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Saber
31-08-2015, 23:52
Could not not let my parents bin it when i found out they still had it,( I must be mad ) they have been on holiday with me for the past 2 weeks and brought this with them ( plus 3 boxes of records, mostly junk, but some kinks, beatles, stones singles and nostalgia like my Grandad's 78s. So i'm fully loaded with Gracie Fields recordings :)

So to the deck. http://imageshack.com/a/img909/7881/Cqi9Uw.jpg

Yep, please try not to be ill, that is a Birmingham sound reproduction deck in a littlewoods catalogue unit, you can almost smell the blue nun, sadly no Demis Rousos records to complete the Abigale's party effect.

Anyway, I'm very fond of this thing. It was my first introduction to music on my folks sideboard in the early 80s when i was small, and actually it sounds.... well mostly awfull, let's be honest. Weird interferance when on but not playing, massive hum if i try to output through the din output on the back, and lacking in warmth when playing, and it had totally glued its self up until i stripped, cleaned and regreased the main bearing.

So, not good, certainly not audiophile, but I though some one would get a laugh out of seeing one on here. :)

I will get a decent deck on day, just not this day :)

cheers, John.

Macca
01-09-2015, 07:58
I listened on a lot worse in my youth :)

Saber
01-09-2015, 14:39
lol Im sure there are worse ones out there, Im just enjoyin having something to tinker with, made the mat out of some foam from a craft shop, £1.20 much better than the plastic thing that was on it, its on a rock hard and heavy rubber backed chopping board base to isolate it, so all the things im learning and can apply here, will stand me in good stead when I do get a better deck... really love the look of the 301s on the forum.

DSJR
01-09-2015, 16:07
You might have an Acos cartridge in there, judging by the tiny bit of flip-under flag I can see. The model of cartridge should be on it's 'outer' side. Make sure the stylus is a diamond tipped one for LP's. Some of the better ceramic cartridges are very entertaining to listen to and many 60's singles only sound good when played via these IMO.

If you want to service the deck, LOADS of info on the UK Vintage Radio site. BSR's and auto Garrards sold by the hundreds of thousands and in the case of this BSR, the basic mech is similar I believe to the 'HiFi' ones in the MP60/HT70 and BDS 80 at least. The plastic platter bearing sleeves have a habit of seizing up apparently, so a service wouldn't hurt at all if the deck still runs ok.

Barry
01-09-2015, 17:18
Ah nostalgia! My first records were played on my parent's 1950's radiogram, the turntable of which looked similar to this:

https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=JN.zb2IxorJVIWhzozuVbpPcg&pid=15.1&H=89&W=160&P=0

It had three speeds and an integrated crystal cartridge/arm, where the cartridge could be twisted through 45 degree to select either a microgroove stylus or one suitable for 78s.

Happy days!

Roy S
01-09-2015, 17:26
Very similar to my first 'Hifi' (recently found while sorting out my Mum's place). Not wanting to add to my collection I'm afraid I binned it :(

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/Lodger56/IMG_01691_zpsyehxdzhi.jpg

Saber
01-09-2015, 22:36
Thanks for the replys guys.

DJSR. "The plastic platter bearing sleeves have a habit of seizing up apparently, so a service wouldn't hurt at all if the deck still runs ok."

You aint kidding, the turntable was sized solid when it first came out of the attic. I watched a few vids on you tube on how to service it, the old grease really does go like glue, Took me hours to clean out all the old stuff with alcohol, re greased ( sparingly) the bearing and used a little light machine oil on other moving parts, It actually runs pretty smoothly, It wont auto start though , so i still need to have a look at that, arm lifts but doesnt move over to the record. it does auto return and stop at the end of the record.

The needle is a flip over type, on side for lp on for 78, lp sound ok, 78s sound really bad, i did manage to get the exact model number from the underside of the chassis, so will order i new one i think i was only £8. I think ill try the ice hockey puck record clamp trick too.

I hadn't heard of the Uk vintage radio site, ill have a good look at that thanks.

Roy S, yep under the mat its pretty much a dead ringer for my BSR, although yours had a diffrent headshell, ,mine is missing the record stacking peice on yours, i will have to find one to complete it one day.

paskinn
02-09-2015, 08:41
My first record player was a 1961 Dansette, in a fetching eggshell blue; autoloader of course, with a ceramic needle. Lasted me until about 1965 when I lost it in a bet about a game of marbles.
Come to think of it, have 'marbles'gone the same way as Dansette record players?

awkwardbydesign
02-09-2015, 09:33
My first record player was a 1961 Dansette, in a fetching eggshell blue; autoloader of course, with a ceramic needle. Lasted me until about 1965 when I lost it in a bet about a game of marbles.
Come to think of it, have 'marbles'gone the same way as Dansette record players?

I still have a bag of marbles! So I haven't lost mine.

struth
02-09-2015, 13:36
Remember having one of these lovely babies.. Got it from the coop wholesale
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/02/e6d54908de072a248f4b461ef437dc52.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/02/2f9479866d77df7b23d01dc8990f15aa.jpg

This model or one very similar... It was great as you could take it to your mates or the chicks etc.

CornishPasty
02-09-2015, 19:00
My beloved and I used to spin a disc or two on a Fidelity when we were courting. It was somewhat similar to that Ultra and it wouldn't surprise me if it wasn't made in the same factory. HMV produced something similar around the same time?

Saber
05-09-2015, 23:34
DSJR

You might have an Acos cartridge in there

Yep spot on!, Thanks for that. Acos GP96, made it much easier to get a replacement stylus, bought 2 and a hockey puck :) Will give it a whirl next week, think ill take the base of and run the turntable on top of my glass tv stand, hopefully I can see whats stopping the auto start working that way, probably more degreasing needed somewhere.

Thanks guys. John.

Saber
08-09-2015, 18:50
New needle and the hockey puck came this morning. Best £6.25 I think i've ever spent :) turns out some of my records actually do have midrange, who knew?

Much better, obviously has not transformed something exceptional, but its far better than how it sounded previously, there is some warmth and smoothness there now.

How much diffrence the puck makes...undecided, more testing and time will tell.
Anyway spent some quality time with grace today so its all good. :)

http://i870.photobucket.com/albums/ab261/empire2600/DSCF2913.jpg (http://s870.photobucket.com/user/empire2600/media/DSCF2913.jpg.html)