1949 RCA Victor Cult Record Changer for 45 rpm Records only, first edition, Combined with AM Radio in Rare Canadian Model 9-Y-5
In a Nutshell
The radio - record changer combo for sale here is a lovely and decorative piece of mid century Rock'n Roll design and a very rare and highly collectible art-deco piece, in a condition without equal
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Introduction:
Ref.1 below lists 164 different 45 rpm only RCA record changers, 55 table models, 33 in consoles and 76 licensed to other manufacturers, all built between 1949 and 1958. My model 9Y5 is not listed! Here are the keywords from the original 1949 ads:
WORLD'S FASTEST RECORD CHANGER! trigger-action speed! Changes record in one revolution
MOST COMPACT AND LIGHT! unit occupies less than half the space of other types
SILENT, RECORD-SAVING PICKUP! later "Silent Sapphire" cartridge exerts a stylus pressure of only 5 grams. Records sound better - last longer
BIG PYLON SPINDLE HOLDS CHANGER MECHANISM! changer mechanism is within the large spindle. Fewer moving parts - it's
the surest, easiest operating changer ever designed, it's trouble-free
LONG LASTING PLEASURE! can play more than 50 minutes of music without the need of attention (more than 10 records stacked)
There is a youtube video on the internet, that shows the same 9Y5 radiogram (ref.2) as presented here; it is not mine, but could well be. I took a video too, single-click on pict.44. The US counterpart 9Y7 but even more so the Canadian 9Y5 are very rare early models, already discontinued after one year, and the only units in a wooden cabinet. Both use the original robust and reliable RP-168 changer, that was later replaced by the much cheaper RP-190. Both use a selenium rectifier, but still have 5 (9Y7: 6) tubes, two of which belong to a powerful push-pull audio amplifier. For a comparison of the two models see pict.43. The 1949 selling price of $99 for the Canadian model corresponds to $860 today!
Additional information:
ref. 1: http://thepayne.net/~dano/45.html
ref. 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRodHU76ECA/
ref. 3: http://www.downstairsrecords.com/about/rpm.html
ref. 4: http://pl703.pairlitesite.com/Articles/DayHadToPay.pdf
For the techies only: The 1949 ads say: it's trouble-free. Perhaps it was, but often it's not anymore, 60 years take their toll. Lubricants dry out, grease and dust settles down, rubber gets brittle and/or permanently deformed by lack of use, springs get detensioned, calibrations get de-adjusted, parts get lost, cases crack, paint chips off, and so on and so forth. The best chance to get a fit and enjoyably working unit is to buy it from a music lover, who used it till yesterday, the worst are the "as is", the attic finds, the estate provenances, inbetween are the refurbished and the rebuilt machines. If a unit is structurally sound and undamaged it is in most cases still necessary to take it apart into all of its 85 parts, clean and lubricate it and reassemble it, in order to get it working trouble-free and reliably. This is what was done with the player for sale here, although it was already instantly working in all its functions when I bought it.
For the historians only: It was on June 21, 1948 that Columbia introduced the first 12-inch
33-1/3 rpm micro-groove Long-Play vinylite record ("album") with 23-minute
per side capacity, developed by Peter Goldmark in 1947. The new record medium
had 5 times the capacity and much lower surface noise than its older 78 rpm
shellac cousin. Peter and his Columbia engineers could not believe that
their big rival RCA Victor only 9 months later, on April 2, 1949 brought
to market another entirely new disc recording medium, the 7-inch 45 rpm
vinyl disc. In fact RCA had invented and developed a ready for market 45
RPM record and automatic record changer already in 1938/1939, ten years before
Columbia developed theirs. David Sarnoff, the CEO of RCA, had kept the development
a carefully guarded industrial secret, and shelved its introduction, waiting
for the American economy to fully recover, and not risking to jeopardize
the flourishing 78 rpm record sales. Read the whole story in ref.3 above.
About my radiogram:
The radiogram is in excellent condition. The cabinet has the original finish and the original knobs and has no chips, cracks , scratches etc. The record changer chassis looks like new. The seignette cartridge was replaced with a modern ceramic cartridge with diamond needle (pict.37), and the reduced tonearm weight supplemented with two cents (one US, one Canadian). All moveable parts were treated with contact spray. The radio plays loud and clear and the record changer works flawlessly. Note that the movie (click on pict.44) was taken here in Chilliwack, where we don't have any strong AM stations left. The dealer who sold the radiogram was Brown & Munton, a radio shop in 1542 Marine Drive, (North) Vancouver (pict.35). You can read more about the need for a license to operate a Canadian radio (see Warning on yellow sticker in pict.35), in ref.4. Please
e-mail
me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.
Here are the specifications:
Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
RCA Victor Co. Ltd., Montreal, Canada |
| Type |
5-tube AM superheterodyne receiver and 45 rpm record changer |
| Model |
9Y5 |
| Serial Number |
0461 |
| Production Year |
1949 |
| Cabinet |
Solid and veneered wood |
| Dials and knobs |
Slide rule reverse painted glass dial, 4 original bakelite knobs |
| Size (WxDxH) |
12¾" (without side knobs) x 13½" x 8 " |
| Weight |
17 pounds, 7.7 kg |
| Frequency Range |
AM 540-1600 kc |
| Controls |
On/off - tone, volume, function Radio - Phono - AUX, Tuning |
| Tube Complement |
12BE6, 12SF7, 12SC7, 2x35C5 push-pull, Se-Rectifier |
| Record changer |
45 rpm only record changer with RP-168 chassis |
| Cartridge |
Replaced by ceramic cartridge with diamond needle, extra weight |
| Comment |
Thoroughly cleaned and serviced, works perfectly |
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