Paragon wind-up phonograph

[radiotvnut]

I just bought this oddball Paragon record player off ebay. This one uses a wind-up motor and a battery operated tube amp. I'd guess this was made either just before WWII or right after the war ended; but, I could be wrong. I can't find much out about the Paragon brand. Anyone know anything about them?

[bob91343]

I am curious about the amplifier. Perhaps a 1Q5 or 3Q5 output? Maybe just a one tuber with the usual crystal cartridge. Two batteries of course, flashlight cell(s) for filament and either 67.5 or 90V for B+.

This was the forerunner of the iPod.

[radiotvnut]

The seller said it uses a 1.5 volt battery and two 45V batteries.

[radiotvnut]

Here's the Paragon phonograph that I recently bought off ebay that has a spring-driven motor and a battery operated tube amp. To my surprise, this looks to have a push-pull amp. The motor is non-functioning and will need to be fixed. Hopefully, it's a case of hardened lubricant and not something serious. Any idea as to who might have made the motor? I'm guessing it's from the late '40's, since it uses miniature tubes.

[bob91343]

Oh a 3S4, newer than I thought. The 3Q5 was octal. A pretty big output transformer, probably decent low end. Try connecting an external speaker; it will probably sound great.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by bob91343

Oh a 3S4, newer than I thought. The 3Q5 was octal. A pretty big output transformer, probably decent low end. Try connecting an external speaker; it will probably sound great.

I looks like it was built from all surplus parts. The speaker has a Motorola part number on it.
It also looks like one of the speaker leads is disconnected. They must have the output tubes connected in parallel, instead of push-pull.
Looks like poor design, at best. The 3S4 tubes are designed to operate at 67.5 volts, max, plate and screen.
BTW, the 3S4 has been around, almost as long as the 3Q5.

[radiotvnut]

I haven't examined the circuit yet; but, I wonder if they are using the triode for a phase inverter and driving the whole thing with a 3V cartridge?