An incredible player that is in very good, if not excellent condition. Like most units of this type the school that owned this player scribed its identification on the top of the deck. The amplifier has been rebuilt and is clear and very loud. The rubber turntable drive tire has been reconditioned and is in excellent shape. Plays each individual speed accurately. Has a modern ceramic cartridge with diamond needle as a replacement to the original. Also comes with an extra needle and an extra set of NOS (new old stock) replacement vacuum tubes. Perfect for years of playing "Musical Chairs".
Selector for all four speeds plus neutral. The platter has a soft plastic mat and has been glued down and only required a little cleaning.
Toward the back end of the tonearm is a mechanical lever that pauses record play. It was broken, but has been replaced. The tall clear cone on the rear of the deck is a light that can be seen when the player is on and when the lid is closed.
Original operating instructions. Has a small tear that can be repaired and will be at a later date.
Notice the light when the player is on. The turntable itself doesn't move until the tonearm is in record playing position and stops at the end of the record. The tonearm also has a lock down screw. The texture and feel of the case is a lot like leather, but it is not.
There are a couple old stains that will be challenging to remove. There are no breaks or tears on the case anywhere.
Front grill needs a little touchup.
The logo is in excellent condition.
Most of the metal pieces have a little corrosion. This will be fixed at a later date.
The handle is in excellent shape. There is a white label stuck to the case and will require some carefull consideration when attempting to remove.
The cord looks original and is about 8 feet long. It is in excellent shape.
The key to the floating suspension is the four spring loaded cones seen here. The bottom plate needed to be repainted since corrosion was evident. This plate is used for vacuum tube heat exhaust.
Case internal reveals a large AlNiCo speaker. The magnet may look small but is more efficient than a moderm ceramic one of a larger size. This speaker is in very good shape and replacing it would be counter-productive. There is plenty of room in the case to replace the original speaker with a larger modern one. Will it sound any better? Maybe or maybe not.
Bottom of the deck reveals the mechanics and three tube amplifier. Tubes are as follows : (right) 6AV6 Diode, Dual - Triode $6, (middle) 6BQ5 power tube (pentode?) $10, also known as EL84 (Europian), and (left) 6CA4 rectifier $12, JJ EZ81. Prices are current as of July 2017. The big aluminum cylinder is a can capacitor. They typically do not get replaced unless they actually fail. Will probably blow the fuse if it does fail. Same goes for the speaker transformer to the left of the power cord.
The bottom of the tube amplifier shows that there is not much to it. The resistors and disc capacitors have been replaced with new ones.
The original phono cartridge has been replaced with a very popular modern ceramic one. It sounds very good if not better than the original. Without the photograph would have no idea that the cartridge is dusty. Easy fix with small artist brush and a can of compressed air.
The original schematic located inside the case. It is in O.K. shape but time will deteriorate it on its own.
This is a digital copy of the original schematic that has been cleaned up quite a bit. Took more than an hours worth of work and twenty years from now there will be no regrets.
Audiotronics Model 300C Classroom Player, Circa 1960
A collection of images from a nearly restored classroom record player. Plays 78, 45, 33 1/3 and 16 2/3 speed records. Has a three vacuum tube amplifier, pause control, headphone jack, auxillary input jack, bass/treble controls, built in 45 adapter, floating suspension and complete self contained case with handle. This is a lot of features and makes this particular model stand out in the crowd of vintage classroom players.
The camera flash makes the unit look more dusty or dirty than it really is. You can zoom in on the images if you mouse over them. During autoplay zoom is disabled.
Valued in the range of $125 - $175.
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