RCA from the Trash

[grimer]

I spotted this beast at the curb this morning,I actually drove back home and
got my truck to grab it.Makes me wish I did not have a truck..
Tis an RCA AM/Shortwave with a record player and recorder,the cabinet is quite solid,the missing piece near the right foot was in one of the storage compartments,as was the microphone..Now what? I'm stuck with this thing,
I hated to see it go to the landfill,but now that its in my garage I think
the landfill would have been better.If anyone is interested,let me know

[Sandy G]

I'd be ALL OVER that if you weren't so far away in Lawn Kilant....

[Penthode]

What a beautiful old RCA! I would have grabbed the set in a second if saw it!

That was a high end set with audio recording. Does the turntable have 33 1/3 rpm for the early RCA vinyl records at that speed?

Terry

[bandersen]

Nice find! I have an RCA 222 with four of the same knobs and a similar airplane dial. This set totally dwarfs it!

[Electronic M]

Love it! If I lived nearer than Wi I'd be all over it.

[leadlike]

This is RCA's top of the line receiver for 1934-the allwave duo 381! The turntable is a rare dual speed that will turn at the 33.3 rpm format they tried introducing in the early 30s (these were not lps) as well as standard 78. It should also have a pretty fancy record changer. The radio is a 5 band monster with 12 tubes. A VERY nice find!

[grimer]

Well,this morning I spent some time "decrusting" this monster,basically
just some compressed air and a soft brush.I removed the the rectifier tube
and plugged it in,some pilot lights lit up,and the platter was trying to turn.I spun the platter by hand and sprayed the phono drivetrain with WD40,and
I eventually got the auto eject mechanism to "almost work.
I posted a youtube video of the phonograph in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B11wlTViigs

[Electronic M]

Wow! you found one with the rare "makes every one laugh" changer.

Why do I never find anything that good in the trash! Then again why do people throw stuff like that out in the first place.

Tom C.

[zenith2134]

1934, wow... My oldest was from '39, a ten tube Stromberg Carlson. Got a nice payout on that one...mostly because the cabinet was near mint.

That tonearm is just plain magnificent. You don't see any designed like that anymore!!

[manny380sl]

hello are you still giving that rca away if so where in long island do you live let me know. my email is [email protected] thanks

[grimer]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Wow! you found one with the rare "makes every one laugh" changer.Tom C.

Yes it does! I must have watched it eject a record a dozen times after I got
it working.So much for "handling your records with care"

[Electronic M]

Don't know if you were at the 08' MARC Extravaganza meet, but the presentation had a video of that changer and everyone was laughing up a storm. The presenter said that before that changer came out he was tought to handle records carefuly with gloves, and that when he first saw that changer in action he nearly had a heart attack!

How many licks to the center of a tootsie pop, and what the RCA engineering staff were thinking....The world may never know!

Just for kicks it might be fun to put a "non-breakable" decalite 78 up against a few dozen changer cycles....

Tom C.

[leadlike]

Did your radio come with any other accessories? There should be a giant horseshoe weight that clips onto the phono tonearm to record onto the now nonexistent RCA pre-grooved records. If it is really, really all there, an oil bottle was originally included as well.

Those record changers are surprisingly gentle on records. You'll do more harm to the record by playing it over and over again on a single needle, as the tonearm is probably loaded with a single play steel needle. For a real hair-raising experience, check out the General Industries' "slasher" changer.

[radiodayz]

That's awesome, Grimer. Good luck with the restoration :-).
I'd be interested to hear how the tuner sounds, too, if you manage to get it working.

[radiodayz]

Actually, this sparks a vague, very old memory. I remember watching a cartoon on TV as a kid sometime in the 60s (Bugs Bunny, Popeye?) that involved a jukebox or record changer that would "reject" records by tossing them aside like that. In the cartoon, they would land on the floor and shatter into a million pieces. Anybody else remember this? Your RCA or a similar model was probably the inspiration.