Silvertone 5232 Reel to Reel

[boots]

Does anybody know what the tube complement is for the Silvertone 5232 reel to reel? I saw one in an antique shop and wondered if it might have any goodies in it? I could see a 6X4 rectifier, but couldn't see the other tubes through the grille. One looked like an octal tube, maybe a 6V6? I would see about taking it off their hands if I thought I could score a decent tube out of the deal!

[Enzo]

I know Sears made just about everything at one point or another, but I never saw a reel to reel player. it is an attractive thing though, I could see a little amp in that cab.

Tubes? Well you saw a rectifier, so it has that. Does it have speakers or a speaker out? That would imply a power tube of some sort. I am guessing this is before stereo, or there would be two of them. If I had to guess, 6AQ5, 6BQ5 or some other small power tube. And that implies a small OT to go along. Make yourself a little Champ or something. Generally I would not expect much power out of a tape deck.

The record/playback circuits are audio, so there will be conventional audio tubes. Things like 12AX7 are possible, but so are single triodes like 6AV6. And something like a 6AU6 is possible. And a recorder needs a high frequency bias oscillator for the tape. That could be something common like a 6C4 or maybe some pentode, or it could be something we don;t generally see. The record and playback amps are probably the same circuit just switched back and forth.

And the PT would be enough to power up what it uses, so within the limits of the power amp, look at how many tubes it uses and you get an idea how much current there is.


No much on specifics, but that is how I would be thinking about it if I couldn;t look inside.

[boots]

Thanks Enzo, maybe I better just go haggle with the people. I saw it in an "Antique" shop downtown, so they are looking for more money than a "Junk" shop would be. If I can talk them down a bit it might be worth it. I could see one nice octal type tube in there - it might be a 6V6. There was also at least one other small tube, probably a 9-pin. I have been pretty lucky buying stuff like that and ending up with some good old tubes, but it would be a bummer to spend money for something I wouldn't end up using. Oh well, I guess that's the thrill of the hunt! I have amassed a pretty good collection of sweet sounding US made 6V6's this way, but I need to beef up my collection of 6BQ6's! Sometimes you can get a sweet tube for free, then sometimes you end up paying 20 bucks and salvaging just one good one. This is a sick hobby I am addicted to!

[Enzo]

Screw the tubes, I love the look of the cabinet, is yours in good shape? Ought to get an interesting honk tone if you built a small amp in it. And little transformers too.

[boots]

Well, I picked it up for a few bucks today. It has a 6EU7 preamp and 6EM7 output, in addition to the 6X4 rectifier. The transformers are tiny. I am thinking about just gutting it and rebuilding it using a 6V6 and 12AX7, but I'll have to check to see if the PT can handle the current draw. It actually works, albeit with a fair hum. Sounds very lackluster so far.

[imaradiostar]

The 6em7 is a relatively power hungry little tube- .9 amps at 6.3 volts. You could easily drop a 6aq5, 6v6 or EL84/6bq5 in its place. You'll have to make your own board or very creatively modify the existing one. It'll be easier to make your own or just build on terminal strips.

You may find it makes for an entertaining little amp, especially if the speaker sounds cool. Weber also makes some decent tiny speakers so it would be possible to put something nicer in the neat little cabinet.

jamie

[boots]

Thanks for the input Jamie. I'm thinking about just keeping the PCB to support the sockets, and re-wiring for AX7/6V6 using point to point. There are a lot of extraneous components related to the tape deck that could just go away. The little speaker sounds terrible - I am thinking of something like a Weber 6 or 8 inch. I am concerned because the PT is so physically small, but maybe it will be all right after all. This amp will be for a friend for his home made cigar box guitars! Seems like a good fit.

[imaradiostar]

Well- worst case is it'll burn up a transformer! Not such a big deal really.

I recently took apart my Aunt's old record player/radio that she was throwing away. It was a children's toy, really. The output transformer was smaller than a Fender reverb transformer. One day I'll probably use it as a reverb driver.

With an efficient speaker you'd be surprised how loud a 1-3 watt tube amp can be!

I took apart a stereo reel-to-reel years ago. I'm considering a "stereo vibro champ" but haven't gotten around to it.

jamie

[boots]

Well, I finally finished re-building the thing. It barely resembles the original now. It has become a tweed Champ in a different package. It sounds wonderful! Lots of sag (too much really) from the 6X4. I still need to finish it cosmetically. I will post photos later. In retrospect, I don't know if it was worth the trouble to almost completely gut the original amp and try to fit something totally different in the chassis. The layout probably suffered as a result. But it really does sound great!

[boots]

I posted before and after photos in a new thread on the Mods & Tweeks page. It's kinda ugly, but it sounds absolutely fine and dandy! The 6X4 and the small OT make for a real dirty, early breakup (that turns me on!). This amp would be at home with a lazy hound dog and a jug on the back porch. This was a cheap and dirty project for a very deserving friend who builds his own cigar-box guitars. He is a good artist too, and I think he will be able to pretty this little amp up so it looks pretty cool. I might have a hard time giving it up! Forgive me for the Pergo on the front panel....