Can anyone identify this record player please?

[richieyork]

Hi all

I've been given this record player. Very clean and tidy. Rexine covered two tone - grey lid and dark blue base.

The only branding on it on the front says SOLID STATE. At the rear is a serial number and stating British Made. See the attached pics.

Turntable is BSR and its got a BSR crystal cartridge (in working order). Very decent volume though the stylus will need replacing.

OK - the volume control is shot - poor tracking and intermittent as you turn it round. Tone control not much better. But....I can't seem to find a way into it. The whole cabinet is covered with rexine - no screw holes on the motor board, no rear panel, nothing underneath. The only way I 'think' I can find a way in is behind the slotted front fascia but that seems to be held down my adhesive. I can see two large wood screws on each side underneath the fascia trim.

Would I be right in thinking that's likely the only way in to get the amp out If so i'll have to be uber careful.....

Cheers
Rich

[Edward Huggins]

It's a Fidelity,very similar to the transistorised version of the HF35. You must pull off the 2 knobs with a cloth wrapped behind them, then ease off the plastic grille which is held on by double-sided tape, then remove the 2 screws at end end - the baffle board will all pull forward with the amp and 5" speaker in situ. The amp should be just one transistor and one chip. To remove the BSR autchanger, put your hand inside and release the spring clips on the 2 transit screws by pushing them to vertical and just lift the deck plate out.

[ms660]

There's some Google images on the web for a solid state Fidelity HF35 which looks similar.

Lawrence.

[sp10mk11]

The layout of the controls make me think of Fidelity
Gary

[nicam49]

Does the deck lift out?
It's in lovely condition, btw.
Nick

[Audio1950]

It is a Fidelity. You have to pull the control knobs off, and carefully prise the front grille off, and then undo the wood screws underneath.

It's unlikely that the original adhesive will be re-usable, so clean it off, and refix the grille with some new double-sided tape.

Barry

[crackle]

Yes, the deck lifts off, see post #2
Once the front has been removed you have to squeeze your hand in under the deck to turn the spring clips to vertical, I seem to remember you need slim hands..

Mike

[Tom_I]

It's fairly clear that this is a Fidelity HF35, but I think it may have been supplied to a retailer or catalogue company to be sold under a different brand name.

I have seen record players of this design badged as "Westminster" (Currys brand name) and "Defiant" (Co-op). No doubt there were others.

[Records]

When I saw that deck made me think of Fidelity and this model that I used to own myself. For what they are they had decent sound quality.

[AndiiT]

Hi, I would agree that this is the solid state version of the fidelity HF35 and also with what Tom says about it most likely being supplied by a third party supplier such as the Co-op or a mail order catalogue supplier - Spinney was a common 'badge name" used by the Littewoods group.

To be honest I think that the Co-op might have supplied the HF35 model in Orange and not the more commonly seen Blue or Red cabinets.

I also believe that there may be two different versions of the amplifier, one using a TBA820 and the other using an SN76013ND IC, the latter IC had known problems of premature failure due to it being run very close to its maximum operating voltage in these units; I certainly experienced problems in a Fidelity UA4 unit, which uses the same IC, due to supply issues.

Regards

Andrew

[reeltoreelrob]

Hi,

I have one of these in orange and the front states Westminster, no makers name but presume its Fidelity.

[Edward Huggins]

It's now two days on, so let's hope the OP has read this by now and has been able to get access....

[richieyork]

Hi again

Many thanks to all for the help so far. What a fantastic resource this site is!!

I took some time away from this as other work stuff distracted me so apologies for lack of response but i'm now back on the case. OK, so thanks to the help on here I've now carefully removed the trim and have the amp out to work on. This one uses discrete transistors rather than an IC - probably all the better for that. The main issue is that the ON/OFF/volume control is shot. The wiper is losing contact with the track - i tried contact cleaner to no avail so guess there's a mechanical fault. Please see the attached picture. The three pot connections are soldered direct to the board. The control is attached (should I say 'held in place') by a pair of bent & twisted lugs rather than the usual arrangement of a nut on the shaft.

Can anyone suggest where I might find a replacement
Kind regards
Rich

[Edward Huggins]

If you have the accurate resistor value of the pot and whether log or lin (most liable to be log) you can get from RS, Maplins or Cricklewood.

[tracypaper]

The pot is a sod to get out, I have to drill a pot rivet out to give some slack so that the PCB does not snap when having to slightly bend it, once out I strip down and clean all internal parts, sometimes just spraying is not enough as the copper contacts are black.
Gaz.

[vidjoman]

Looks like the twisted lug is the way they have mounted the PCB to the metal chassis. Just untwist the lugs and the PCB should be free. Shouldn't need to bend it - I'm sure they didn't when they assembled it.