But what is it!?
Luckily, dear ole dad kept the original manual, and pretty much all labels are present. So I know it's a model # SK-519CW. It was purchased in Spain, and 1966 seems to be about the general time frame. I've not been able to confirm that it's indeed a 1966 model, but I'm going with that for now. "The Golden Voice" is stamped on the speakers, and research turned up that a company called "The Voice of Music" manufactured many components for these old consoles.
So, one of the first questions that presented itself, was "now what!?"
In this case, I felt that answer was self-evident when I plugged it in and got acceptable sound out of the FM tuner. At this time, the console was moved into my basement, where I didn't expect any FM reception to exist! I could not tune it in perfectly, but the sound was acceptable and I listened to the local Pop station as I went about re-organizing my basement.
By "acceptable", I mean it wasn't as good sounding as my new Marantz AVR/Wharfedale Diamond combo, but it was clear-enough - detailed enough. Adjustments to the treble and bass settings inside the console produced some distortion - but this went away once the dial was set. So it seemed present only as you moved the dial. This might indicate some cleaning necessary - dirty contacts?
And this would seem to be a good time to preface this blog, and this whole project, with the admission that I am a complete novice in the realm of electronics. I am a computer programmer who has always loved to take things apart.....
...the putting-back-together-again hasn't always gone so well for me. I remember a doomed pair of ColecoVision "Super Action" controllers that perhaps could have been saved, if they were dismantled by someone with a bit more experience than I at the time. I believe they remained in pieces, in the bottom of a drawer, well after I graduated high school and left that old bedroom behind. I faintly remember giving the "Green Light" for my patient parents to finally ditch them. I was probably in my late 20's. However, I had my fair share of good luck repairing early CD players, until they got all fancy with "multi-disc changers" and all. I could rip apart a car dash board to install new components in the days when the car stereo was 3x the worth of the car itself! I think I put a fancy Alpine in an old Buick Regal Station Wagon.....
...and I was tempted to do that to this old console. I thought, originally, that I would take everything out of it, and fill it with new components - using it only as a fancy cabinet for modern Hi-Fi. I actually have some spare pieces around that I was going to dedicate to this purpose. I saw another blog where the cover was removed from a modern AVR, and then a custom structure was made to support the AVR in a vertical position where it could be mounted under the cover of the console unit! Brilliant! Right? I really like that idea, and variations of it that I think of in the wee hours of the day.
But when I plugged it in, and heard that vintage gear kick out modern pop with "acceptable" sound....
...I couldn't rip it apart.
It was brought back from Spain by my Parents.
It sat in every house I grew up in, and was our main music source until (perhaps) my high school years.
I learned to dance in front of that console. Which makes me suddenly thankful that Consoles cannot talk.
So the decision was made.
I would try to restore this unit.
First Mission: Replace Turntable.
And again, my first impulse was to buy a modern turntable that I could just drop into the console and plug into the on-board phono jacks. However, this was short lived when I measured the available size inside the console. It seems that few turntables will fit inside; the only ones I found were the linear tracking turntables from Technics - like the DL5. These have a unique cover design that doesn't fit well for mounting inside a console unit.
So, to "restore" this will mean to go vintage. And E-Bay came through with an older (1958) Motorola Golden Voice turntable which I purchased and am waiting for as I type this. Processing and shipping - it'll be a few more days before it arrives. This turntable comes with a mono cartridge, but I should be able to get a stereo cartridge for under $30. This is still TBD though, I have an e-mail into the good folks at thevoiceofmusic.com regarding proper cartridge choice. I have a feeling I'll spend a lot of time over there.
So it has begun. For my own sanity, I'll track my investments and although I don't have a clear "budget" for this project there will be a potential breaking point where further ROI is too limited to continue. For now, I'm still good to go:
Console Unit - $0 (thanks Dad!)
Replacement Turntable: $71 (shipped)
~*~
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