They Found A Broken Stereo Console On Trash Day...Let's Fix It!!

This console is in remarkably good condition! It even came with the original owner's manual which I show you in this video. However, when I plugged it in an took a listen, it was obvious that things weren't right. In this video I diagnose and repair this iconic piece of...furniture? And bring it back to its former glory!

[Sluggo]

Magnavox console...Father-in-law was the department manager of the cabinet building design and build..Bueter Road Fort Wayne IN. worked there 30 years

[Earcandy]

I have worked on so many Magnavox consoles. This one looks like a 1967 model. Magnavox did indeed place resistors on their aux inputs. Another trick up their sleeve sometimes was to place a blend resistor to reduce stereo separation of the phono input. This masked the noise on some records. I always removed that blend resistor to open up the soundstage.

[kentsnyder]

the fact that it has the manual with it too!?!? Amazing.

[agentofficerthomasa.porter]

Just found you Youtube Channel. It is very wonderful to see a young man today with Electronic Discoveries & Repairs Restoring. When I was 11 going on 12 I got my Dream Job after school. From 3 to 5 p.m. I worked at Lyle's Zenith TV📺&📻Sales & Repair Shop. I had been taking apart Radio's & TV's since I was 6 going on 7 years old & put'n them back together again. I was 6' tall & Lyle needed to have a young man help him in Deliveries & Pick-Up repairs if not able to repair at the home, TV's & Radio's. Always carried in the Tube Box Case & Tube Tester Case & Scope that was a Circle Tube Light Up Screen used for Testing TV Sets. House Calls were $2.50 for B/W TV's & $2.00 for Radio's. Color TV's were $3.50 & Stereo Record Players & Radio Combo's were $3, 00 dollars. When the TV/RADIO/Record Players came out omg Heavy As Ever, Lyle tried to do everything he could so we would not have to bring into the Shop. Many times was a Tube needing replaced. Selling the newest Zenith B/W & Color TV's & Radio's was always great. He kept models on Display but someone wanted to buy one it was sold. He had a Color Catalog a customer could look through. Lyle & his Wife were from Ohio & he worked for GM & turned his Garage into a TV & Radio Repair Shop he did on Weekends & Nights. Lyle retired from GM & they moved to Tavares, Florida & set up Store & Shop. The back room was every TV📺& Radio📻Lyle ever took in on Trade-In's on New Sales. It was like going through a Museum of every kind of Radio📻& TV📺ever made. I was in Toy Land for a kid would loved electronics. I worked there from 3 to 5p.m. weekdays & on Saturdays 1/2 Days. Lyle taught me everything about TV's & Radio's. He would take in any TV📺or Radio📻that needed repair. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. I would walk around the corner to the Local Drug Store & was a Soda Jerk & helped Doc in the Pharmacy count Pills💊for Prescription Orders. Did that 5 days a week & 1/2 days on Saturdays. Nothing was open on Sunday due to Blue Laws. Did both those jobs until I was 17 years old. Some years later Enlisted into the U.S.A.F. during Viet Nam & went into Missile 🚀Electronic Specialist. My number was low but I wanted to serve my Country. I gave Lyle so much credit for all the years of Mentoring me God Bless him. Lyle passed years later & the Shop was torn down by developers. Like most of Florida what was in no more around. It was a great place to grow up in the 60's & mid 70's but would never want to go back or live there again. Figure the whole state will be under water one day & the storms will take away a good chuck of Homes & Businesses before it becomes once was a state.

[edyoung]

Awesome content with a Bonus! A beautiful cat! I love these old console furniture radios!! Great

[bigd]

One mans trash is another mans treasure. Super cool and nice job.

[thomashubbard]

Wow, even the stereo indicator and dial lamps were still working! Always good to have a kitty supervisor.

[balok]

A coworker picked up a console stereo / TV on his way to work. It sat in his truck all day. That night, he took it into his basement lab and fired it up. Like yours, the radio worked. When he fired up the TV, he heard a muffled snap, and saw a slight wisp of smoke floating up from the back. No problem, we're all EEs here, he'll fix it. When he removed the back, dozens of cockroaches poured out of the Trojan Horse, scattering all throughout his house. Well, several months and hundreds of dollars in exterminator fees later, he had a mostly clean house, a working console, and respect for the lone cockroach that sacrificed itself by throwing itself across the power supply, so that it's fellow bugs could make their escape from the TV prison.

[mpwiedemann]

I was able to get a huge 6 1/2 foot long RCA console free about 7 years ago. It's an absolute beast in the tone department and has the tape-in/aux-in port. I've got a bluetooth receiver hooked up to it. Deep, rich sound and the thing must weigh over 300 pounds. It's the one piece of furniture I'd muscle out the door if my house ever caught fire. I love that thing.

[daviddisandro]

my mother had almost exact same thing. always good for her many christmas records. i believe it was 1968

[reinkansman]

I am glad you got to this unit, it looked like an interesting project. You assistant Sadie was a bonus.

[kmath]

I remember when these were very popular. The fact that the cabinet is still in good shape is a plus, along with having the AUX inputs. 
When I was a teen, component systems started to take over, and console units lost their popularity. Thank you for saving this nice piece of history from the landfill.

[JohnnyJTav]

Same exact one my Mother had bought back early 60's. The Good Old Days.

[rwj]

My grandparents had one of these in their house. The outside cabinet was slightly fancier, but it was a Magnavox just like the one that you have here. The tuner and record player was exactly the same as this one. I have fond memories of my little cousin and I hooking up my first portable CD player to this system through the aux jack. When we were ever home alone, we would have this system turned up all the way to the max, playing hip hop music through it and must say that it got pretty loud with very punchy bass, literally shaking the pictures on the wall...lol. The neighbors weren't very happy about that tho 🤣🤣🤣 Man those were the good ole days of my childhood. 🤗

[doorguru]

Around 1967, my parents had a Magnavox much like this, but it also had a color TV in the center. One of the first color TV's on the block. If you weren't careful and left a vinyl record on top of the sliding cover, it would land on top of the CRT. I found my sisters missing Lesley Gore album in there. It was melted/warped from the heat. All the neighborhood kids came over to watch Batman in color. 🤗

[shadowghst]

Dude, I had fixed so many of those things in the past! Some will rock the house right off the foundation! Throw some old 78’s on it.. I love big bands!!

[pioneermax]

Hard to believe people throw away nice stuff!!you do nice work and pleasent to listen to you on your repairs !!

[loktaiextatus]

I have THIS EXACT unit. my mother (rest in peace) bought it brand new when she was young, one of the first "new" things she bought herself. The AUX is amazingly useful... been enjoying that for many years.

[JG-wurx]

Awesome high fidelity sound!

My grandmother had one of these in her house. As a young child, the auto arm on the record player scared the crap out of me when in use!

[tomwesley]

Wow, your knowledge and interest in this revival is admirable. You proved that through a small effort, this unit is still useful and can still be enjoyed.