[mcgsxr]

A couple of years ago I picked up an old Telefunken console radio.

I immediately plunked my dedicated PC into it, for use with my SB3.  I ran it headless for a while, but recently could not resist a $20 Kijiji LCD find... (busted stand on the monitor).  Picked up a wireless keyboard and mouse for $22, and I am up and running - my wife is much happier picking tunes for her treadmill this way, and I can let friends pick tunes during billiards now, as they no longer have to understand the SB3 remote.

Now inside the old girl lives the original speakers and amp along with FM, my dedicated SFF Dell, 1TB drive, wireless keyboard and mouse, and Acer 17 inch LCD.

Behold, the 1TB console!

[low.pfile]

That is SWEET!

[Stu Pitt]

That's a great idea!

I was contemplating putting an Arcam Solo Music or Linn Majik into a console my father has sitting around in his basement that he's sick of looking at.  I don't have the space in my home nor the time and energy right now.

Maybe when I buy a home I'll borrow your idea.

Or maybe I'll one up it with an iPad feeding a Wadia iTransport or tablet PC feeding a DAC due to the touchscreen.  Or my Apple TV controlled by my iPhone.  The possibilities are endless.

[mcgsxr]

Thanks guys, for the comments.

I grew up with a Magnavox console in our living room (how 70's is that!), and wanted to keep it, but my folks had to get rid of it prior to my having my own place.

As my basement is unfinished, there is plenty of room down there by the pool table, so when this unit appeared on Craigslist close to my house for $50, I had to own it.

Brought it home, and just used it as a 6 foot FM radio for a couple of months - I had been streaming tunes from my PC upstairs to my SB3 at that point.

I then saw lots of small form factor off lease Dells on Craigslist going for under $100 (PII, 1G RAM, XP Pro, decent units) and decided to get a dedicated PC for my SB3, and run it via ethernet.  That proved stable and good, but running headless was a pain to make changes - had to activate wireless bridge on the SB3, connect via vLAN etc.

So, when the lcd appeared, I knew it was fate telling me to complete the transformation.

Down the road, I intend to finish off that basement room, and will build the wall to allow for that unit, and will likely hang a big TV over it, and use it to house all the gear too.  I would be willing to completely gut it, and use it simply as an art piece visually, that was an AV rack functionally.

Lots of different ways to leverage old tech and new tech.

I am still on a part time hunt for a 30's floorstanding tombstone/waterfall style radio that I can gut and use to house a large HT sub!

[Goosepond]

Hi Mark,

Too bad you're all the way up in Canada. A few years ago when I "discovered" eBay, I also discovered all those marvelous radios from the '30s and '40s. What was even more amazing was that a lot fo them still worked. Try that on all the plastic crap made today!

I'm old enough to remember when there were no TV's. My brother and I used to get up on Sat. mornings and "listen" to cartoons on our console radio. Never knew what happened to it.

Anyway, I lost my mind and filled the house with cabinets from tombstones, cathedrals and floor standing consoles. Zenith made some beautiful stuff back then.

The only reason I stopped was I ran out of room/money. But it's cool to look at and play those old radios, wondering where they have been all those years ago.

Gene

[mcgsxr]

Goose you are onto something for sure!

I absolutely love the look of some of these ones - http://www.decoradios.com/consoles/consoles.htm - Zeniths, Crosley's, Philco's lots to love!

Some year I will find one in OK shape that does not work (would feel bad gutting one of those babies), and stuff it full of subwoofer, I think that would be cool.

[Goosepond]

Mark,

For people that like tubes, some of these old consoles are something to behold. I've got one that is nothing special as far as the cabinet, but when you turn it around and look at the chassis you see a row of these huge balloon tubes.

I also have a 1938 Zenith console similar to those in the link you provided. It's actually one of the less impressive cabinets that Zenith offered but I got it at a reasonable price and the seller said it worked fine. As luck would have it, the cabinet shipped fine but the seller pulled the chassis out and shipped it separately to protect it. Well UPS decided to smash it a little. The seller sent me some replacement parts that are readily available and I ended up happy. I had to run a long antenna wire out the window and hung it up in a tall pine tree next to the house. That way I could get my favorite AM station in New Orleans.

I then plugged the radio into one of those electronic timers and set it to wake up in the morning. I had a 4 ft. tall 100 lb. alarm clock. 

Also back in the those early days of radio, everyone was giving it a try. I've got a beautiful empty console cabinet made by GM! I've also got some Firestone radios.

Zenith and Philco among others were the big players. Atwater Kent was also very big dating back to the mid '20s.

Gene

[rhbroad]

Hello Mark (sorry for the cross-post), I just found an identical "Senator" unit in *immaculate* shape for $50 and I'm wondering whether I should buy it... did you ever figure out what the cabinet's made of (solid teak, mahogany veneer etc)?

The electronics are definitely SS, so not much interest there, but if the cabinet is solid wood then I might pick it up and try to do some tasteful retrofitting.  This thing is a real beauty, but it's absolutely *ENORMOUS* so I want to be sure it's worth it... before taking on yet another project. 

Any info or tips would be much appreciated!

Robert.

[mcgsxr]

I think parts are solid, other parts are veneer.  The lids appear to be solid.  I drilled some 1-1.5 inch holes in the back, and that is veneer for sure.

Not sure that helps?

I am still using mine, if that does!

[Lyndon]

Love the idea, Mark.
So you grew up with the 70's Magnavox console.
I grew up with the 70's Muntz 

I wonder what the electronics are like in a Telefunken.  Probably pretty good.
I kept a look out for those 50's Magnavox with that sweet tube amp, but never saw one
crop up.
Enjoy those tunes!

[Bob in St. Louis]

Mark, that's a fantastic Idea. I really love your implementation, you did a very nice job and should be proud of what you've done.

I recall "back then" when you had your SqueezeBox running  "headless", and I was thinking to myself if there's one way to make a SB3 more of a pain in the ass, that's it, right there. 

But you soldiered on and made it work....only to improve on it later. Again, well done.
That's a project I'l like to have under my belt, I like it.

What drivers are in the cabinet, by the way?

Bob

p.s. The one thing that comes to mind, is having your friends over one day....and during a party they're leaned over looking at the screen and pour a glass of cocktail on it. 

[JCarney]

Awesome, just awesome.