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Ein Engländer begegnet einem alten deutschen Radiogramm in Argentinien

I was about half way through my most recent stay in Buenos Aires when my 98-year-old friend turned round and asked me if I would examine his 1966 Grundig radiogram because it wasn't working any more.

It really needs a few component changes and a fresh set of valves and I could take them over with me and finish the job next time I visit.

Unfortunately I have no idea which model it is. If I can find a model number for the tuner/amplifier, I can probably find a circuit diagram and source the correct parts.

So: I'm wondering if anybody in this group might be able to help me?

Here are some pictures I took of the radiogram:

The style of radiogram seems to be the Grundig Majestic

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but all the other photos I've seen of the Majestic have shown a variety of different tuner/amp panels but not the panel in this one!

This is the control panel of the tuner/amp in the radiogram in Argentina:

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The chassis:

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I'd quite like to know more about the daughter board too. I can't read all the valve numbers (I dare not try removing them until I know I can get replacements!) and even if I could read their numbers, there's no guarantee that after fifty years these are the original valves or, if they are replacements, that they are the correct ones. The ticket at the top of this picture -
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- appears in several locations but I don't know if it is a Grundig serial number: according to the owner, he was told at the time of purchase (1966) all the parts were shipped over from Germany and then assembled in Argentina.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated - not least by the 98-year-old owner!

Many thanks,

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell
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All Majestic pictures look different to your model. It looks like a special version of KS 490:

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but unfortunately I can not find a version with your tuner panel. Maybe
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can help.

regards Wolfgang Martens

Reply to
Wolfgang Martens

Have a look here, it looks like your front and chassis pictures:

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regards Wolfgang Martens

Reply to
Wolfgang Martens

The Stereo Decoder looks like this one:

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regards Wolfgang Martens

Reply to
Wolfgang Martens

Different from transistors and ICs there are only very few valves that can be directly replaced by other types. So in almost all cases, if a device is functional, it will still carry the original valve types. On the circuit d iagram (you will find a link in other posts) you can see that the valves us ed are ECC81. These were very common types and should still be available (m aybe at some higher costs than at that era).

The label stapled to the housing probably is NOT a serial number, probably it is a label attached during the production process for some reasons. In s ome cases these labels indicate where or by whom the part was manufactured or checked.

Reply to
w-buechsenschuetz

You'd probably not need a complete set of tubes, but you'd be on the safe side when crossing the sea. First of all I would suspect the left-most tube in

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This tube shows a white head, which may indicate a loss of vacuum. It may be one of the hard to get and expensive ECLL80-ies, which I never wanted to touch - they tried to squeeze too many systems into one bulb and ended up with quite a lot of heat in a narrow space.

The control panel in

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indicates it to be a younger tube radio, with tuning indicator of type EM84 or EM87. Notably is the set of the *eight* white tabs for choice of operation.

A wonderful compilation of Grundigs with pics and schematics is here

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The outer appearance of your set

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does look similar to Grundigs KS490, but the chassis doesn't seem to fit this type.

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from the setting of the control knobs and tabs. The schematic is on
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"Grundig 4097Stereo"

But bear in mind please, that the uncertainty is a) "what did Grundig do with the radio furniture" and b) "what did they market overseas". And there is a whole lot of other possibilities of what can have failed beside tubes.

Regards, H.

Reply to
Heinz Schmitz

Nick Odell schrieb:

[...]
[...]

I agree with Wolfgang Martens: seems to be Stereomeister 15 H. I'll send you a scan of the schematic asap.

Regards

Reinhard

Reply to
Reinhard Zwirner

Am 07.06.2015 um 01:50 schrieb Wolfgang Martens:

The Stereo Decoder looks like Grundig Dekoder VI. Your chassis looks like Stereomeister 15H or 35, but due to

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decoder VI was used in Stereomeister 35, Stereomeister 15H is not mentioned. I can not find a manual for type 35, but both Stereomeister are supposed to use the same tubes. Here the Stereomeister 15H circuit:

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regards Wolfgang Martens

Reply to
Wolfgang Martens

My apologies for not replying sooner. Thank you for this and your other replies: yes, I think you have found it! All the visible parts on the chassis seem to be in the right places. Thank you! And more apologies for misdirecting you with the "Majestic" reference: I blame a mis-labeled photograph found in Google images and my not seeking corroboration!

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks again,

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

That's very useful to know: thank you very much.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

Thanks!

The actual "faults" were open circuits in a modification added about

40 years ago to enable selection of an external turntable / tape recorder and a broken tuning cord. Removing the extra wiring and connecting the original components together again brought it back to life and I can replace the cord on my next visit.

I want to replace some/all of the valves because although the radiogram now functions, the quality of output suggests to me that a fresh set of valves would improve things enormously! And given the age of the owner, it would be nice if he could enjoy his radiogram at its best while he can!

Thanks again,

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

Many thanks: I've replied to your email!

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

Nick Odell schrieb:

[...]

If I were you I'd check C102/C103 (hum), C101 (decoupling preamp-stages), and C105/C107 (bass response), too.

HTH

Reinhard

Reply to
Reinhard Zwirner

Good point. They are cheap enough for me to take a few with me "just in case." I was going to say that there was no obvious sign that the electrolytics were breaking down and make a comment about cheap modern Chinese capacitors v. vintage German ones but I notice some of them are marked "Ind Bras" which is the standard form of "Made in Brazil."

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

X-No-archive: Yes

Am Mittwoch, 10. Juni 2015 02:01:02 UTC+2 schrieb Nick Odell:

Valves (except those for power stages) usually do not "exhaust", i.e. their values do not change significantly over their lifetime. If the valves work, they should work almost correctly.

What is wrong with the output? Is there not sufficient output power, or does it sound bad? In most cases, faults like this are related to components other than the valves.

Reply to
w-buechsenschuetz

As you say, power stages. It's a long time since I owned a valve hi-fi amplifier but have had quite a bit to do with valve guitar amps in the past and in those cases, replacing the output valves has brought a dull, lifeless sound back to normal.

I'm aware that it's not my amplifier and so it's hard to imagine what it sounded like when new. I'm also aware that my ears are not as good as they used to be (playing loud electric guitar too close to those guitar amps I mentioned earlier when i was younger) but the sound I hear lacks the freshness I'd expect.

Nick

Reply to
Nick Odell

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