hi man I have a mcs my dad gave me he got it back in 1981 we have it in the family now for 34 years is sound great I have just found two more speaker for my stereo so now I have four set of sp
was just cleaning out the basement and found this thing tucked into a corner, i Google searched it and your video showed up. just need to find some speakers for mine.
Nothing wrong with being interested in stuff. Its what makes us individuals. It looks nice. I got a Zenith stereo about 1976 vintage. Cassette deck and turntable doesnt work but the displays and tuner and everything else works just like new.
I worked on one of these back in 1985 working for a electronic repair place in CT when I was in the NAVY submarine service The problem was that it would not seek correct in the tape deck I dove into it found very dirty head and loose wire from head to the logic board . I seen a sticker in it saying it was manufactured in Taiwan by sony it was SEARS branded looked just like yours . Gee I miss those good old days. I have worked on electronics for most of my life until I became disabled Thanks
I have the same media cabinet. It was my dads. He passed away when I was 7. I’m now 27 and just moved the thing to my apt today. It needs some work, but it should be up and running eventually!
I also have an MCS2230 that my father-in-law found while "curb shopping" a couple of years ago. Mine was missing the cartridge so I replaced it with an Audio Technica cartridge. The lower cabinet section is missing so it is now a table top model. I also replaced the turntable belt and dealt with the dirty controls. I didn't replace the cassette deck belts because it looked like more work than I wanted to get into. The speakers are the original MCS speakers and the whole system is remarkable clean. Although not the highest quality, the speakers really don't sound bad. I haven't been able to find any manual or specifications for this system and the search led me here.
The MCS stuff is really good. The older silver faced stuff especially, made in Japan by matsushita (technics and Panasonic). Nice stereo u got there. Would have been sweet if they had thrown out 2 of those speakers not 1! Still nice! S
I beg to differ. Most of the Penny line were made in Taiwan by Tatung who used good quality Japanese components. Loads of people believe Panasonic made these things and maybe they did make the very high end Penny stuff but not this unit. BTW, other retailers had stuff made by the precursor to what is now Samsung in Korea. "Audio Reflex AGS" comes to mind.
William, I think you would have loved this old turn table stereo my grandfather had, He used it as his end table near his recliner and I only recall seeing it actually open once or twice, but I think you would have had a great time checking it out. I'll talk to my parents, and see if I can get any information about it. If I can, I'll shoot you a PM with the details.
ive got a Schneider Power Pack from 1979 laying around the house. It was one of the first stereo systems with a CD player. Its quite small for such a machine, which has a turntable, double cassette deck, a cd player (which doesnt work for new cd's too well), and a FM/MW/LW tuner. it can handle a max of 140 decibels, and it has a wattage of 160. so its quite powerful
my neighbors had this very unit. the speakers it came with did indeed look horrid and cheap, but they were genuine three ways and they would rattle the windows well.
That's a bummer on that Technics speaker. My dad had a pair of those and they were great. The woofer surround rotted away on one so my dad threw it out after my short-lived repair with a piece of rope glued to the top (mid 00's). The other one was fine and spent it's final days as a "picture supporter" for a few years until furniture got re-arranged and it too got trashed. If we still had them I would try to find a new surround and fix the broken one properly. :-( I remember I used to play an old Disney halloween record on that setup with a fighting/screeching cat track for my cat (really for my amusement as she investigated the speakers), although I think she preferred the instrumental/synth part near the end of Styx- Come Sail Away a lot more. XD
I have this stereo with the owners manual and all papers that came with it. All the warranty information directs you to RCA service centers so I believe it to be made by RCA.
I just picked up a unit just like this one, but with both original speakers at a rummage sale. It's a really cool system. Unfortunately, why the physical condition and look of the unit is mint, the components need some work. I need to replace the turntable belt, the play button on the cassette deck doesn't work, and there seems to be a short in the volume knob. But all in all it's a really cool system that reminds me of the old days. I was wondering where you got your turntable belt.
Hey, I just picked one of these up! Had to replace the belt and needle, which I’m currently waiting on…but I had a belt that fit, from another turntable. I borrowed that, to make sure it would still work before I put money into it. All seems well except the tape deck lol. Also, I can only get sound from active speakers. My passive floor standing speakers are getting nothing from it. Thoughts??
The tape deck will require new belts. It's no fun at all to do. This set wasn't really designed to be serviced. You will probably also find that the controls are dirty (especially the source selector), and as the switches are pretty well sealed, those aren't fun to work on either. Be very careful with the wiring. It's easy to break connections. (I know. I did.) I suspect it won't be this simple as it sounds like you're getting some kind of signal (just not enough to drive passive speakers), but do check the speaker system selector which. Only turn on the switch for the circuit to which speakers are actually attached. Also check the fuses at the back panel -- make sure they're in good condition. The audio amplifier board is probably one of the least painful things to deal with -- it's pretty accessible, isolated to its own board with power/audio inputs, and has an STK power pack running in Class AB mode. I don't have a pinout for this board, but a few minutes with a multimeter and some circuit tracing would probably give you a good idea of what's what. I've never seen a service manual, although one probably was published. The Sears version of this has an FCC ID printed on it that belongs to the former Arvin Corporation. Arvin was long out of the radio business by the time this set was made, but I suppose that Penney's and Sears ordered enough of these to defray the cost of design and production. I still have mine. It still works OK for what it is.
Picked up a J.C. Penney MCS 2242 in near mint condition yesterday for 10 bucks. Hard to beat the price and actually sounds relatively well for having a mediocre stylus.
I have a similar model to Marvin's but a 683 from jc penneys accidentally left in on overnight now it makes this whirring noise in the console, is this gonna need some fixing or is it done for?
a friend had a set of MCS speakers that ended up getting foam rot. He gave them to me and i think i replced the woofers but i dont remember with what i replaced them with
You seem to be very knowledgeable on the older, cool stuff. Do you remember the Montgomery Wards models(Pilot). I can't find them anywhere. I have always wanted 1. Thanks.
Im going to guess Panasonic or Fisher brand. In my opinion I would LOVE to have this...and some speakers that match the color. This is totally worth restoring. Never have I seen one either...although if I did I wouldnt hesitate to purchase it!
I love vintage stereos, i just picked up a MCS 3223 on ebay today. Was wondering if you have seen a model like what you have here except it had an 8-track player and soft touch cassette player. It had a green LED read out for the tuner. Have any idea what the model is or where i could find out? Thanks
wow i had this same one i remember mine lighting up in Red like the EQ does this one? I so forgot about this , this took me back . I wonder what happen to mine ? been a long time thanks for sharing brother :)
@uxwbill Considering the RCA speaker outs, I would have guessed no more then 10WPC, either way, it sounds nice and healthy. I would have been a good roach palace stereo, except you already have a good one over there.
I have one that was left in the apartment I just moved into. It powers on. I have no speakers to test on it so I’m going to buy some in the next day or 2. The turntable does not spin. I was able to get the corroded old belt out of it today. I’m wondering if you ever had to replace the turntable belt and could walk me through it, or would recommend a comparable video for doing so, seeing as I cannot find a 2230 turntable repair video. Thanks so much.
It is very likely that the one left in your new apartment is basically functional. I'd certainly expect the radio to play and the AUX inputs to work fine. The tape deck is almost certain to need new belts (and it's a major undertaking to replace them). The various controls may also be dirty -- mine are, and unfortunately, they are almost impossible to clean. Changing the turntable belt is actually very easy to do. You've probably already lifted up the turntable platter. Take the rubber slipmat off of it. You will see cutouts in the platter. One of these will line up with the motor pulley underneath. When you get your new belt, put it on the platter. Then set the platter in place, but do not put the slipmat back. Rotate the platter so you can see the motor pulley. Then pull the belt straight out so it will reach the pulley. Release it and put the slipmat back. You're done. It takes longer to describe this than it does to replace the belt.
@@uxwbill I have the similar LXI 91895 and the replacement of the 4 tape deck belts was a pain! I will admit both units the MCS 2230 and Sears LXI 91895 are not top of the line high end units but made very well and better than today's Made In China items! PS: if anyone ever takes on working on the cassette deck of these units, take the extra steps to unsolder connections that get in the way and dismount any micro switches on the mechanism as they will be a pain to resolder snaped wires or replace broken micro switches then resolder and remount when you are ready to place the mechanism in place, believe me you will be saving any further headaches that might arise!
My first thought was "made by Panasonic" (the font appears to be similar)if it is, that Technics speaker would be a great match. The RCA/Phono type speaker jacks tells me that it is a lower power unit, however I could feel the bass off it here (or my sub is set too loud) BTW great video.
You will need to identify the cartridge make and model in order to get a replacement needle. Once you have that, the existing needle should pull straight out of the cartridge with only a little force.
Mine looked a lot like this but they must of made diff modles of this right ? I just remember mine lighting up in all red looked a lot like this baby. Thanks for sharing bro
If your lucky, maybe the owner of the Technics speaker will throw out the the other one next week. Hey that's a cool turntable I have never seen a fully automatic like that! How do you know when it's time to replace the stylus? I found 2 turntables in the garbage. One is a MCA with 4 speeds, with a extra long spindle in the center, I don't know why it's so long. The other one is a Phillips model 222 with bizarre switches that I believe work with the salt on the skin when pressed.
I know this video was posted back in 2010 so here's a long shot. I just inherited one of these without speakers and I was wondering what it's compatible with. I'm wondering if it's safe to plug into my powered speaker system.
The short answer is "don't use powered speakers with this". This has its own power amplifier built in. It's made to be used with unpowered speakers. You can use almost any speaker system with an 8 or 16 ohm impedance rating and the capability to handle at least 50 watts of power. The longer answer is that you can use powered speakers, if you get a speaker level to line level converter. These are usually sold at car audio stores and used by people who want to add something like an amplifier or subwoofer to a factory-supplied car stereo.
Would you know the reason why the needle won’t return to the starting position? I have one and cannot seem to get the needle to return to start playing again
There is likely a limit switch that governs the return operation. Make sure it is working properly. The drive system for the tone arm should also be checked.
I have no objection to all the stereo equipment videos. In fact they were what drove me to get my Bang & Olufsen turntable working again. Now I have a whole HiFi system cobbled together of a B&O turntable from 83, a Sony AM/FM tuner from the 60s, a tape deck from what looks like the 70s, and two speakers probably of a similar age to the turntable. And it all plays like brand new.
I have a MCS 2262 and it sounds great. I have 2 JBL 3 way speakers hooked up and when I tell you it will rattle the walls I mean it. I know it came from JC Penney's but I don't know who actually made it. It has a receiver, a EQ, and dual tape players for making quick copy's of tapes. I recently hooked up a CD/DVD player to it and can watch movies with the sound from the stereo. When I was offered to take it for free I almost passed on it. I mean it looked like a hunk of junk. And I am so glad I took it because the wattage it puts out is ridiculous. I do have a question for you. Do you think your stereo came with a remote control? And how can I tell if mine once had a remote control? Thank you for the post. And Looks can definitely be deceving.
Some of the audio equipment sold by various department stores was extremely underrated. Penney's is known to have had Technics, Citizen, Toshiba and even NEC manufacture audio equipment under their name. From pictures online, what you have looks similar to the MCS 3050 AM stereo tuner, widely believed to have been manufactured by NEC. That's just a guess, though. There are no remote control provisions on the MCS 3050. As a whole, remote controls for audio equipment in the 1980s were pretty uncommon. You could try looking for anything that says "remote sensor" or similar. Sometimes these are called out with a square "target" like drawing over the sensor. You can also try looking with a strong flashlight for any sensor windows (oftentimes with a purple-looking coloring on the actual sensor). In a system with separate linked components, any remote sensor is usually to be found on the tuner. I'd doubt that your set has one, as the tuner doesn't have any obvious provision for it in the pictures I found.
uxwbill Thank you for the the quick response. I really want to find a turn table for my system because we never threw away are records. One thing my system doesn't have that I didn't mention is a cabinet. It is One solid unit. There is no taking apart to clean the reiceiver without taking the casing for the whole system. I think the top comes off and maybe the back, but the receiver, EQ, and dual tape decks are all 1 solid unit. But the sound is incredible. I can't go over 3 on the sound volume without effecting other folks in are Condo unit. There are some renters who have complained about the loud music coming from me. I don't do it on purpose, but I own this place and I certainly don't want to upset anyone. I have to open the system up anyways because of some loose change that I had in a bowl on top of the system that feel out and went right into the vents on top of the unit. So I will be able to do a little maintenance while I have it opened. But like I said, I was shocked at the sound this system puts out, and I am so glad I took it when it was offered to me. Another thing I noticed was I have no dials on my system. It slides for the volume and EQ, and everything else is push button. I am going to open it up next weekend when I hopefully find the right turntable for it. I want to see inside of this system and get the change out of it before it shorts something out. I don't dare move it because of the change. And I really wish I could find a specs sheet for it on the net, and a users manual. That would be nice to have, but I have only found 1 system like mine, and in order to get minimum information I would have to join a . Organization. And I am not going to do that. So thanks again for your input, and how you can find another speaker like the one you found, and fix that door too. These are really nice units and very much worth maintaining. T.Y.
With records being back in style in a big way, there are lots of inexpensive and decent turntables that you can buy brand new. All you'd need is an AUX or PHONO input on your system. (If you use an AUX input, you'll need a phono preamplifier, but most inexpensive turntables have one that you can switch on if needed.) Audio-Technica in particular has some excellent turntables at a variety of price points.
@uxwbill right now i run sorta a mixed bag of stuff. i am in the hunt for a good linear tracking turntable but none have shown up. i ended up with a computer controlled one but part of it doesnt work and the magnetic drive setup doesnt keep the platter balanced and when you have the rubber platter mat on it and the record on it plays off speed. its an older fisher one i got for 5 bucks out of a record store in seattle a few years ago. just hope a linear one comes up
I picked up one of these for cheap for my dad. Got it home and was having some issues with the volume adjuster, with the sound cutting out completely in certain areas of the volume range requiring me to power it off and mess with the volume to get it back on. Played with it for a while, and eventually it made a loud pop at me and stopped playing altogether. Still powers on and all, but no sound. Any ideas? It was manufactured a year before I was born, so I don’t have a lot of experience with them. Thanks!
Hi uxbill, I have really enjoyed your videos and love for all things yesteryear, I'm a bit of the same! Anyways, I was wondering if you can help me identify a certain stereo. I remember my father owning it and being fascinated by it as a child.I don't know anything about other than my parents debating the brand, JC Penney or Panasonic. I've tried to research it but to no avail. Will you help me identify it or at least someone who will? Thank you so very much, and keep those vids coming! :D
Hi, I recently found this same exact system in my grandmothers attic. It was my mothers. It definitely looks a bit used and not in as good of condition as this one. I took it home and the turntable works, it spins and the needle produces sound. My issue is with the speakers, i can’t get the audio from the turntable to play through them. I made sure my outlets were working so it’s not that, I made sure i connected the cables to the speaker A input in the back and had speaker A pressed down on the stereo. When they are turned on and connected i hear static coming out of the speakers. I’m not sure if this is a good sign or not. I guess there’s most likely an issue with the wiring or something electrical on the inside. Is there anything I can do to fix it? I’d really appreciate any help i was super excited when i found this. (i’m just noticing i have the lxi, not the same exact one as you if that makes a difference)
The same company (Arvin) designed and may well have manufactured both this and the very similar LXI set. I would recommend that you check the wiring connections to the turntable's stylus. They may be incorrect or loose. These sets also suffer from dirty controls that can cause improper operation. Unfortunately for us, they are not at all "service friendly", and this includes the source selector switches, which I haven't found a good way to clean. Other electrical issues are possible but unlikely. Check the speaker fuses, try other sources (like the tuner, the tape player probably won't work properly without help) and consider leaving the unit turned on for an hour or so to see if it starts working. However, don't leave the set alone in case it would malfunction. Keep an eye on it.
MCS was made by Panasonic/Technics so it was not a low end stereo but since it was sold at JC Penney under the MCs name people assumed it was a cheap brand.
There were a lot more manufacturers in play than just Matsushita Electric. Sears sold a nearly identical model to this (the color scheme, turntable and display sizes are all that differ) and theirs has an FCC ID on it. The FCC ID belongs to Arvin. Both must have been the last audio related products made by that company.
The Sears version of this same stereo has an FCC ID on it that points to Arvin. Further research suggested that while Arvin was leaving the radio and electronics business by the early 1980s, they were willing to design and produce (or perhaps subcontract production of) the same basic stereo system for Sears and JC Penney.
So I actually bought one of these mcs systems new when I was a kid. I did a bundle of research before buying and my research indicated that RCA made my unit. That's why I felt comfortable buying it from JC Penney. I was explaining the dope linear tracking turntable to my son - a RU-vid searched turned up this video. Thanks for sharing!
@uxwbill Great minds think alike. I agree with you, and I'm younger than you by at least a year or so, but I completely agree with you, very well said.
This was when REAL Stereo Systems were MADE! not like what you see in Walmart nowadays. Look at the speaker wire going to the speakers. THIN! You can hook up a couple of Cerwin Vega speakers to this system in the video and connect your iPod to the Aux input on the back and turn it up!
I have one similar to this. Mine is a Sears LXI Series. I need to know how to connect the components. Last time it was connected it worked, but it all got disconnected when I moved. I didn’t think to label what when where before the movers separated it and boxed it all up. Now I have no idea how to connect it back up. I wish someone would make a video on how to hook these things back up. I have no idea where the manual is to this (I’m sure I still have it, but where is the million dollar question!). Does anyone know?
This system wasn't made of truly separate components. They were all built and wired together internally. It might help to post your set's model number. Beyond that, I'd have to think the various connections on your set were labeled somehow, even if only somewhat cryptically.
Search against the model number, you'll probably find something. Most of those used record changers from one of several well known makers (BSR, Garrard, Voice of Music), with BSR being extremely common.
h mant is Jason I like your m.c.s stereo system I have a mcs. stereo system all machine I have a you tube video on it but down 1980 m.c.s stereo system. .hope you like it talk to you later
It's actually an Arvin set, at least in terms of design. Who did the actual manufacture? Hard to say, but either of those companies is certainly a possibility.
uxwbill I bought one of Panasonic systems 1977, turntable, receiver, cassette deck , speakers. I ended up using the receiver as a preamp to drive a couple of mono heathkit tube amps. I did not care much for those speakers. I built my own using JBL 12" drivers in each cabinet.
you must not have a wife...I don't think most ladies would put up with all that stuff..to us guys that's all really cool stuff but to the women it's mostly junk.
