A guy from church brought me a similar Thomas-branded model for repair and the only thing that worked was the radio (and, it sounded worse than a cheap pocket radio). All belts were shot, and both the cassette and turntable motors were bad. All he wanted was a record player and I ended up giving him an old Newcomb vacuum tube school record player. What baffles me are all the ones I see in the thrift stores and flea markets, priced in the $50-$75 range, and people actually buy this junk.
Yep. Usually older people with this crap just want to play a few d records and really don't care about the sound because their hearing is all shot anyway.
I remember when these things came out sometime around 2004, Christmas time I believe and although they do look nice oh, you could tell just by looking at the image on the box that these things were junk
I just bought an Emerson one of these at the thrift store for 30 bucks. The CD doesn't seem to work but I'll pull off the bottom and look at the drive. The phono and radio work great which is what I was looking for. I just wanted something cheap to play records on and when it dies I'll buy something more substantial. Thanks for this video, it gives me a starting point.
Very old people who remember past things and don’t know better are the kind of people who want these to work. It makes me sad when I see very old people, the type in or nearly in dementia, spend money unwisely. But then, how do I know what they ‘should’ want?
Thank you for the video. I purchase mine when it first appeared on the market. It's worked with no problem up until a couple of months ago. It seems to be a power issue. Every component comes on but only if the volume remains all the way down. When I turn the volume up the power goes off. Is there a simple fix for this?
You can burn that in the backyard while having a bbq and music in the background with it. Burned plastic and wood flavored hamburgers and hotdogs will make me hungry. 🌭🍔
The cabinet looks like it could be used strictly as a speaker with some mods, put tweeters on the side and woofer in the center. Find another cabinet and do the same mods to have a stereo pair. Just a thought!🤔
My friend had one of these and while playing his used (and well used at that - wasn’t a NM copy) Bob Welch “French Kisses” album, about half way through “Sentimental Lady”, the turntable ejected, returned the tonearm….but never set the arm in it’s rest! Any idea what would have caused this to happen?
You need to specify that any potential customer wanting things repaired are required to send you several photos of the unit so you can decide beforehand to accept or deny wanting it shipped to you.
I actually picked this one up and delivered it back. Little old lady called me up to remove a broken light bulb from her oven as the glass broke and she couldn't get the base out as it had frozen in the socket.
yep, best thing to do with those is puff the majic dragon and use it as a speaker box. gut the record player compartment and add a 2nd amendment stash.
I saw one similar to this at a local goodwill in the "picks" section of store. Tag says record player does not work. 50 bucks for a record player that does not play records? Ha Ha Gotta be kidding me. I imagine it has about a 2 in layer of dust on it by now.
If this landed into my hands, I would harvest it for the five DC motors and perhaps the diodes on the circuit boards, which can be used as light duty resistors, and toss the rest. This guy should consider doing EOLs given all the junk that he seems to have coming in.
So I got one its model is 9230MMO I cant find a manual at all and the issue is that its going about 3 rpm faster than the switch is supposed to have it at
I have scoured the internet to find an electronic repairman to fix several different sentimental broken items I have but not only are the people who have such skills of the past becoming rare to find but it seems the repair specialists are limited to only cell phones, computers, or cb radio shops. I’ve even called Pawn Shops asking if anyone had such skills willing to do it on the side w/ no luck. Where can I go for help, or do places even exist, what specific profession is skilled in such things? Is there a name for that skill set? I can’t find any resources or options to mail my item off to get fixed or quoted. It’s a throw away society we live in, unfortunately. I’m in my 50’s and it feels the people who have such skills no longer exist. I guess I thought anyone who works on cell phones and computers is capable. Any suggestions? I have the following: A broken CD player on a Memorex AM/FM Stereo Radio CD Player 50's Retro Style Model MTT3200, A Mickey Mouse 80's 2Speed Solid State Phonograph Record Player A Vintage 1974 Janex Warner Bros Bugs Bunny Talking Alarm Clock Star Wars Episode 1 Phantom Menace Darth Maul Interactive Talking Coin Bank
Nobody fixes this stuff. Even 40 years ago those that were in repairs would have refused that. One of the reasons I got in the business was when I was about 13 my pong game died. I took it to a shop and they refused to look at it.
@@12voltvidsI see, well that’s bad news for me. The good news is I can stop spending my time calling around and surfing the internet. Thank you for responding to my inquiry.
I remember had this radio made by Emerson and until in 2009 or 2010, the belt for the turntable is broken, and the volume knob broke down on me, and at the end, I threw into the dumpster because it's not worth to repair the radio.
Memorax was a company really made their business supplying storage media for mainframe and mini-computers in the 60s and 70s. Once the 80s and 90s came, I guess Memorex must have fell on hard times. And now it's just a name on cheapo tat, like RCA is, etc.
@@12voltvids I know dave, everything memorex made was f*****g awful, their blank tapes though damn, i could never even get -3dB out of them without distortion, and thats on the philips scale
@@Synthematix their original cro2 chromium dioxide tapes were really good. I remember Ella Fitzgerald breaking a glass on Memorex tape. They used that on their tv commercial. It it live or is it Memorex. The problem with that tape was after about 100 or so hours or use you needed new heads in your tape deck. It was so abrasive. The only tape that achieved that resolution was Sony type 3 ferichrome tape. Had all the advantage of rust, ferric (iron) oxide on the bottom for good bottom end and chromium dioxide onbtop if it. The cro2 later was pulverized much finer than the cro2 on meorex as it was only there for the high end and it filled in the spaced of the much more course iron oxide. The chrome layer being much more smooth and bound in with the rust wasn't quite as hard on the heads as the original pure chrome was.
I recently used super glue to strengthen a cracked post on a Crosley cd mechanism. All thanks to your previous video tutorials. But mines didn't have easy access door welp
@@danielcottrell1707 yes that's why they recorded. Actually the track i played was the Langley community band which had the best seniors from the high school along with some professional musicians
Holy crap, that is the worst pinch roller I have ever seen. I worked on a similar one of those damned things once, it belonged to a friend's mom. There were no electrical problems, but the glued-down wood block that the chassis was screwed too broke loose. The damned thing was new out of the box. CHEAP!
At least it doesn't have that crappy car stereo inject type cassette mechanism. The tanishin can be not so bad if it has legit motors. Shame thats what we rate them on-"not so bad"
@@12voltvids I was waiting for that lol Only Just, we always think of it as thick cardboard. Got to admit those things looked the part even though they were total PAP :D I have tackled a few of these back when they were relatively new, how do you break it to someone that what they believe is a vintage artifact is cardboard junk !
I’m so surprised that memorex made those poxy horrible stereos too ?? I thought that being memorex,it would be half-decent,but your video,tells me otherwise !! There are plenty of manufacturers who make those all-in-one stereos,but they are the cheapest rubbish yet !!
Every Memorex product I have owned has been a total piece of junk. I don't know if at one time they were good, but the last 20 years they have made nothing but super low end trash.
If you don't like repairing this kind of item, then why do you ? On the other hand if a customer wants it repaired, then be up front with cost and future reliability/lifespan etc, @we@ all know that it's an entry level or novelty product, but many people don't. If you give a price and they go ahead then fine, otherwise aviod it. What will your customers think if they watch a video where you are dissing something that they paid good money for, even if their judgement was misplaced or simply made due to a lack of experience. Just my humble thoughts.
@@12voltvids that's not too bad, as long as you didn't spend more than a couple of hours on it, UA-cam content creation aside of course :) thanks for the content.
The turntable mechanism is based on a BSR design from the 1980s, as I showed in my video "Crosley Genesis".
I love your videos Mr VWestlife :) Top form.
You can use the wood to stay warm during the next Canadian winter.
Winter here is like some places summer. +3 to 5 is average daytime January temperature.
@@12voltvids Just like in Greece lol. Our summers peak at 45.
It looks nice on the outside. If only there was quality on the inside.
idk the gold painted plastic looks insanely cheap. could've easily made something out of pot metal or something.
A guy from church brought me a similar Thomas-branded model for repair and the only thing that worked was the radio (and, it sounded worse than a cheap pocket radio). All belts were shot, and both the cassette and turntable motors were bad. All he wanted was a record player and I ended up giving him an old Newcomb vacuum tube school record player. What baffles me are all the ones I see in the thrift stores and flea markets, priced in the $50-$75 range, and people actually buy this junk.
Yep. Usually older people with this crap just want to play a few d records and really don't care about the sound because their hearing is all shot anyway.
I remember when these things came out sometime around 2004, Christmas time I believe and although they do look nice oh, you could tell just by looking at the image on the box that these things were junk
I just bought an Emerson one of these at the thrift store for 30 bucks. The CD doesn't seem to work but I'll pull off the bottom and look at the drive. The phono and radio work great which is what I was looking for. I just wanted something cheap to play records on and when it dies I'll buy something more substantial. Thanks for this video, it gives me a starting point.
A car radio put inside the cabinet would be a good idea.
That's not a bad idea.
Thats a cool idea
Dont give them any ideas, those are complete garbage too
I have a Philco radio from the 40's that has a car radio in it. It was sold that way because during the war they stopped making radios.
A local discount store used to sell these vile stereos and I only made the mistake of trying to repair one, never again, I ran out of swear words!
I will never understand why people want to throw good money after bad. The "sunk cost fallacy" is the all-time undisputed winner.
Very old people who remember past things and don’t know better are the kind of people who want these to work. It makes me sad when I see very old people, the type in or nearly in dementia, spend money unwisely. But then, how do I know what they ‘should’ want?
The old "reliable" Brand names are just sold to any maker of junk these days. Memorex went out of business in 1996
Yes, "zombie brands" is the name you are looking for. Fisher, Memorex, RCA, Philips ...the list is endless and sad.
Some work gets taken on because of the client, not the gear that needs the repair. Thumbs up!
Right
“They don’t make ‘em like they used to” definitely applies to this repair video!
Radio, CD, cassette player, turntable. They threw everything into this unit except quality.
Thank you for the video. I purchase mine when it first appeared on the market. It's worked with no problem up until a couple of months ago. It seems to be a power issue. Every component comes on but only if the volume remains all the way down. When I turn the volume up the power goes off. Is there a simple fix for this?
Radiotvphononut blows these up.
I loved shangos video where he MOT'd one of those!
You can burn that in the backyard while having a bbq and music in the background with it. Burned plastic and wood flavored hamburgers and hotdogs will make me hungry. 🌭🍔
This must be the deluxe model records too ,they only have slot in playback these days but the record player is the same.
The cabinet looks like it could be used strictly as a speaker with some mods, put tweeters on the side and woofer in the center. Find another cabinet and do the same mods to have a stereo pair. Just a thought!🤔
I just had one given to me, thank's for the video! Now, to find the time😂
I had a good one with CD recorder willed to me. Plugged in a better turntable into the aux input and have been recording my vinyl. Sounds fantastic.
This memorex speaks fluent mandarin 😂
My friend had one of these and while playing his used (and well used at that - wasn’t a NM copy) Bob Welch “French Kisses” album, about half way through “Sentimental Lady”, the turntable ejected, returned the tonearm….but never set the arm in it’s rest! Any idea what would have caused this to happen?
And, his sounded pretty good…way better than the Crosley/Victrola suitcase players.
>Any idea what would have caused this to happen?
cause: cheap, shitty player.
You need to specify that any potential customer wanting things repaired are required to send you several photos of the unit so you can decide beforehand to accept or deny wanting it shipped to you.
I actually picked this one up and delivered it back. Little old lady called me up to remove a broken light bulb from her oven as the glass broke and she couldn't get the base out as it had frozen in the socket.
@@12voltvidshalf a potatoe trick
yep, best thing to do with those is puff the majic dragon and use it as a speaker box. gut the record player compartment and add a 2nd amendment stash.
Hope the customer was satisfied...considering the work you put in
Will find out tomorrow when i call her.
@@12voltvids Tell her to watch the video 😉
@@carlingtonme she doesn't have internet.
Those sell for up to $500 at Goodwill stores in the USA. LOL !
Sell for or asking for? I doubt anyone would even pay $50 for one of these.
I saw one similar to this at a local goodwill in the "picks" section of store. Tag says record player does not work. 50 bucks for a record player that does not play records? Ha Ha Gotta be kidding me. I imagine it has about a 2 in layer of dust on it by now.
Cassette deck has to be a bog-standard Tanashin mechanism...
If this landed into my hands, I would harvest it for the five DC motors and perhaps the diodes on the circuit boards, which can be used as light duty resistors, and toss the rest. This guy should consider doing EOLs given all the junk that he seems to have coming in.
But then I wouldn't have made 50 bucks to change a couple belts.
@@12voltvids True enough, at least some good comes out of it.
Sledge Hammer Time!
Oh my…. I grabbed one the cd drive don’t open having problems even working at all besides radio lol
Made more fixing this garbage than most.
So I got one its model is 9230MMO I cant find a manual at all and the issue is that its going about 3 rpm faster than the switch is supposed to have it at
There will be an adjustment in there.
I feel your pain, Dave... Did you need some time off after doing this one?
I truly feel bad for ya.
Very interesting. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
Who buys these all-in-one crapophones?
My sister got me one of theese a few years ago brand new in the box. Its still brand new in the box. Idk what to do with it...
Try getting this customers info and ask her if she wants to purchase it!
Hey dave what is the name of your Siamese cat? Pretty cat! And how is your other cat doing the one with the tumor!
Jinxy is the Siamese. The sick cat is not improving but hanging in there. Sleeps most of the time.
@@12voltvids Sorry to hear about the other cat! That's the one on your video's that meow's after your intros
@@Jammerk40 one of them.
I have scoured the internet to find an electronic repairman to fix several different sentimental broken items I have but not only are the people who have such skills of the past becoming rare to find but it seems the repair specialists are limited to only cell phones, computers, or cb radio shops.
I’ve even called Pawn Shops asking if anyone had such skills willing to do it on the side w/ no luck. Where can I go for help, or do places even exist, what specific profession is skilled in such things? Is there a name for that skill set?
I can’t find any resources or options to mail my item off to get fixed or quoted. It’s a throw away society we live in, unfortunately. I’m in my 50’s and it feels the people who have such skills no longer exist. I guess I thought anyone who works on cell phones and computers is capable. Any suggestions? I have the following:
A broken CD player on a Memorex AM/FM Stereo Radio CD Player 50's Retro Style Model MTT3200,
A Mickey Mouse 80's 2Speed Solid State Phonograph Record Player
A Vintage 1974 Janex Warner Bros Bugs Bunny Talking Alarm Clock
Star Wars Episode 1 Phantom Menace Darth Maul Interactive Talking Coin Bank
Nobody fixes this stuff. Even 40 years ago those that were in repairs would have refused that. One of the reasons I got in the business was when I was about 13 my pong game died. I took it to a shop and they refused to look at it.
@@12voltvidsI see, well that’s bad news for me. The good news is I can stop spending my time calling around and surfing the internet. Thank you for responding to my inquiry.
Wow, High End piece!
I remember had this radio made by Emerson and until in 2009 or 2010, the belt for the turntable is broken, and the volume knob broke down on me, and at the end, I threw into the dumpster because it's not worth to repair the radio.
Emerson, Memorex, Crosley. All junk brands you should avoid.
@@jimdayton8837 It's usually the radio quality what I didn't know it made to be a breakdown and throwaway what it was called, "Tofu Dreg Project."
Ahh yes memorex, the people that never made a decent blank tape.
They couldn't make DVD blanks worth a shot either.
Memorax was a company really made their business supplying storage media for mainframe and mini-computers in the 60s and 70s. Once the 80s and 90s came, I guess Memorex must have fell on hard times. And now it's just a name on cheapo tat, like RCA is, etc.
@@12voltvids I know dave, everything memorex made was f*****g awful, their blank tapes though damn, i could never even get -3dB out of them without distortion, and thats on the philips scale
@@TD75 The memorex db shells were pretty decent but the tape itself wasnt great
@@Synthematix their original cro2 chromium dioxide tapes were really good. I remember Ella Fitzgerald breaking a glass on Memorex tape. They used that on their tv commercial. It it live or is it Memorex. The problem with that tape was after about 100 or so hours or use you needed new heads in your tape deck. It was so abrasive. The only tape that achieved that resolution was Sony type 3 ferichrome tape. Had all the advantage of rust, ferric (iron) oxide on the bottom for good bottom end and chromium dioxide onbtop if it. The cro2 later was pulverized much finer than the cro2 on meorex as it was only there for the high end and it filled in the spaced of the much more course iron oxide. The chrome layer being much more smooth and bound in with the rust wasn't quite as hard on the heads as the original pure chrome was.
I recently used super glue to strengthen a cracked post on a Crosley cd mechanism. All thanks to your previous video tutorials. But mines didn't have easy access door welp
Is it junk, or is it Memorex?
GOOD ONE! LOL
I'm stealing that lol!
Too late, I laughed right before you said that.
What was that record (the blue label) that you were playing while testing that dog?
Its actually a private pressing. My cousin's high school band in 1973
@@12voltvids Really now? They are quite good.
@@danielcottrell1707 yes that's why they recorded. Actually the track i played was the Langley community band which had the best seniors from the high school along with some professional musicians
Holy crap, that is the worst pinch roller I have ever seen.
I worked on a similar one of those damned things once, it belonged to a friend's mom. There were no electrical problems, but the glued-down wood block that the chassis was screwed too broke loose. The damned thing was new out of the box. CHEAP!
Ikr! What kind of awful rubber did they use? I have a cassette player from the late 60's that still has a perfectly fine pinch roller.
I'm used to 25-30$ USD for a turntable belt......... When you said 40 I was thinking.......really? You're talking CAD though eh?
A belt for a thoerns td165 was 38 plus tax. I tried a generic one but it was shit. High wow.
It's made of a lot of things that used to be wood...
dave i turned quite a few of those down for repair they are nasty
Obviously the enclosure was the most expensive part in a to a price build cheap machine.. lucky you !! LOL
Be lucky to get 50 and that includes the TT belt that cost me 20.00
At least it doesn't have that crappy car stereo inject type cassette mechanism. The tanishin can be not so bad if it has legit motors. Shame thats what we rate them on-"not so bad"
Spot on Dave😎
Brave man!
It's not wood it's MDF lol
Truely awful, crap from start to finish!
Its still wood. Sawdust is wood.
@@12voltvids I was waiting for that lol
Only Just, we always think of it as thick cardboard.
Got to admit those things looked the part even though they were total PAP :D
I have tackled a few of these back when they were relatively new, how do you break it to someone that what they believe is a vintage artifact is cardboard junk !
@@TheCrakkle pretty much. I think alot of these things come from the shopping channel.
I’m so surprised that memorex made those poxy horrible stereos too ??
I thought that being memorex,it would be half-decent,but your video,tells me otherwise !!
There are plenty of manufacturers who make those all-in-one stereos,but they are the cheapest rubbish yet !!
Every Memorex product I have owned has been a total piece of junk. I don't know if at one time they were good, but the last 20 years they have made nothing but super low end trash.
I wood of chucked in the bin
a nice record player if you want to ruin your records!
Yep, junk. I'll stick with the Sony PS-LX120 i just bought.
Same crappy turntable as fitted to the Crosley, absolute garbage, I am amazed the CD player still worked!
If you don't like repairing this kind of item, then why do you ? On the other hand if a customer wants it repaired, then be up front with cost and future reliability/lifespan etc, @we@ all know that it's an entry level or novelty product, but many people don't. If you give a price and they go ahead then fine, otherwise aviod it. What will your customers think if they watch a video where you are dissing something that they paid good money for, even if their judgement was misplaced or simply made due to a lack of experience. Just my humble thoughts.
Made 50 bucks. So I can buy my lunch exactly 2 times.
@@12voltvids that's not too bad, as long as you didn't spend more than a couple of hours on it, UA-cam content creation aside of course :) thanks for the content.
Crossley is jealous
This one is junk but the other memorex I was given with the cd recorder is great. I was surprised.
Nice plastic turntable .... NOT!
I don't know why anyone would buy such a pile of poo.
I have friends that have similar junk.
Not worth pissing on.
Yup
Lmfao
Firewood? Anybody?Anybody?