Question About Repairing a Wilcox Gay Recordette IJ11

Post: # 19219Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:21 pm

Does anybody know who could fix a Wilcox-Gay Recordette Sr. IJ11?

I asked Gib at West Tech to fix it and he said he would not. Is there anybody else that could help me?

Post: # 19221Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:37 pm

I have a Recordette Sr. III, could I just switch out the parts from that unit into my Recordette Sr. Ij11's parts that don't work? Then get the cutting head restored by someone?

Or could I just get the head restored by someone (does anyone else restore cutting heads?) and frankenstein an external amp, limiter and equalizer before the line into the cutting head or would I just be better off saving the $2000 for a decent Presto or Rek-O-Kut model.

I like the lo-fi sound of the Wilcox-Gays but if Gib at West Tech isn't servicing them anymore then I kind of feel up the creek without a paddle concerning fixing the cutting heads.

Any help will help.

Post: # 19222Unread post **Angus McCarthy** Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:42 pm

What is wrong with it? Is the amplifier and works completely shot? I'm sure Gib might know who to send you towards if you asked directly.

Post: # 19226Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:07 pm

Yeah...Gib has been very nice with my questions! I was just looking around here to see if anyone had recommendations.

The Model IJ11 amp is from what I can tell dead. Doesn't power up at all, there is some funky yellow dust on the interior (the hardware is in good shape and the motor works well) but the Recordette III Sr.'s amp work fine (the radio works and the tubes light up and the interior is beautiful. The dry air of Arizona where I got it from preserved it well.), just needs the cutter head restored.

I was just trying to think of a way to fix the Model IJ11 with parts from the Recordette III Sr. Does anyone think this is possible? Am I going to waste my time researching this?

I'd really like to fix it so I can make records playable on a wider variety of record players basically 45RPM.

Post: # 19240Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:17 am

Got an e-mail from Gib at West Tech this morning and apparently he no longer fixes any of the Wilcox-Gay Recordette models.

Post: # 19245Unread post **tragwag** Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:10 pm

Tripp Nasty wrote:Got an e-mail from Gib at West Tech this morning and apparently he no longer fixes any of the Wilcox-Gay Recordette models.

wow.
thats a shame, though i don't blame him. I sent him a recordette this past summer and he couldn't do much for me. I didn't know what was wrong at first, but I believe it was the cutter head. He send it back saying he didn't know what else to do, but I've had it mostly working since then. That being said, he never told me what was wrong.

As for your issue, I would suggest you ask him to rebuild the cutter head of the model that mostly works. Especially if you like the machine. Someone here (i think Angus?) had a great method for knocking down the speed of the turntable to around 45rpm.
best of luck!

Post: # 19246Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:30 pm

Thanks Tragwag!

I sent Gib an e-mail this morning asking if I could send him the cutter head to re-build.

Last night I looked at the guts of the Recordette III Sr. and the Model IJ11. They both appear to be the same except for hardware so I'm going to switch out their guts and see what happens.

Post: # 19265Unread post **Angus McCarthy** Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:40 am

tragwag wrote:
Tripp Nasty wrote:Got an e-mail from Gib at West Tech this morning and apparently he no longer fixes any of the Wilcox-Gay Recordette models.
wow.
thats a shame, though i don't blame him. I sent him a recordette this past summer and he couldn't do much for me. I didn't know what was wrong at first, but I believe it was the cutter head. He send it back saying he didn't know what else to do, but I've had it mostly working since then. That being said, he never told me what was wrong.

As for your issue, I would suggest you ask him to rebuild the cutter head of the model that mostly works. Especially if you like the machine. Someone here (i think Angus?) had a great method for knocking down the speed of the turntable to around 45rpm.
best of luck!

I don't know if the drive capstan on the Recordette is the same as the Recordio models, but you can remove the cuff to reduce the effective size of the capstan, thereby lowering the RPM on the platter to appx. 38rpm. Then you can slow down your source audio and get decent playback at 45.

Post: # 19280Unread post **tragwag** Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:36 pm

thanks for the clarification angus!
i knew you dealt with something similar

Post: # 19779Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sun May 20, 2012 2:47 pm

I finally determined that this model is just dead and I'll be hocking it on ebay real soon.

I did get my Recordette Sr. 78RPM cutter working, thanks to a repaired cutting head from West Tech and I bought a Meissner that I sent to West Tech for repairs.

I just gotta start trolling through the back forums for info about improving my cutting on the Recordette Sr. (nothing I've tried so far has been playable on any record players. Their tone arms just skate across my grooves.)and learn some more stuff about the Meissner unit.

Thanks everyone for their help!

Post: # 19790Unread post **aussie cutter** Sun May 20, 2012 7:30 pm

Hi there tripp,

If you are having problems with tracking - here's a few things you could check over...

1. groove depth - make sure that the groove is deep enough for the styli to track in (add some more weight or downward pressure to the cutterhead if needed) its not like playback where you only need a couple of grams weight - you need around 100 grams or more...

2. groove width - similar to the above - make sure your groove is deep enough as well as the tip of your cutting needle being wider than the playback stylus so it tracks in the groove not on the groove...

3. Adjustment of tonearm - If you are able to, adjust the height and level up your tonearm with the platter and then set the antiskate to the same level as your tonearm counter weight... this will improve your tonearms performance...

4. Adjustment of sound - Too much high end or low end can cause overcutting and make your tonearm skate about the place - reduce bass or treble

hope this helps

Post: # 19791Unread post **audadvnc** Sun May 20, 2012 7:48 pm

I had a problem with playback needles that wouldn't hold in the grooves - turned out the recorder stylus tip was damaged and needed replacement. With a new stylus it worked great!

Post: # 19794Unread post **Angus McCarthy** Sun May 20, 2012 10:22 pm

You'll also want to make sure there isn't too much vertical rumble going on with the cutterhead. 'Course there's not really any way to attach a dashpot or anything, but making sure the motor is well-isolated helps a lot if the groove ends up bouncing and throwing off the needle!

Also, I had to fine-tune my antiskate to play my picnic discs without the needle skating straight across. It's really rough groove geometry we're talking about here.

Post: # 19930Unread post **tragwag** Wed May 30, 2012 8:52 pm

I've had trouble with tracking as well, I think it's a depth thing. I actually took a look at some grooves I cut under a scope today, and it seems I've found a good width. The lack of depth must be why it's not tracking correctly. Another factor I would assume is standard vs microgroove cutting stylus. I'm not exactly sure how it would affect it, but I'm sure cutting with a standard stylus and playing back with a microgroove needle causes some inconsistencies.

Post: # 20626Unread post **Tripp Nasty** Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:17 pm

Thanks everyone for the great advice. Last night I was able to make my first successful 78RPM records on the back of a Kroger Brand Plastic Picnic Plate.

I was curious.....

Why does putting Turtle Wax on the plastic help so much? I tried tests with and without and definitely "with" sounded better.

Now I just need to replace the microphone with a 1/4 input, time to read more archives!

Post: # 20628Unread post **emorritt** Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:35 pm

Tripp - I've had "dead" W-G units before and the problem was actually very simple. If you can bring the unit up on a Variac and the tube filaments light, chances are the transformer is OK. (Make sure all tubes test good as well.) The electronics in the unit were put together on an assembly line and a lot of components in W-G electronics were simply twisted together and soldered quickly. Problem: cold solder joint that's loosened over the years. To locate the bad connection, I switched the unit to radio mode, turned the volume up a way, then inverted the deck to get to the electronics. BE CAREFUL OF THE HIGH VACUUM TUBE VOLTAGES! Using a wood stick from a swab, I lightly pressed on several of the twisted component leads (and those tethered to a terminal strip) and sure enough, I hit one and suddenly got static from the loudspeaker. Do not attempt to solder when the unit is powered on. An easier way to proceed would be to freshen the solder joints on all components, make sure the selector switch is sprayed out and clean, then power the unit on and try. Even if the filter stack is dead, you should at least get a loud hum from the speaker once all connections are verified as good. If not, try replacing the filter stack as well. If it's still dead, then the transformer is probably shot. However if you get the radio working and at that point if just the record/playback function is not working, then it's the crystal in the cartridge.