Hi,
I picked up a pretty beat up Conn Caprice at a Goodwill for, eh, $30 US. It powers on and plays decently; not all the switches work, though. I'm trying to decide whether I should invest in vacuum tubes or just gut the thing and turn it into an electronic organ.
Any advice?
I picked up a pretty beat up Conn Caprice at a Goodwill for, eh, $30 US. It powers on and plays decently; not all the switches work, though. I'm trying to decide whether I should invest in vacuum tubes or just gut the thing and turn it into an electronic organ.
Any advice?
No real advice, but there was a thread in the past few months that should at lest give you inspiration. I'll see if I can dig it up.
Ah, here it is:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/166115-1939-novachord-163-tube-monster.html
You won't have anywhere near that much work!
Ah, here it is:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/tubes-valves/166115-1939-novachord-163-tube-monster.html
You won't have anywhere near that much work!
Thanks for the inspiration.
OK, more details. My organ is a Conn Caprice 427M, utilizing 12AU7 vacuum tubes. I'm pretty sure many of them are burnt out, but I can't tell.
So, I think I'll try to fix it (after all, it can only get better once it's fixed), but I'm not sure what the things next to the tubes are or if they might need replaced.
Anybody have a Conn Caprice 427 or possibly a service manual for one?
OK, more details. My organ is a Conn Caprice 427M, utilizing 12AU7 vacuum tubes. I'm pretty sure many of them are burnt out, but I can't tell.
So, I think I'll try to fix it (after all, it can only get better once it's fixed), but I'm not sure what the things next to the tubes are or if they might need replaced.
Anybody have a Conn Caprice 427 or possibly a service manual for one?
People jump in replacng organ tubes, because 50's TV's burnt up tubes. Organs typically do not burn up tubes. The lack of visible light in your tubes indicates they heated them conservatively for long life. (My working 12A*7's mostly don't show visible light either). Without a tube tester, don't replace tubes. Bad tubes will have white getter, or a burned spot inside, or will be a recifier or a high powered amp tube (not 12A*7) Probably every electrolytic capacitor in your organ is dried up to 50% or lower of original capacity. Maybe 5% of any paper dielectric caps may have similar problems. (Paper stopped about 1967? how old is this?) The electrolytic rubber seals dry up and leak water out. See the following thread about replacing electrolytic caps: Conn 720 losing volume drastically, need help!! There is a member on there that suggests buying a "service manual", that means maybe he knows where to buy them. That said, I think all Conn's were sawtooth or square wave based with filters, which doesn't give them a lot of sounds no matter how many tabs they have. Conn experts please jump in, there are not a lot because of the sawtooth thing.
Thanks, Indianajo. I put up two threads in two different forums here at DIY, and now you've posted to both of them. I found the manual, but I'm going to wait to buy it until I have the time to work on my organ. I'm getting ready to go back to college this fall.
That's some helpful information about the tubes. After being cleaned off, they really do look in good shape and seem to be playing fine. A few struggles at first, but after a little thorough playing, they're working fine.
The caps I'm thinking are the electrolytic caps bear these numbers, words on them:
4-17922-1
1.50 MFD
100 VDC
FAST
Now that you mention it, the organ does sound very square, the flutes especially. The lowest five pedals on the pedalboard (low C through low E) sometimes won't play, but the rest always sound off when pressed. The main speaker is located in the front of the organ, and a smaller speaker is located in the enclosure for the volume pedal. I don't know if the smaller one works.
I'd specify what switches aren't working, but many of them have their labels worn off. The manual should help with that, I think.
Before you touch metal, read the sticky thread at the top of the tube forum about safety around high voltage. Electrolytic capacitors store enough energy to kill you with the cord unplugged, read how to discharge them an verify you did it right with a calibrated (wall=120V) meter.
Yes, the 1.5 mf 100 V capacitors are probably electrolytic. There is probably another near the power transformer and rectifier tube.
Pedal switches often get parts bent in moving. I had to make a new tang for my Hammond pedalboard out of a hacksaw blade- took a special drill to put a screw hole in it. Other switches need cleaning with a pink pearl eraser, or very flammable explosive contact cleaner in a spray can. (Safe contact cleaner was banned by the EPA almost. There is some, but you can't buy it, because everybody is an idiot and wants the cheap gasoline in a can)
Yes, the 1.5 mf 100 V capacitors are probably electrolytic. There is probably another near the power transformer and rectifier tube.
Pedal switches often get parts bent in moving. I had to make a new tang for my Hammond pedalboard out of a hacksaw blade- took a special drill to put a screw hole in it. Other switches need cleaning with a pink pearl eraser, or very flammable explosive contact cleaner in a spray can. (Safe contact cleaner was banned by the EPA almost. There is some, but you can't buy it, because everybody is an idiot and wants the cheap gasoline in a can)
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