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1961 Grundig Majestic.jpg 52.13 KiB Viewed 6217 times Last September I paid $900 for this beautiful looking and sounding 1961 stereo. Everything on it worked and it came with all the original documentation. It even had the original microphone for recording on the reel to reel. I was aware a mechanical antique such as this would require upkeep, but like anything made prior to the advent of planned obsolescence I expected it to be somewhat reliable.Within one month the volume output was halved, and by the start of November it didn't produce any sound at all. I made a call to the repairman who had previously worked on it (one of only two service providers within a two hour drive,) and set a time for him to come out. He arrived and quickly determined the speakers were blown, which struck me as odd as I don't listen to loud music.
He also said the tuner should be rebuilt as well stating he'd recently rebuilt the amplifier in the unit, and though somewhat expensive if I chose to have him do so it would sound 'better than new.' He gave me an estimate of $550, and because I love my Grundig I told him to go ahead. He gave me a time estimate of one month.One month comes and goes and I don't hear from him. Five weeks and silence. Finally at the end of the sixth week I call the number on his business card and his wife answers, and after explaining the situation to her she assures me he'll call. I wait another week and call the number again and l reach his voicemail where I leave a message, Nothing. Another week and I leave another message, he's now taken twice as long as his estimate.
He calls back within an hour, and tells me he sent the speakers out but they 'did a bad job' and he had to resend them, furthermore says his parts distributor is foot dragging. He never apologizes for taking twice as long as his estimate nor failing to return my calls. He blames everyone else for what's going wrong, then tells me he estimates another month to complete the job.I call him next weekend for a progress report and get his voicemail where I leave a message. There's no reply.
The following weekend I call again, and again get his voicemail. Amazingly he call two hours later and tells me the job is done and he'll be by next weekend. Saturday rolls around and he shows up, then explains his estimate was a little low and the total is now $655. Awesome, he's charging me a late fee I think to myself as he commences reassembling the unit. After 45 minutes I hear my stereo. 'It's alive!'
I say, to which he replies 'Kind of.' Another 45 minutes goes by and now he's having a full conversation with himself.
I'm unhappy with this guy so I stay in my bedroom, from where I start hearing POP! Coming through the speakers at full volume as he punches the push button selector on the tuner.
'Isn't that bad for the speakers?' I inquire, to which he merrily responds 'Yup!!' I close my bedroom door wondering if this is really happening.Twenty minutes later there's a knock, so I open the door and am informed he can't 'figure out what's making that noise,' so he'll have to take all the components back to his house for what he calls 'round two.' I tell him I'm about out of money, and that I've almost paid twice what the unit is worth for a broken stereo, and that I'd appreciate it if he can finish the job inexpensively. I'm appalled, and when all is said and done if the stereo breaks down again within 4 to 5 months I'm going to take it out to the Black Rock Desert and blow it up-only kidding (sort of.)For the price I'm paying the guy I would expect him:1. To answer or return my calls in a timely manner.2. Return with a working stereo.I don't understand why he didn't thoroughly test the stereo at home to make certain it would work before transporting it all the way to my house.
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If he had 'restored' the unit shouldn't it have worked immediately? Can someone tell me if I've been taken for a ride, or is $655+ a reasonable price to restore a tuner and a couple of speakers? Is there's any way I can look and see if he's rebuilt the tuner and speakers?
I've got a feeling the guy can't be entirely trusted. Obviously I'm going to require a detailed, itemized invoice from him with replacement parts and associated labor.Any feedback or comments gratefully appreciated,Greg AllenLast edited by on Feb Sun 22, 2015 10:17 pm, edited 3 times in total. You already know the answer to this.The best thing to do is to remove the chassis and speaker drivers with associated components, and ship them to someone who knows what they are doing. Whether they can undo the damage already done, remains to be seen, but obviously this guy doesn't have a clue. You might be lucky to find another repair guy nearby that knows what they are doing. This one doesn't.
As far as getting your money back, good luck. German sets take a special tech as they are not the easiest things to work on. What a story.If 'round two' doesn't pan out, I would definitely try to find a more competent repair person. You've already paid an extremely top dollar amount for this radio (although I must admit it looks gorgeous), and the repair bill is absolutely outrageous! (Especially for it not to have been thoroughly bench tested for functionality before being returned to your house!) I hope you made an agreement with the repair person that he is not to charge you any more for the second round of repairs. I'm not sure if you agreed on any guarantee of his repair work, but if his work is shoddy, that shouldn't be coming out of your wallet.Do you have any evidence that the speakers were actually replaced with new ones?
When I replace large components, I like to show them to the person as evidence of work done.I've had issues with two things on these German made sets that tend to effect the audio output: dirty contacts on the pushbutton controls, and bad or intermittent wirewound resistors in the audio output stage. To me it sounds like you have a case of dirty controls, dirty tube sockets, or something of the like.I'm not sure which model of radio you have, but I couldn't see charging more than $400 for a complete electrical restoration on something like this. I'm sure other board members will chime in shortly. After round 1 I would cut my losses and not use this guy for round 2. I seriously doubt both speakers were 'blown' and from your experience there is no reason to expect the outcome is going to be better.
Yes, sometimes things go wrong with a repair outside of the restorers control. Several years ago I went through a pair of Drake C line twins for a friend and a week after he got them a 6HS6 developed a short, fortunately no collateral damage. But delays, excess charges without informing customer in advance, and the behavior you saw at delivery are all big red flags. Get it back while it is still all there and use somebody else.Rodger WQ9E. I wish I felt differently but I have found the 1960s vintage German radios a nightmare.
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Greg,The repair charges are beyond ridiculous! Stop dealing with the jerk! There is no real mystique in restoring German radios of which I have a couple of dozen, including some really esoteric sets, such as the top of the line 14 tube Saba Freiburg models, which are considered rather difficult.
Nevertheless, they are all doable and if you were located anywhere near my place, I would fix it for you for nothing except for the cost of a couple of parts that may need to be replaced.Good luck.George G. Within one month the volume output was halved, and by the start of November it didn't produce any sound at all. IHere is where the trouble started.
A 54 year old radio like this one should never bereturned to a consumer (you) without a full restoration.You never plug in an old radio.scenario: You buy it, then seek a restoration shop, who will return it to you witha performance warranty. During your month of deteriorating usage, possible expensivedamage was occurring.If you wanted to ship the record player, tape deck, radio chassis, and raw speakers toa company for service, first you would have to find a competent technician to disassembleit and mount the parts into a shipping case. Those sets are best shipped by a furnituremover in the cabinet, after securing it for shipment as described in your owners manual.I worked on those sets in the 60'.
They always were brought to the shop in the cabinet.Covered by a shipping rug, like piano.We did jut fine with sets that arrived all the way from Germany to Vancouver BC.I suspect your radio first came to Grundig Majestic in the USA first, then onto retailers.At that time there was a network of service shops.I knew how much it cost to run a service shop in the 60's. Back then all theparts were available.
The imported radios were needful of specialists back thenall up the line, buyers, shippers, sales staff, and to a certain extent customersdeVE7ASO VE7ZSOAmateur Radio Literacy Club. May we help you read better.Steve Dow. Greg, post a picture of your Grundig. I have one and it sounds like yours is adual chassis model. My speakers also blew. They have the flimsiest foamsurround that just crumbles and it is not like modern surrounds but rathera VERY open cell foam. It is indeed a mechanical and electrical nightmare.I've been playing with mine since the mid 60s.
I was fortunate enoughto pick up a second unit for parts at an auction a few years back.Yes, the buttons are a huge source of trouble. Cleaning and 'exercise' keepthem in good shape. The FM is up there with the better units and the lowend sounds just seem to 'fall' right out of the bottom of the set. A verysatisfying sound.
I hope you find someone more competentAND reasonably priced.Jimseems toNever met a Philco I didn't like! The set should have been entirely rebuilt if it had not before. The Achilles heel of any old radio are the capacitors which dry out and can cause all kinds of problems.
As far as 'The speakers blew', well you said that the sound gradually faded and then no sound? Even if the speakers blew you should have heard.
Maybe not a good sound but sound nevertheless.The piano keys in these have to be very clean. I have probably 10 total of these German sets and they work great only if those switches are nice and clean.This is just my opinion. But if you were charged $900 for the set then first of all, that is a HUGE premium over what such sets generally go for. At the very least the first repair should have been free. A set that was 'supposedly' refurbished SHOULD work. 1 month is a short time for a restored set to have major issues.
Is there's any way I can look and see if he's rebuilt the tuner and speakers? I've got a feeling the guy can't be entirely trusted. Obviously I'm going to require a detailed, itemized invoice from him with replacement parts and associated labor.- You would have to open it up to see which new components he installed.Depending on where you live, you might be able to track down a generous hobbyists (perhaps at a radio club) who can at least advise you on how to find a competent repair person locally to get this beautiful set working again. I'd also be interested in knowing the 'who' and 'where' about this situation. Although in my opinion, $655 ish isn't an unreasonable price - if that's a complete re-cap, mechanical fix, and alignment.If he just did 1 or 2 things and is charging you at an hourly rate, you're being sorely ripped off.I agree it looks like an SO 191, I have one that's been in my shop for a little while and it's going home on Sunday.
Easier to work on than most German stuff I've touched, actually - the dual chassis design meant all 14 tubes weren't crammed into one place, so it was decently accessible though. From what i can see, even if the set was troublesome with some surprise issues, he has poor working practices and business practices. To stay with him in hopes of getting your moneys worth out of him is fantasy to say the least. Honestly, if it was my radio that i loved to listened to all the time, and he was punching the buttons at full volume like that, i would've shown him the door and given him a swift kick in the derriere on the way out! It's a costly lesson but what if it gets to a point and he says'sorry, i can't fix it' because of something he did?Dwayne.
Factory Service Manualswith Schematics:.Grundig Service Manuals and SchematicsOnly $4.95 - $8.99!DOWNLOADAND PRINT!Service manuals and schematics for the Grundig models listed below are published service data from vintage sources.and cover a range of Grundig models.Each file is individually digitized in high resolution to provide the clearest possible scan in a downloadable Adobe PDF file.Files are typically 2 to 8 pages (some more). All files contain schematics and many contain additional service information.Grundig Service Manuals and SchematicsIf your model or chassis is not listed below for availability.Some files listed below are available for instant downloadby clicking on the blue Instant Download arrow after the item.Download Copy Only $6.95When ordering from this dropdown list, please allow 1 - 2 businessdays (typically within 24 hours) for file to be digitized anddownload information to be provided via email.
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