800B Speaker Compartment

[Joseph W Strickland]

I have a question for those of you with original E H Scott 800B units in original cabinets. What is the height, width and depth of the inside of the cabinet where the 15 inch woofer and tweeter are installed?

It appears that I will be making a custom cabinet to house my unit. I have found replacements for the missing 15 inch woofer and tweeter that came with the unit.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

[David C. Poland]

I would encourage you to be patient for a cabinet to show up.

Query any seller of a chassis if there he/she has the  cabinet. 

There are 4 versions I know of and have seen for the 800-B:  all phono/combo credenzas - that appear at auctions and eBay from time to time:

-Chippendale (Mahogany  (2 versions- with and without legs) ,

-Regency (Mahogany),

-Moderne (with lower doors and panels - usually blond),

-Moderne (without lower doors, just speaker cloth - also usually blond. 

Also documented but I have not seen: a French Provincial, & a Modern (a more traditional look - dark color) 

That is a lot of cabinet choices. Seems some are abandon or trashed due to size and expense to ship.

Cabinets are substantial. Have you been in touch with Texas radio clubs and their meets?

[Joseph W Strickland]

Dave;

Yes, I belong to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Vintage Radio & Phonograph Society. I do not get to attend all meetings, but go when I can. I am about 1.5 to 2 hours north. I have been contacting people who list 800B pieces on the internet, but so far have not found a cabinet available. Another consideration is that none of the original E H Scott provided cabinets really will fit with the furniture in our house. That is one reason I am thinking about making a custom cabinet. I would like to keep dimensions somewhat close to the originals if I can though. Larry Lindsey (also a member here) had the two chassis that I now have without a cabinet. The owner before him is also a member here and he had no cabinet with the unit either.

I will continue to watch for a cabinet, but I am not holding my breath. I have spotted several that are complete with chassis, but that is not what I need.

Joe

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Several additional cabinets were available for the 800B.  I am aware of an 800B in a very nice factory original Early American style cabinet presently for sale in the SF bay area but not being advertised (equipped for remote control but remote missing, $1000+/-), and both the Moderne and Chippendale style cabinets were available with decorated Chinese lacquer finishes having background colors of black, Mandarin red, or white.  Also, Matt Endicott has (or at least had) an 800B in a famous designer cabinet commissioned for the lobby of a very upscale hotel.  All of these cabinets are rare.  The walnut version of the Moderne cabinet can be viewed in the Blondie episode "Blondie in the Dough" (be prepared if you Google the title).  Dagwood decides to go into the radio repair business and disembowels JC Dither's 800B (actually just removes the tuner chassis from the front and maybe the power amplifier from the back).

Norman

[Joseph W Strickland]

Norman;

I imagine J C Dither was about ready to kill Dagwood! I will check out the video. Thanks.

Joe

[David C. Poland]

As for dimensions of the speaker compartment, dimensions varied depending on the cabinet model. Some were wide open below but others had record storage below the receiver and phono. Until you get actual measurements from someone:

The correct speaker was  a 15 inch flange mount. so figure 16 inches high minimum. 

The amp/power supply sat behind  of the speaker or to the side, depending on whether the cabinet had record album storage. So speaker compartment minimum width was the amp width plus a couple inches  for access (and at least one cable plug as I recall).

Cabinet depth had to be sufficient for the amp to sit behind the speaker without the speaker magnet bell cover interfering with the FM IF section of the amp and clearing the hotter power and rectifier tube heat so probably about minimum 15 or 16 inches deep.

There were some nicely designed early 1950's TV console cabinets with doors that might be a candidate for an 800-B.

I recall Grandmother's mid 1950's blond Capehart TV cabinet with a 12 inch speaker that may well have been big enough to accommodate an 800-B with speaker.

I know of one person who dismantled an 800-B Chippendale cabinet then re-cut and re-assembled the parts to make a console about the width of the receiver and refinished it. Looked pretty good. I rather favor the blond Moderne.

[Joseph W Strickland]

Dave;

Thanks for this information. I suspected that the positioning of various components would vary from cabinet to cabinet. I have see pictures of the 15 inch Jensen speaker that was used in some models which had the concentric mid-tweeter driver. There were some that had separate tweeters weren't there? Or was that in some of the older receivers. I have seen some tweeters on ebay that are offered for over $2500.

The early 800B that I have was modified by one of its former owners to use a PM speaker. I have bought a new 15 inch woofer, a mid-tweeter driver and 2-way crossover network to use with the unit. These will not be original, but will easily handle the power level while being efficient enough to not tax the output of the 800B. Many of the OEM speakers I see on ebay have obvious damage to their cones and who knows what else - possible loose spider assemblies etc. Nearly all of them would need re-coning and other repair work at additional expense. Using new speakers avoids those issues and will allow me to apply more funds toward a decent cabinet, either an original one or a custom cabinet.

One thing that I have been wondering about is how the latches on the radio chassis work to allow the unit to slide forward enough to change tubes. I also note that there is no handle to pull with in front, so how does the slide mechanism work? Does the cover door activate some spring loaded mechanism that drives the radio chassis forward? Then if one wanted to change tubes, how does the owner unlatch the spring latches to pull the unit further forward to expose the tubes?

Joe

[Matt Endicott]

It's only been another 4 years I know, but I just spotted my name, LOL.  I do still have the Scott 800B and am getting ready to move it.  Norman, to be clear there is no evidence it was ever commissioned for a hotel.  It's history is still a mystery.  The architect, Sam Marx, did some commercial designs, but the vast majority of his work was residential homes and interior design for wealthy clients living along the Chicago Gold Coast particularly along Sheridan Rd through Glencoe and Wilmette.

Norman S Braithwaite said:

Several additional cabinets were available for the 800B.  I am aware of an 800B in a very nice factory original Early American style cabinet presently for sale in the SF bay area but not being advertised (equipped for remote control but remote missing, $1000+/-), and both the Moderne and Chippendale style cabinets were available with decorated Chinese lacquer finishes having background colors of black, Mandarin red, or white.  Also, Matt Endicott has (or at least had) an 800B in a famous designer cabinet commissioned for the lobby of a very upscale hotel.  All of these cabinets are rare.  The walnut version of the Moderne cabinet can be viewed in the Blondie episode "Blondie in the Dough" (be prepared if you Google the title).  Dagwood decides to go into the radio repair business and disembowels JC Dither's 800B (actually just removes the tuner chassis from the front and maybe the power amplifier from the back).

Norman

[Norman S Braithwaite]

Thanks for the clarification Matt.

Norman 

[Troy Taylor]

Hello Mr. Strickland-

I just realized that this is a recent update to an older question, but thought I would respond anyway.  I have a 15" Magnavox electromagnetic speaker, likely manufactured in 1949, that I removed from my AW23 when I found the correct 12" pedestal speaker for restoration of that radio.  See my post on "Modified AW23 questions" on the forum for pictures and some information from Mr. Day regarding possible original applications for this speaker.

As this speaker has a field coil, and is probably from 1949, it may be a functionally closer replacement than the permanent magnet speaker now in your 800B.

If you are able/interested to incorporate this speaker into your radio and thereby restore the electronics to be nearer to original than the modifications made to use a permanent magnet instead, I will send it to you for the price of shipping.  This speaker is of no use to me, and if it can help make another Scott closer to original configuration, then it is yours for the taking.  As best I know, it has no problems with the cone or coils, as it was said to be working with the AW23 at some time in the recent past, although I have to admit I never powered up the radio or listened to it with this speaker installed.  Just let me know if you are interested and I will find suitable packing materials.

Thank you and best regards-

Troy Taylor
Edmonds, WA