CRT!

I will check out West-Tech. I think all i need right now is a new stylus. It sounds good right now, I think it would be a little better with a new stylus. It really was not in bad shape. I will be on the look out for a new idler. As for the TV, I could pull the chassis out and use my test jig to get it going. Without a good CRT lined up though it would be a waste of time and money. I am confident that a good CRT and the funds to purchase it will cross my path at some time soon. I think the ETF has a couple, I may check on those. There is always the possibility of swaping one out of my other sets. I will save that as a last resort. The tube in it is a rare earth FBP22. It would have made a great picture.