Denver CL maggie roundi

[zenithfan1]

Yep, I hate the ones that go above three. I have the table in my '62 Motorola tracking at 2.5 g, which is the lowest possible that it will operate at. The Shure V15 type IV in my Sansui is tracking at .75 g The record don't even know it's being played

[jeyurkon]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Thanks all!... It sounds as if the Collaro Changer is actually a pretty decent unit. 3 grams or so does not worry me too much! Did any models use a magnetic cartridge ?
8-10 grams scares the heck outa me... Which models should be avoided for this reason? Did Zenith, RCA and other major brands use the Collaro changer?

jr

I think the most common changers were Voice of Music. They were used in many sets. The one that I have is a model 951-3 and has a separate needle for 78, and 45&33-1/3. It's supposed to be set at 10-12 grams. I have mine at 10. You don't want to go too low in tracking force with a low compliance cartridge.

You can retrofit many changers to a high compliance magnetic cartridge.

John

[AUdubon5425]

Zenith mainly used V-M; RCA built their own for a long time.
G.E. bought Glaser-Steers and produced a variant of that changer for several years.
Webcor was another supplier for Philco and many others.
BSR really became widespread in the early 70's as other manufacturers ceased production.
Garrard changers were quite common across the board.
As far as I can remember, Magnavox was the main (if not only) one that used Collaro changers.

[Jeffhs]

I didn't know Magnavox Micromatic record changers were actually manufactured by Collaro and rebadged. In any event, that probably explains why the Micromatic changers lasted so long, and are still in good shape today. Magnavox advertised its consoles' changers as having very low tracking force so that, as the advertisement stated, "your records could last a lifetime." I don't know if that was hype or if the Micromatic's tracking force was actually that low. Somehow I cannot imagine any 1950s-'60s record changer being that gentle on records. I do remember, however, warnings in the '80s against playing stereo records on changers or turntables using certain kinds of cartridges or styli. The warning was that certain types of styli, designed for monophonic records, could literally destroy stereo recordings. What, if anything, is the difference? I always thought any type of stylus could be used with either mono or stereo records, with no ill effects--unless, of course, one tried some kind of dumb stunt like using a sewing needle in place of a real stylus. That could and probably will ruin either type of phonograph record in no time flat. I actually did this in the early '70s with an old, beat-up one-tube record player I found in the trash. I bypassed the amplifier, put an old sewing machine needle in the cartridge (these things used cheap cartridges anyway, so I felt I wouldn't lose anything if it didn't work) and used it for the next year and a half with mostly 45-rpm records. It worked, but it wasn't high fidelity by a long shot; oh well. The record player itself was nowhere near (and I mean nowhere near) hi-fi caliber, so again, I didn't feel I was gambling or would lose anything if the dodge didn't work. This record player was used in a short-lived 0.1-watt AM radio station I had set up in my basement; AM radio being the low-fidelity medium it was at that time (again, early 1970s), sound quality didn't matter much, if at all, since I was playing very old 1950s rock-and-roll records.

As to the popularity of BSR record changers in the '70s, I had a Zenith integrated stereo system in the early '80s which was probably made near the end of that decade, and which had a BSR changer. Never had five minutes worth of trouble with it; in fact, I had more trouble with the cassette deck and the eight-track player than I ever had with the changer. I eventually wound up patching an external cassette deck into the stereo when the built-in unit quit (as I also did with my current Aiwa 3-in-one box when the dual decks gave out after seven years), but the record changer continued to work, very well I might add, the entire time (17 years) I had the Zenith stereo.

BTW, I wonder if BSR is still in business. If so, they are probably making CD or MP3 players and changers nowadays, but I'm actually wondering if they are still making record changers.

[AUdubon5425]

BSR made changers longer than you'd think - maybe c. 1990? I'm sure someone knows exactly when.

Honestly, I never had a BSR changer that played at the correct speed. Well, two out of seven (one was NOS.)

[jr_tech]

"After producing their last turntable in 1985, BSR McDonald closed all divisions except for Astec Power Supply. Astec is now 100% owned by Emerson Electric Company "
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birming...nd_Reproducers

jr

[marty59]

To elaberate to Jeffhs question about stylus's...a little easier to provide a link than to explain.

http://www.esotericsound.com/CartStyli.htm

A good source for vintage needles, etc. By the way, that cartridge on the Magnavox/Collaro is a ceramic type made by Electro-Voice. I have a 58' Maggie AM/FM and Turntable and originally it was tracking at 10 grams so I backed it off 2. You would really have to get extensive with anti-skating, etc if you want to track lighter. I did buy a gauge.

http://www.garage-a-records.com/

There is a good site that goes into detail about modifications etc. for the Collaro Conquest Turntable.

http://midimagic.sgc-hosting.com/collaro.htm

This site used to be hosted through Yahoo- Geocities (which no longer exists) so make sure the link above takes you there!

[marty59]

I must caution all of you..if you Google Collaro Conquest and hit that first link it may direct you to something that has nothing to do with turntables....

Hopefully the link I provided in my other post above is more direct than through Google. It's a good site with some good links/info to click at the bottom of it.

[freakaftr8]

That cabinet is amost identical to the Airline I had last year. Maggie/airline same thing.. I sure hope someone snags that set. I regret selling mine.. At least it went to a museum in so cal area.

[mikeh]

Talked to the guy with the maggi for sale on craigs list today. He has had no offers as of yet so I told him I would take it. Will pick up Friday, just hate to see this end up in the land fill. Like most of us tv collectors, a person can only have so many of these console combos. I already have a packard bell roundy combo so this will make two roundy combo units! I can honestly say this will probably be the last combo I can save! Hope to post picks next week.
Mike

[DaveWM]

GREAT! wow I am glad to hear someone save it.

[Kiwick]

I have an early 1960s BSR UA14 changer in one of my console stereos (tracking weight about 5 grams) i fitted a new stylus to its original TC8 cartridge and then played the first 10 seconds of a crappy brand new 12" dance mix on it for like 30 times then played it on my "proper" stereo system

It didn't suffer any noticeable wear at all

After this, i'm now playing anything on that old BSR changer, even my most treasured vinyls like my brand new Bruce Springsteen "seeger sessions" album.
I actually prefer the sound of that old tube console over my late 70s Pioneer/Sansui stereo system

Old changers with stereo cartridges are perfectly safe as long as you replace the sapphire stylus every 30 hours or so