My parents had a console like that. Turntable, am/fm, reel2reel tape circa 1963-ish. Was a wedding gift to my parents if i remember (still married after 60Y). It could have been one of the first generation of fully solid state units of its type. No tubes/valves.
Round about 1984 I was 11. My father bought a brand new stereo and I got the old one for my bedroom, a giant console unit much like what you've got here. I haven't thought about that thing in a long time, thanks for the memories!
Wow what a Craftsman! Love the fact you have parted out other units for rebuilds! Dig it the most! I had a chance to purchase a unit at a Goodwill passed on it! But my parents had a Zenith Console Am/Fm Radio and Turntable, what I liked was their rich earm sound they produced! Really like your video! Well done!
great restore video Steve!! i always loved these old school consoles and hell, everyone and their sister had one of these in the house back in the day ,and, you can still run across these somewhat often as no on really wants or cares about them sadly anymore, BUT, as you do, they make for a really great project!! one of these days i'm gonna pick one of these up and re-do it but what i've always wanted to do is up-date the speakers with nice modern drivers, etc., etc., maybe some customization might have to be done but the finished result would be awesome. the same for the turntable as well and i would think that an up-graded turntable system could be implemented as well either directly or indirectly semi-independent of the entire internals of the console. it would be a great project if i can ever dedicate the time to do it-lolol, i need another piece of hi-fi gear like i need a hole in the head, BUT, it's a healthy addiction.. keep it up brother!!!
Thanks for helping restore these old beutiful pieces of furniture that are becoming popular again. I scored for free this week a 64 magnavox. Needs some tlc but looks to be cared for. Overall nice condition. Faceplate for the radio is the only piece with wear on it.
Thank you for all these informative and educational videos. I’m here trying to educate myself with these rebuild and repair clips in an attempt to resuscitate an old Stereophonics. We bought it an an estate sale for 25 dollars a while back. It’s been used but only as a decorative furniture in our house. Finally got to messing around with it recently and discovered so many “intimidating” features in its insides. I was able to power it up nonetheless so that’s a start. I have researched everywhere I can online in trying to find a similar console that has been revived but sadly not a single thing. Please help, I know you’re busy, sir, but pls point me at a direction, when able. Cheers.
Re-watching this after picking up a C818g. I don't have any idea what the "g" means either, but I'm also clueless about what the numbering. I'd love to learn more about that if you know. But I did just learn something important from your video, which is the bit about the console being powered up via the changer's selector. My unit was powered up with the power switch off, and I thought that meant the switch was faulty. Now I know that's a design feature. Thanks!
My parents owned a 1970 GE console. Looks almost the same, the long control panel, turntable nearly iddnticle, the double hinged lid and it had the portaplay speaker. However, it was prone to interference. They donated it sometime in the 90's.
Thanks for taking the time in making this video for us! I'm guessing you prefer to work on the tube amp because those solid state systems look like a nightmare.
Back when brand names meant something and were built by the actual company, not like today where some POS Chinese manufacturer bought the Zenith and RCA name to place on their inferior products
Hey Steve! The video has really helped me take apart and learn more about my model C745H. I know it may be a long shot but I was wondering if you happened to have an image or information on how the radio turn dial adjustment string was ran. Mine is currently broken and I want to ensure I route it properly. Thank you again for the informational video!
I have a separate question. I read that (most or maybe all) consoles have some type of bass reduction in their design so as to not cause issues with the turntable, either due to some type of feedback or causing the record to skip. Is this true?
@@johnnytacokleinschmidt515 I asked because I heard this from someplace. I have a complete functioning Fisher console and a Fisher console amp that was a pull but they are the same model amps and the pulled amp has way more bass than the one still inside its console. The pulled one was set up to be a stand alone amp without the original preamp section so I am thinking that there must be a bass limiter someplace in the preamp section. But I can me totally wrong too. I'm just curious. Then again it could be the sensitivity of the speakers in the console.
Is a project like this attainable for someone with no background knowledge of the electrical guts in this thing? If not, do you have a contact I could reach you at to restore my c522g, I see you have one in your shop currently. Thanks!
