1947 Silvertone Wire Recorder/Phono/Radio Part 1

Today, Buzz unveils his new project, something a little bit different, a 1947 Sears Silvertone radio, phonograph, AND wire recorder! It's taken many years for him to finally acquire one,
so watch as he checks this out to see if he can get anything to work at all.
To close out the video, Dickel shows clips from the TV show that inspired this.
Music
The Beau Hunks - The Beau Hunks Play the Original Little Rascals Music - (1995)
Victor Silvester - Any Time At All - (1946)

[HyyskanPolttaja]

That record player motor makes one heck of a a racket. Sounds like Harley Davidson idling. Superman episode was hilarious.
😁

[truckmoon]

Holy tape recorder Batman. I was born 9 days after the Superman episode aired. I have all the faith in you to restore
this machine to it's former glory. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Give my regards to Dickle. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[theoldbigmoose]

My Dad got a wire recorder when I was a wee little boy over 60 years ago! Thanks for the memories. It was fascinating to hear my own voice. The joys of childhood! 🙂

Dickle was on fire today! Great episode!

[pfitz]

I just stumbled over your channel.. You are so lucky. I've wanted an wire recorder since I was a kid monkeying around with vacuum tube equipment in the 60's!!

[GaRbAllZ]

WoW... The way the wire is moved up and down on the spool while playing; I can see Buzz's new coil winder. :)

[LarryDeSilva]

wow that is a unique radio Buzz a wire recorder radio and phonograph all in one. I have an old wire recorder that my Father had and it still works fine. I know you will restore this one to its former glory. Thanks for the video.

[Watchyn_Yarwood]

Wow! I was born in 1945 and grew up totally fascinated by radios. I had never heard of a wire recorder before. Of course I grew up in a rural area of the south and maybe not exposed to a lot of technology. I was and still am an avid reader and I can't believe I have lived 79 years and this is the first I've heard of this thing! Leave it to old Buzz to keep us interested and intrigued! Thanks Buzz!

[td]

Cool deal, Buzz!I remember an uncle had a wire recorder but, never heard much about it! Always thought they were kinda "neat!"

[jeffreyhickman]

Ya need an idler wheel. That's why this is so loud. I don't know much about wire recorders, but I've seen them in videos 😳. Techmoan did one. I guess the sound 🤷 goes through the amplifier, and it's reproduced by the wire. To me, wire recorders came out before reel to reel tape recorders. This looks like a one of a kind piece of equipment. A record player and a wire recorder. It'll be worth a few beers 🍻 while restoring it. 🍻 🍻 🍻. Your friend, Jeff!!

[kerryg]

In the late 60's, I saw my uncle using a wire recorder to record himself singing and playing the guitar. I was only used to tape recorders, so I was fascinated by the thing. Others have commented on the rumble problem, but I think the rubber wheel may have gone hard or brittle. You mentioned replacing it. That is a common failure on old turntables as you well know. Looking forward to the next part of this adventure.

[samiam]

And now for something completely different.
This will be a new challenge, and great new series. I hope you have success, at least I know it will be entertaining and educational. Thanks BUZZ!
(PS: I agree with another commenter on the initial use, the turntable sounds like a Harley-Davidson motorcycle idling.)

[josephmagedanz]

Oh, goodie! I've got a very similar Silvertone unit in the queue for restoration. I'll let you figure out all the hard bits first...looking forward to the next installment!

[docfoot]

An exciting project Buzz, i read about the silver wire recorder when i was a kid, never seen one in person only in a photo, Make sure Dickel doesn't sell the silver .Look forward to next episode of Buzz will Fix. Cheers.

[greggsvintageworkshop]

What a VERY UNIQUE and interesting piece of history Buzz! I had never even heard of a wire recorder before, yet here it is! Very nice job getting the mechanism somewhat sorted out. Very nice that overall, it works. By the time you're through I'm sure it will play phonograph, wire and radio all well, and look fantastic too!

[davidfarrell]

hi buzz the 34 minutes of this video went by so quickly i was enjoying it so much i love watching the audio heads bobbing up and down never seen that before cant wait for part two thanks buzz.

[frankbagbey]

My uncle had a similar wire recorder setup back in the middle 50s, but I seem to remember larger spools for the wire! Man, that Superman recording was pretty sharp video! What a repair challenge for Buzz!

[richardbrobeck]

Nice Find buzz I also have Wire recorder mine is Webster anyway I would love to find a nice all in one like that being all original is great . I hate fixing other people messes !

[DavidTipton]

Hi Buzz, I watched half of this video when it came out but forgot to finish it 🤦‍♂ I see part two is out now, I hope you figured out why the recorder doesn't work. We were trying to watch some Superman episodes just the other day. I think we had to sign up for yet another streaming service to watch it 🙄 I'll load up part 2 now 👍😊

[lyntonprescott]

Blimey Buzz you certainly take some difficult projects on! Never seen anything like this before. All I can do is wish you the best of luck and look forward to forthcoming videos.
Good luck young man.
Lynton G4XCQ
Excellent Superman film. First time I have seen it.
Keep up the good work.

[dsmaxrocks]

Just stumbled across your channel.
Subbed instantly.
Whenever I work on old electronics the 1st thing I usually do is test all the caps and most often replace them.
I would've checked all the resistors and diodes too before the play/record head.
(I saw in part 2 you found out the one resistor was the culprit and not the head.)