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I picked up this Panatrope yesterday! Pictures to follow, but hold on to your seats The main obstacle in this restoration will definitely be the cabinet. The electronics are clean and the phonograph apparently "played"....whatever that means

I was wondering if anyone has experience with this model? It is a highboy cabinet and I believe it is similar, in design, to the first version of the VE 7-26 (Radiola 18, magnetic pickup, but less advanced speaker than the later versions).

Also, does the radio have to be restored on this model to use the phonograph? Or are they independent? (I ask because my RE-45 had to have both running in order to use the phonograph, which is what I will use it for the most).

-Connor

Here are some preliminary pictures I did a little cleaning of the turntable area

The radio has to work.... mostly. The amplifier section of the radio is what the phonograph plays through, so that has to work. If there's something wrong with the tuner section of the radio then it probably wouldn't matter for the phonograph.

As for the radio, it's essentially an RCA Radiola 60, (by the looks of it anyway), those are not so rare to find.

Bless your heart for rescuing it after it obviously fell prey to the shabby chic-ers. Looks like a nice model.

This is awesome!

Let me know what kind of varnish you refinish with. My early-1920s Brunswick was refinished in POLYURETHANE... so it looks like baseboards from a gas station bathroom. I think I might re-spray it in nitrocellulose varnish but don't know what a period-correct 1920s finish would be like.

And good luck on the Panatrope--a crank motor combined with a tube amp? Best of both worlds!

I have an Automatic Panatrope version which is quite similar. Unfortunately in the past someone went all Lt. Dan on the lower legs. Connor, if I could get a length measurement on the turned part of those legs that would be awesome.

JerryVan wrote:The radio has to work.... mostly. The amplifier section of the radio is what the phonograph plays through, so that has to work. If there's something wrong with the tuner section of the radio then it probably wouldn't matter for the phonograph.

As for the radio, it's essentially an RCA Radiola 60, (by the looks of it anyway), those are not so rare to find.

It is a modified Radiola 18. The modification consists of tap in the 1st audio interstage transformer. This steps up the signal from the pick-up. If this is open it is a hard part to find.

And good luck on the Panatrope--a crank motor combined with a tube amp? Best of both worlds!

Correct me if I'm wrong. That's not a crank motor, that's an electric induction disc motor. I know, I have both the 3 spring motor (but I just sold it) and the induction disc motors and they look identical from the top of the motor board. Marc.

VanEpsFan1914 wrote:This is awesome!

Let me know what kind of varnish you refinish with. My early-1920s Brunswick was refinished in POLYURETHANE... so it looks like baseboards from a gas station bathroom. I think I might re-spray it in nitrocellulose varnish but don't know what a period-correct 1920s finish would be like.

And good luck on the Panatrope--a crank motor combined with a tube amp? Best of both worlds!

Tinted lacquer is what they would have used on it in the 20's. Mohawk probably makes the closest thing to the lacquer that they used these days. They didn't get too carried away with crazy art-finishes on the lower end machines, but it still would have looked nice when it was new. Brunswick did a really nice job finishing their cabinets in those days.

Skihawx wrote:

JerryVan wrote:The radio has to work.... mostly. The amplifier section of the radio is what the phonograph plays through, so that has to work. If there's something wrong with the tuner section of the radio then it probably wouldn't matter for the phonograph.

As for the radio, it's essentially an RCA Radiola 60, (by the looks of it anyway), those are not so rare to find.

It is a modified Radiola 18. The modification consists of tap in the 1st audio interstage transformer. This steps up the signal from the pick-up. If this is open it is a hard part to find.

Skihawx,

Thanks for the correction. After I typed it, I began to wonder if it was really the 60...