MICRO1700 I've seen those switch handles that look like rounded paddles on the sides. They were on Gates consoles, which may have been owned by Harris Company.
I had some 16" Gates turntables that were great, but large.
About the Gates Studioette that I pulled out of a
dumpster in the back of a radio station - in the
rain - well - the rusting hulk is now being restored.
Ten years have gone by since I took it
at my good friend's urging - "Take it Bruce!
It's a piece of broadcast history!" Yup, it is
a piece of history, and this is version number 3.
I notice the Gates address on the board doesn't
have a Zip Code, so it was around before the
Zip Codes were enacted.
In the year 2000 it got put under a bunch of
stuff in my cellar. I really didn't want it then -
but now I'm really glad I have it.
What a mess it was, complete with fur from
some poor creature that had crawled in 40
or 50 years ago and never got out. Only a little
bit of fur was left and nothing else. And there
was a lot of rust all over the place.
It was completely gutted. The case and front
panel were taken apart and sanded with
sand paper and steel wool. Then it was painted.
The black sections with the writing on them -
to identify the controls were removed and carefully
washed with mild detergent. A lot of the writing
had been covered with some kind of sticky stuff,
I think it might have been Scotch tape residue,
as if somebody had stuck a bunch of labels on the
board. Washing those sections brought almost
all of the lettering back.
It's not a perfect paint job because some bumps
in the case couldn't be evened out, but it actually
does look very good on the outside now.
The vacuum tube electronics were removed and
set aside. I hated to do it, but they were so badly
damaged that I was afraid if I tried to power up
the board in that condition it would maybe blow up.
The front panel is in good condition now and I have
the knobs back on, as well as a lot of the switches
with those cool paddles on them. I have a lot of
switches (about 20) and only 6 paddles, but we'll
figure something out.
The first thing I want to do is power up the VU meter.
Will it respond to an audio signal? And will it even
light up?
Well. I guess well see. I don't even know if the switches
and pots still work. They don't look very good. Again,
this is an adventure, and it is happening next to my
other project, the Part 15 13 MHz shortwave transmitter.
Well, anyway - the board looks pretty nice on the outside.
I will have to put in solid state electronics. This is going
to take a while. But that's sort of the way things operate
around here at Micro 1690 and 1700.
By the way, this version of the Gates Studioette was in
the movie "Pirate Radio," which came out last fall.
It was in the background in a few shots, but it was
definitely there. I also believe that this board was
really used in one of those European off shore
1960s pirate operations, I think either Radio London, or
Radio Caroline.
Best Wishes to all of you out there!
Bruce, MICRO 1690/1700
I am slowly working on this Gates board.
The VU meter now lights up and works.
(I used white LEDs instead of trying to
find the bulbs, which were missing.)
I have a solid state audio amplifier on the
inside. And I am starting to wire up the
controls on the front.
I also just got a 1980 AKAI reel to reel deck
(a GX-4000D) working well. It had problems
and I slowly ironed them out.
So to anybody out there...
That's where things are now.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, MICRO1690/1700
Glad to hear you are setting the electronics aside. You or someone else will want them someday. Nothing wrong with putting "newer" solid state hidden inside as long as you don't cut holes or such. This old stuff is forgotton now but later it will be valuable again and really sought after. I bought an old Collins KWM-2 shortwave transceiver a few years back and now all my friends want one. Got it and the 30-L1 linear before the door slammed shut! Someone did drill a hole for an option in the front and prolly knocked 400$ off the value but it's fine for me. All my old RCA broadcast stuff is "worn" but it has character and again fine for me. I have an old Gates solidstatesman remote console I got it "dead" off ebay, set around for a couple years trying to find a manual or schematic, finally gave up and drew the circuit board out then drew the components on that drawing, then made a schematic off of the that layout drawing I made and THEN, finally was able to circuit trace to a bad transistor! Whew talk about reinventing the wheel. 🙂 dave
Radio Magazine is building an archive of manuals for equipment that is no longer produced
http://radiomagonline.com/tutorials_tips/engineers_notebook/manuals/equipment_manual_archive/
Do ANYBODY know the power supply voltages...???
I'm exploring the possibility of running it with a different console IF the HarrIs Stereo 80 PS can output +16, -16, and +6 VDC...
I also have a Stereo 80 console that I'd consider getting rid of...it's either that or I'll take the top off and turn it into a planter...
Thanks...
What condition is your Gates Studio 80 in? Does it work? How much would you want for it?
Thanks,
S.
Speaking of vintage boards, I have been working on my Gates Studioette board
for two years. It went from a rusted hulk, to what
is on Carl's website in the Low Power Hour section.
But in working on it, I went to adjust the lights in
the Gates VU meter - and I BROKE the meter. I am
SO INCREDIBLY BUMMED OUT.
I thought that the VU meter was the best part of the
board.
Don't know if I want to continue now. Very unhappy.
Best Wishes Anyway!
Bruce, DOGRADIO STUDIO 2
Bruce MICRO dog radio:
I feel so bad about the meter incident. I think those meters had rounded corners and were a little smaller than several meters I have, which are located on Tapesonic Tape Recorder Amplifiers, a home-engineered brand from a guy who made a super tape deck but died just when things were going well. I think I have 8 of those extra large VU meters, but I am certain they are not the same as your Studioette meters.
This universe is a screw job, no matter how you look at it.
I knew I could always count on you to come
back with some humor to help me feel better -
and there you are!
Thank you my friend!
Bruce, DOGRADIO STUDIO 2
I love restoring vintage gear, broadcast or consumer or industrial, does not matter.
Depending on what "broke" on that meter, maybe it could be fixed....even if its the indicator needle or its coil.
Good restoring!
RFB
Greetings,
There's a guy in L.A. who refurbs VU meters and can build new ones to match. He's Bob Larson of Larson Meter Craft 619-258-8990. And a surplus place in Lincoln that may have those VU meters in their "new-old" stock is http://www.surplussales.com/Meters/MtrVU.html
I recently was able to find some replacement VU meters for my 1963 Gates Diplomat by running an ad in a different forum. I can find which forum if you want.
S.
i love surplus sales of nebraska. they have been around since before i was born. loved getting their catalogs as a kid, before the internet when we still got paper catalogs 🙂 thanks for reminding me of this place. looking at their site now.
Anybody have a Gates Stereo Producer manual & schematics? Or know where I can get them?
Thanks,
S.