Penny Turntable: Let's See How It Works! The Latest Retro Technology Discovery

Welcome to the second episode of the column: "The Latest Retro Technology Discovery"! We see the Penny disc player internally, clean it and analyze how it works.

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Country of production: Italy.
Producer: MusicalNastro, MusicalSound.
Model: Penny 222D.
Years of production: 1975 – 1988.
Operating voltages: 220 Volt mains or 6 1.5 Volt half torch batteries.
Amplifier power: 1W mono.
Dimensions: 250 x 220 x 70 mm.

Before turning on the Penny

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound red discs 45 rpm children

Before connecting the Penny disc player to the mains, let's start checking if the plug is short-circuited. Let's test the resistance with a tester… We have 670 ohms: it is not short-circuited. We can try to turn it on.

We connect the plug to the socket, but the power strip switch is still off.

Penny Disc Eater tests transformer resistance before connecting the 670 ohm multimeter tester plug

Seen what happened in the Atari 800XL video, it is better to move away before giving tension! Fortunately, this time everything went well: there was no power failure!

We keep it on for a short time, just long enough to try it out with a 45 rpm record.

Penny record player history

The Penny record player was produced by an Italian company: MusicalNastro, also known as MusicalSound. It remained open from 1968 to 1988. The Penny was available in different colors and was produced in several versions, all quite similar, from 1975 to 1988. It plays music from records spinning at 45 rpm. This is a beautiful red specimen.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound red disc player 45 rpm children

For Millennials... you can consider the Penny record player a bit like an MP3 player, with a built-in speaker, for children! In fact, children could listen to their favorite fairy tales, or cartoon theme tunes, recorded on 45 rpm records.

Disc Eater Penny Musical Musical tape Red sound 45 rpm discs children fairy tales theme songs cartoons songs

Instead, the older kids preferred to use stereos, with audio cassettes, a bit more performing and flashy!

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45 rpm records go into the front slot. It is possible to adjust the tone and volume of the audio playback.

Musical Tape MusicalSound Disc player Penny red 45 rpm disc insertion front slot

When the disc is finished, the mechanism stops by itself and you must press this button to eject the disc.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound red eject button eject disc 45 rpm

In addition to powering the disc player with the mains, it can also be used with 6 type C batteries, half-torch type.

Musical Tape MusicalSound Disc player Penny red power connector battery compartment half flashlight door

We disassemble the turntable to clean it

We disassemble the Penny player to clean it and to see how it is inside. Opening the disc player is very simple: there are only three Phillips screws to unscrew in the lower part of the plastic container. Warning! Remember to unplug before opening the turntable!

Disc player Penny Musical MusicalSound tape disassemble open inside unscrew star and cross screws

After unscrewing the screws, the container is free to open. We open it carefully, so as not to tear the thin threads present inside.

Record player Penny Musical MusicalSound tape clean disassemble open inside unscrew screws as mechanics transformer speaker amplifier motor stylus cartridge

From the label, you can see that it is a 1983 model, tested on November 29th.

Penny Musical RecorderInternal MusicalSound tape labels the tester November 29, 1983

Although not very dirty, we can see some dust on the needle and ... a spider!

Penny Musical Disc Eater MusicalSound Tape Clean Head Needle Dust Spider

We can clean up the inside of the Penny disc player. We use a little compressed air (obviously in a delicate way), a lint-free cloth and a toothbrush or brush. We clean the needle with a little flux. When cleaning the stylus, be careful not to break the lower tip, which is very delicate indeed.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound clean head pin detoxifying powder gently

Let's analyze the various components of the Penny disc player

Regarding the electronic part, we can see the power connector, which brings current to the transformer when using the disc player powered by the mains. If it is plugged in, the disc player transformer is always powered, as there is no off switch.

Record Player Penny Musical Musical Sound Tape Clean Disassemble Open Internal Mechanics Transformer Speaker Amplifier Motor Stylus Head

At the top, we can see the battery housing, to power the player when using it disconnected from the power outlet.

The audio amplifier amplifies the audio signal coming from the stylus and sends it to the 1 Watt speaker. The Penny record player is mono, in fact there is only one audio amplifier and one speaker.

This trimmer adjusts the speed of rotation of the disc and must be set so that the disc rotates at 45 rpm. If the player is spinning too fast or too slow, you will have to act on this trimmer to adjust the optimal speed of the platter: 45 rpm.

Penny Musical Disc Eater MusicalSound tape clean internal regular rotation speed mechanical trimmer disc

We disassemble the amplifier, to see how it is made. There are two screws to unscrew. We twist it gently, so as not to detach any threads.

Penny Musical Recorder Tape MusicalSound internal amplifier board TBA820M capacitors trimmer volume tone mono amplifier 1W

The amplifier is very simple: we can see the power supply section, consisting of the rectifier bridge and the smoothing capacitor. The mono audio amplifier consists of a TBA820M integrated circuit. As can be seen from the datasheet, the TBA820M is capable of delivering just over 1 Watt on an 8 ohm speaker. Anyone interested in taking a look at the datasheet can find it at the bottom of this page. In the amplifier board, there are also two trimmers: one for volume control and one for tone control.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeInternal board amplifier board TBA820M tone volume trimmer

While we're at it, let's also clean the audio amplifier. Then, we reassemble it.

How the Penny MusicalNastro record player works

This operation leave it to me alone! I reconnect the power plug, even though the player is open, to see how the disc spins. Warning! There is high voltage! Let's give the record a dusting before inserting it: by now we have cleaned the needle and we certainly don't want to dirty it with the dust on the record!

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound insert disc 45 rpm mechanism

When we insert the disc, the mechanism starts automatically and starts the audio playback. How does the player turn on automatically? There is this contact that closes on this metal plate when we insert the disc.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound contacts switching off signaling mechanism

As soon as we insert the disc, the centering device is also lowered, which keeps the disc pressed so that it is centered with respect to the platter.

Penny Musical Disc Eater MusicalSound tape 45 rpm disc mechanism stylus head centering plate

Audio playback continues until the disc is finished. The stylus stays pressed on the grooves of the record, which contain the audio track. On 45 rpm vinyl records, the mono audio track is recorded in horizontal motion.

45 rpm vinyl record for children dance of the here tracks audio track groove horizontal grooves

You can see the waveforms of the music by zooming in on the track with a microscope! The tip of the head, following the grooves of the record as it spins, vibrates and this vibration is converted into electrical signals, which the amplifier sends to the speaker.

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45 rpm vinyl record for kids grooves tracks horizontal audio track

The centering device ensures that the disc does not move from the platter: remember that the disc player works even when it is in a vertical position. As we will see better later, the disc platter is set in rotation by a belt connected to the motor.

Record Player Penny Musical Musical Sound Tape Disassemble Open Internal Mechanics Speaker Transformer 1W Motor Amplifier Needle Head Disc

When the disc ends, the audio track moves the stylus towards the center of the disc.

Disc Eater Penny Musical MusicalSound tape centering motor disc needle head flat belt

The mechanism switches off automatically, because this contact, coming out of the plate, no longer conducts current.

Penny Musical disc-eater MusicalSound tape contacts on-off signals on-off mechanism

At this point we can eject the disc. The record is pushed out of the platter, the centering device lifts and the needle returns to its initial position: the outermost track of the record.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound disc ejection 45 rpm spring mechanism

Furthermore, this contact opens, keeping the platter off even if the needle is positioned at the beginning of the record.

Penny Musical record-eater MusicalSound tape contacts on-off-on-off mechanism signals on-off

Everything remains off until we insert another disk. Interesting, right?

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound disc ejection 45 rpm pin center arm contact

Lubricate and deoxidize the turntable

After seeing how the mechanical part works, we can proceed to lubricate the moving parts that seem to be doing a bit of effort. Be careful not to get dirty around! We apply a little flux to the contacts that manage the switching on and off of the disc player.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound deoxidize deoxidizer contacts ignition shutdown mechanism

The belt

And here is the belt that transfers the movement from the motor to the disc platter. After all these years, the belt may be hardened and deformed.

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Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound black belt flat motor mechanism

I do not intend to change it, for now, as it does not give obvious problems. I'm happy to clean it with a little water.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound cleaning belt black flat motor mechanism

Penny cleaner

We can now clean the outside of the disc player container. We use water with a little degreaser.

Penny Musical Disc CleanerMusical TapeSound with sponge degreaser

To clean the corners, the cracks and even the writings, we can help ourselves with a toothbrush or a brush. We clean everything thoroughly, even the battery compartment door.

Penny Musical Disc CleanerMusical TapeSound with toothbrush degreaser

The degreaser must not remain on the plastic, to avoid damaging it. It is good to rinse it by wiping the entire container with a cloth moistened with water, several times, if necessary.

Then, dry well with a lint-free cloth.

Penny Musical Disc CleanerMusical TapeSound drying wipe with cloth

We can now close the Penny player. We simply screw in the three lower screws that we had previously unscrewed.

Penny Musical record playerMusical tapeSound close reassemble assemble screw lower screws

And here is our Penny red player, clean and working! Well, I hope you enjoyed today's "The Latest Retro Technology Discovery".

MusicalRape MusicalSound Penny red record player vinyl record player 45 rpm children

Credits: in the video tutorial, the music is Stellar Wind by Unicorn Heads.

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Datasheet of the chip TBA820M

Here is, as promised, the datasheet of TBA820M amplifier chip.

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18 Comments

  1. Congratulations, all very interesting and well documented (I'm a former disassembler of walkman, stereo and turntable but only for very basic things)

  2. Howdy! could you please tell me what kind of power cord is good for the penny name deed? I would need to figure out the right type to buy it. Thank you

  3. I have a Penny from 1978 but the audio doesn't work. There is an integrated 14-pin with an inscription TA A611 A12 of which I can not find datasheet. Do you know him by chance?

  4. I just found my old Penny, set aside by my mother centuries ago. I would like to reconnect it to the current, but I do not find the cable. What kind of plug do you use? Is it a simple wire or is there also a transformer?
    Thank you!

  5. I would like to change the square belt of the scooter but I can not find it on the internet! could you give me some help?

  6. You can find it on eBay, try typing "Penny record player belt". Alternatively, you can try looking for it in the "historic" electronics shops, which are found in the cities.

  7. Hello. Can you tell me what it can mean that the disc does not stop at the end of the stroke. He arrives at the end of the track and then stands still making a sprint trying to go on the end but fails to go. It can affect the belt that I have not yet replaced because it works correctly.

  8. Hello! I don't think it's the belt. Rather, I suggest you compare the operation of the limit switches of your record player, compared to how you see them working in my video.

  9. Hi, I have an old Penny that worked perfectly until the strap fell apart into a thousand pieces. I wanted to ask you what circumference (at rest) the strap has. Thank you and kind regards.

  10. Howdy. I didn't measure the strap of mine, sorry. On eBay you will find the replacement straps of the record player, with the correct diameter, shape and section. You can find them by typing "Penny Record-Eating Strap".

  11. Hello congratulations for the explanation of the operation! It is now difficult to find someone who transmits the knowledge of the time to others.
    I also find myself having a penny to which the needle has broken. Is it possible to replace only the metal part of the same and keep the plastic needle holder intact? To understand what you see in white color in your explanations. Is it easy to replace it?

  12. Hello! Thank you very much! I advise you to replace the whole needle, meaning all the component that includes the metal pin, the body and the back contacts. If you don't feel like doing it yourself, I can introduce you to a repairman.

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