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Old 26th Jan 2017, 2:06 am   #1
suebutcher
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Default Info on Pye Black Box G63

I'm after the overall size (minus legs) and weight of the Pye Stereo Black Box G63. I'm looking for one, and since it will probably have to come from the UK I need to tell the courier what to expect.
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 11:32 am   #2
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

By googling this model, you will be able to work out the size if you can't actually find them. As a guide, the turntable diameter is 10", speakers are 8". Weight is in the region of 25kgs.
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Old 26th Jan 2017, 4:48 pm   #3
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Measurements (without legs) are:

135 cm long, x 53cm wide x 27cm high. Can't help with exact weight, sorry.
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Old 5th Feb 2017, 10:57 am   #4
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Thanks. I've also found a scan of an advert, which states dimensions with legs as 24.5" high, 53" long, and 21" wide. Which means the legs are about 13.5" long, the standard sort of size for a gram. I thought it would be around 25kg, Edward. The mono Black Box is 15kg, and the G63's got slightly more electrics but over twice as much wood.
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Old 13th Feb 2017, 1:40 pm   #5
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Another question, what size thread do the leg fixing screws have? I've now bought a legless G63, and it would be good to have a set of legs ready when it arrives.
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Old 14th Feb 2017, 4:22 am   #6
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Hi Sue, it could be one of several threads.
Not that likely to be metric, but could be 0BA, or 1/4" Whit or 5/16 Whit.
Modern legs are often M6 so you may be able to tap the plates out to that size.
Your local used tool enporiuum had a good range of taps and dies in those sizes when I last visited.

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Old 14th Feb 2017, 2:25 pm   #7
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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Originally Posted by suebutcher View Post
I've now bought a legless G63.........
When it arrives, hopefully sobered up, send us a picture.

M6 male threads can generally be graunched into 0BA or 1/4 Whit tapped holes without too much drama.
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 2:23 am   #8
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Will do! This is the biggy for me, having decided to stick to audio and radio gear that has a connection with my family, and clear out most of the rest. I like fixing things, but I haven't got room to keep everything I fix.

I'm about to take a punt on some second-hand legs that look right. I also want to put a Garrard AT6 Mark 1 in, but these mostly come up for sale in the 110 volt only version. Would a 220 volt motor from an AT60 Mk2 be a straight swap? (The AT60 itself won't fit, it doesn't have through-hole spring mounts.)
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 10:18 am   #9
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Hi Sue, there are plenty of cheap auto transformers at about 10W rating about. They are also physically small.

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Old 15th Feb 2017, 11:17 am   #10
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Ah, the lovely G63. Everything is in that amplifier: A pre-amp, UL output and "Loudness". The only possible downside was that it was designed just a few months prior to the launch of the ECL86 (May 1962). The early batches used the Garrard RC120 Mark 11 and then changed to the AT6. Nothing wrong with the RC120 though (detachable headshell) and in some ways better but that the AT6. Sounds like you have the earlier version. A true Collector's item and one of the last genuinely well-designed audio units from the Radio Develpment team at Pye's Works in St Andrews Road.
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 12:11 pm   #11
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Ah I left it too late to edit, I mean the Garrard 210 - not 120....
Anyone who saw the original 1954 BBHs being built will be loosing it by now!
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 12:15 pm   #12
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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Hi Sue, there are plenty of cheap auto transformers at about 10W rating about. They are also physically small.
I could do that, but I'd also need to swap the 60Hz pulley with a 50Hz pulley wouldn't I? I might have one in the spares box from a Garrard 1000.
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 12:29 pm   #13
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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The early batches used the Garrard RC120 Mark 11 and then changed to the AT6. Nothing wrong with the RC120 though (detachable headshell) and in some ways better but that the AT6. Sounds like you have the earlier version.
It's definitely a G63, but I don't know at this stage if it had the RC120 or AT6 originally; someone's bunged a SP25 Mk 4 in and it doesn't fit properly. I'd prefer to put an AT6 in because that was the turntable the family's original G63. The amp looks like it needs work too, but I don't mind because it really is a lovely machine!
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 1:32 pm   #14
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

My parents had one too.

It ended up with the speakers in separate boxes, the AT6 with a G800 cartridge on a home made plinth and the amplifier replaced by a Truvox TSA100. I had the matching Truvox FM100 tuner with a cobbled in stereo decoder to go with it.

The folly of youth

I did get a decent sum on Ebay for the amplifier about 12 years ago......
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 2:20 pm   #15
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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Originally Posted by suebutcher View Post
It's definitely a G63, but I don't know at this stage if it had the RC120 or AT6 originally; someone's bunged a SP25 Mk 4 in and it doesn't fit properly. I'd prefer to put an AT6 in because that was the turntable the family's original G63.
I'm sure the one you now have had the RC210 originally fitted. The SP25 uses the same cut out as the AT6 and would it have fitted perfectly if yours had the AT6 in it. There's a quite high input sensitivity on these (4 stage amp) so you could fit a good ceramic on this.
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Old 15th Feb 2017, 7:02 pm   #16
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

The original cartridge in the one I butchered was a Sonotone 8T. That should illustrate what output level a replacement would need.

One of the current crop of Chinese Cheapies worked well enough in place of a dead 8T in a Bush player I repaired recently.
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Old 16th Feb 2017, 2:47 am   #17
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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Originally Posted by Edward Huggins View Post
I'm sure the one you now have had the RC210 originally fitted. The SP25 uses the same cut out as the AT6 and would it have fitted perfectly if yours had the AT6 in it. There's a quite high input sensitivity on these (4 stage amp) so you could fit a good ceramic on this.
In all the pictures I've been able to find with the G63 in combination with the AT6, the AT6 has through-hole spring mounts rather than the spring recesses, so assuming that's standard the later Garrards are going to be a bad fit anyway. Which is a pity, because I have a Garrard AT60 Mk2 I was hoping to use when I found a G63.
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Old 16th Feb 2017, 2:53 am   #18
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

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Originally Posted by Herald1360 View Post
The original cartridge in the one I butchered was a Sonotone 8T. That should illustrate what output level a replacement would need.

One of the current crop of Chinese Cheapies worked well enough in place of a dead 8T in a Bush player I repaired recently.
I have a Sonotone 9TA, but I'll probably put a BSR C1 in, it's the highest compliance LP/78 ceramic I have. I just hope there isn't an explosion when BSR comes into contact with Garrard!
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Old 16th Feb 2017, 3:34 am   #19
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

Here's the original G63 in our lounge when we lived in Perth, Australia. The wall unit is a Brianco, by the way. You can see the difference in my father and mother's tastes here; Dad went for Contemporary in polished wood, and Mum simply bought stuff with roses on it. All of this was sold off in 1971 when they decided to return to England. Then, with the house and car sold, and our furniture gone, Mum changed her mind. (There isn't an emoticon bitterly disappointed enough for this!) Still, we all make some big mistake in our lives.
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Old 21st Apr 2017, 10:51 am   #20
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Default Re: Info on Pye Black Box G63

The Pye G63 has arrived from Devon; many thanks to Hollie, the lady who sold it to me. The weight of the player with a Garrard AT6 installed is about 36kg. Fortunately that didn't add much to the transport cost.

I'll post some pictures soon.
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