He has experience with all the different series, as well as associated machines such as the Vortexion.
I have X what's it worth?
Generally not a lot, something is only worth what someone else will pay for it!
Lately the idea seems to have got around that if something uses valves it must be old and rare and therefore worth a lot of money. In the case of tape recorders 15 years ago Revox G36's advertised prices hit as high as £1000, whether anyone ever actually paid this much is doubtful. These days a good example can be had for less than £200. The G36 is one of the few tape recorders from the classic era whose price still gets into 3 figures, the more mundane machines from Philips, Grundig etc are worth about £10 each. Mono Ferrographs generally fetch about £30. Note that new reel-to-reel tape is now extremely difficult to obtain, this and the falling price of digtal hardware seems to have finally put the nail in the coffin of the reel-to-reel tape recorder as a working tool.
In the radio field the prices paid for Round Ecko's have helped push up peoples' expectations of the value of other models in general pre-war radios are worth more than their postwar cousins, but the later are easier to come by and the later models even include FM which makes them more practical for today's stations. Expect to pay over £50 for anything pre-war moving up to several hundred for 20's valve sets, round Ecko's and Philco peoples sets.
Hammond B3s can change hands for a lot of money, but the T500 is probably worth upto about £200 these days depending on condition, the performance of modern clones has eaten into its worth. Although the B3 has the reputation the C3 is the same animal in a different case and the A100 is the self-contained version often making these better buys.
Test equipment doesn't have much of a collector following, so most of it is surprisingly reasonable. A typical Heathkit box is about £10 - £20, valve testers about £35 and up depending on model. (since this was written valve tester prices seem to be climbing, an AVO CT160 can fetch several hundred).
To get some idea on prices look up similar items on Ebay etc.
Where's the best place to sell the X I've inherited?
Well since you're reading this on the internet how about ebay or similar? Magazines such as Loot can be sucessful as they are checked by collectors. Finally there are the specialist rallies such as those organised by the Dunstable Downs Radio Club, or the NVCF (National Vintage Communications Fair) held yearly by the BVWS. The BVWS also organises swap-meets, but these are for members only.
http://www.ddrcbootsale.freeserve.co.uk/
I have some reel-to-reel tapes I wish to transfer to CD does anyone offer this service?
and http://www.soundmoves.org.uk
My Hammond T-5xx has the following fault.......
The T-500 uses a lot of push-on connectors, after 30 odd years the contacts
are tarnishing badly cleaning them up with some contact cleaner can work
wonders. On my unit the rythym unit had to be disassembled to clean its
internal edge connectors to clear an annoying variation in cymbal volume.
I have also recently had to strip and clean the scanner to remove crackling
sounds from the vibrato.
What does the switch at the side of the swell pedal on the T-500 do?
It resets the drum machine back to the start of its pattern.
Where can I buy Lamps for my projector / who deals in cine equipment?
Try Buckingham film services (tel 01280 816758) or Lee's Cameras (tel 020 7831 6060).
Where can I buy Bell & Howell worm gears?
Try Sound and Screen Service on 0208 777 6965 or Classic Home Cinema
on 01472 603089.
Where can I get more information on Ferrograph?
This always seems to be the machine / firm that people want to know
about, go to George West's excellent site from my link page.
Who can repair my Ferrograph?
Contact
He has experience with all the different series, as well as associated
machines such as the Vortexion.
Where can I get spare belts for my machine?
People who have written to me telling me how they fixed their Philips machines have normally been lucky and adapted a drive belt or O ring from something else to fit. Otherwise try the following links:
See http://www.elektro-ersatzteile.org/
or http://people.freenet.de/rome.brackel/tube.htm
or
Colin Braddock
The Tape Centre
266, Waterloo Road
Blackpool
FY4 3AF
Phone: 01253 345049
.
Email: colinbraddock@aol.com
Where can I buy tape heads?
The heads I used in my Brenell came from Phi
Remember that record heads need to be carefully matched to their amplifiers/bias
oscillators. Playback is less critical.
