The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I just purchased an Edison Electric C-2 at an estate sale from the original owner's grandson. The turntable turns and you can hear the record, but does not amplify through the speaker, but the speaker does make loud noise when knobs are turned. That seems to indicate the amplifier is working somewhat, but does not have an audio input signal. I am not even sure if the knobs are in position to be playing the radio or phonograph since I have no user information. The wiring in the back is in poor shape, since the unit seems to be all original with few minor dings in the cabinet. All the tubes are installed and glowing. Can anyone give me any idea of its value or a website to get additional info? Just how rare are these?
Thanks

Kimberly, congratulations on your find.
I cant advise on value, and I doubt anyone else could either, as there are many factors that come into play such as condition, location, & how much internal & external restoration is needed.
What I would advise is that you dont turn your C2 on again until it's been checked out by a radio repairer who works on tube equiptment.
These early radio/amplifiers contain waxed paper covered capasitors which fail with age, and if one fails while powered up, you can damage other internal parts, some of which can be very expensive or almost impossible to replace. The capasitors can also explode, or catch fire, so it's really not safe to power up any old radio that hasn't been checked & had caps & deteriorated wiring etc replaced.
You will also have to have the phonograph motor reconditioned, and the pick-up too. The pick-up on these only phonos used rubber components which tend to harden with age & dont allow the needle free movement to work properly, and this can also cause record wear to occure.

All this internal restoration work can take many hours to do & can be expensive, so if your idea is to turn the unit over for profit, you're probably best off to list it on ebay as is, but if you want to keep it, then have it restored & enjoy using it. I'd shop around for restoration costs, as specialist shop repairers will often quote very different prices, as will collector/hobbyist repairers.

I would classify the C-2 as uncommon, I've restored around 50 of them over the past 10 years.

By my list of serial numbers I've seen, around 1600-1700 were produced. Shane is correct you don't want to operate any vintage electronic piece without having it checked out first.
There are two main weak areas in the C-2, the wirewound resistors in the power supply and bias circuit open due to age - fairly easy fix, interstage transformers open - major problem.

Since you can hear some noise from the speaker, the power supply is working, interstage transformers are probably OK, so you may be ahead.

To make it playable and reliable, you'll need the pickup rebuilt, hopefully the coil is good, all capacitors and wirewound resistors replaced, speaker rebuilt, and the AC wiring replaced.

As far as value goes, do you have the original record albums? Last one I saw at auction (6 mos ago) sold for $1000 unrestored.

What is your serial number? It's located on the rear of the radio chassis on metal plate, should start with JC then 4 digits. It may start with JR if it's an early one, seems the R-1/R-2 chassis were used originally or as replacements.

Chuck

Thanks for the info guys. I located my serial number (JC 4295) and am posting a few pictures of the unit. I also found 6 discs in the albumn in the radio. It contained these discs: Victor 27445 B, Brunswick 4378 and 4418, Edison 14040, Columbia 39710, and Stinson 345-3 B. They are not all in great shape, but at least I have something to display with the radio.

I will not be powering up the unit again unless I have a service take a look at it. I am not sure there is a qualified tech in this area (Dallas, Tx), but the unit looks nice enough to display as it is.

Photos attached.

That’s one fine looking specimen you have their Kimberly.

As for finding someone who can fix “tube technology”, try attending one of your local
Amateur radio club meetings.

There’s bound to be someone there that can help you, or at least send you in the right direction.

Be aware though, you may be asked to bring the Edison to the next meeting so that people can “ohhh”, “ahhhh” and coddle it.

Also ask if they know anyone who has a tube tester/checker.

Here’s a link to the Dallas Amateur Radio Club.
http://www.w5fc.org/

Cheers!

Kimberly, I think you need someone who specializes in vintage radios rather than than a ham radio club. I'm sure there are plenty of vintage radio repair places in Dallas texas

Kimberly wrote:Thanks for the info guys. I located my serial number (JC 4295) and am posting a few pictures of the unit. I also found 6 discs in the albumn in the radio. It contained these discs: Victor 27445 B, Brunswick 4378 and 4418, Edison 14040, Columbia 39710, and Stinson 345-3 B. They are not all in great shape, but at least I have something to display with the radio.

I will not be powering up the unit again unless I have a service take a look at it. I am not sure there is a qualified tech in this area (Dallas, Tx), but the unit looks nice enough to display as it is.

Very nice looking C-2, the only record that has value is the Edison needle cut 14040. These records were announced on Aug 2, 1929 and record production ceased on October 29, 1929. Very short lived and somewhat rare. Don't put records in the albums and never pull the albums out of the cabinet by the pull rings, the albums are worth $$$$, the last loose set I saw sold for $400.

The main reason to own a C-2 is to play Edison Diamond Disc records electrically, they play regular 78's OK, but there are better sounding units out there for that.

Not sure if you are going to find anyone in your area familiar with the set, I restored a couple of them for a collector in Dallas a few years ago.


Chuck

There is a person in Houston that I can recommend to you. Contact Bill Werzner through Vintage Sounds. http://www.vintagesoundshouston.com/repair.asp

Bill has repaired all sorts of antique tube radios of that era for at least 40 years. I have known him for 25+ years and trust his work. As a matter of fact, he taught me quite a lot about repairing radios, but I don't repair for other people. He has also been the president of the Houston Vintage Radio Association ( http://www.hvra.org ) for many years.

Try the The Vintage Radio and Phonograph Society in Dallas. Surely someone there would know of at least one person out of the 5 million souls local to you that could help.