Antique Tube amplifier I found at the pick and pull

[Mr. Burns]

Check this out

Pretty cool find IMO.

It's a eico hf22.
I don't have much info on it yet, but I DO know I want to restore it.

My grandfather was/a premier organ tuner in which he built his career on.
He has a basement jammed with parts for this thing, I I really hope it's a project we can both take in together.

Does anyone know anything about these things?

It's a mono amplifier, and collectable. That's all I really saw online.

This one looks pretty original and complete

[adonwilson]

Cool find. What are you planning to use it for? Might be a cool power amp for a guitar rig. Mono is pretty limiting though

You really think your grandpa will have original transformers for that thing? I'd love to see his collection

[anabolice30]

That is sick! Why was it in a pick n pull though?

[ST1G]

That is sick! Why was it in a pick n pull though?

Because someone was using it in there car, then the car got sold to pick n' pull... That's why things are in the pick n' pull.

[anabolice30]

Because someone was using it in there car, then the car got sold to pick n' pull... That's why things are in the pick n' pull.

Thank you sir mix a lot. What I meant was, how was such a big thing concealed in a car or what was its function.

[adonwilson]

lol highly doubt someone was powering that thing with their car.

I think it's funny they trusted people with impedance matching on stereos years ago

[Mr. Burns]

Cool find. What are you planning to use it for? Might be a cool power amp for a guitar rig. Mono is pretty limiting though

You really think your grandpa will have original transformers for that thing? I'd love to see his collection

honestly not planning to actually use it.
my interest is simply being able to restore it and pretty it up some.
I love the look of tube/vacuum amplifier electronics as display pieces. Bonus if they work as they should.

I would be hard pressed to think my grandfather wouldn't have the parts he was in the tube/vacuum electronics repair and sales field from the mid 1950 up until the early 1990's when he closed this shop.

He still gets called from various grandfathered clients to come tune and repair their pipe and tube organs throughout eastern Canada.

He's 83 now, and still has a passion for it.

When I visit him next I'll snap some pics of his workshop, it's really something else, and something i'll never understand- it's an old technology he mastered and not many others are still around to pass it along. I'd hope to pick up a little skill along the way myself

[Mr. Burns]

That is sick! Why was it in a pick n pull though?

I was looking for a nice set of leathers for my winter car (03 Ford Focus) and came across a Dodge Intrepid\Chrysler Concord of somesort and the trunk was locked. I can tell others have tried to open it as the lock cylinder was hammered out, but the lock mechanism still engaged.

I, have a crowbar with me and got it open.

Trunk was FULL of old antique electronics, stuff from the 60's and 70's...some Data Technology Corporation Integrated Resistance Testing Device that looked like it was from the cold war lol, a LOT of little motherboard looking panels, and literature dating back from the 70's all typed out by typewriter from some company called Datarug, along with some corespondance to a gentleman with an address in Texas...(I'm in Ontario Canada)

There was also an oldschool drill press in the trunk, looked complete.
bags upon bags of resistors, capasitors, a few glass tubes etc etc.
I'll likely go back and try and grab more, but now that I got the trunk open I think it'll disappear quickly

[slaterd]

Organ amplifiers are amazing for guitars. The guitarist for Boston used one and that's how he got his signature sound.

[rturbo 930]

Good find. How old is it? 40s-50s?

[keefy6]

Tubes do sound pretty amazing, i would endeavor to get them back in working condition and pair with an adequate record player.

I'm an a/v guy though, great find, is it stamped with a make/model? Better not be a Mcintosh....if it is...

[Mr. Burns]

Tubes do sound pretty amazing, i would endeavor to get them back in working condition and pair with an adequate record player.

I'm an a/v guy though, great find, is it stamped with a make/model? Better not be a Mcintosh....if it is...

would I be able to use a old record player along with this mono amp?

It is stamped with "EICO HF-22" and a stamped series number of 3503

I haven't had time to open it up yet- I'd rather wait to have it looked over with my granddad first before I start messing with it.

from what I've found online so far, I believe it was manufactured from 1955-1959

[keefy6]

would I be able to use a old record player along with this mono amp?

It is stamped with "EICO HF-22" and a stamped series number of 3503

I haven't had time to open it up yet- I'd rather wait to have it looked over with my granddad first before I start messing with it.

from what I've found online so far, I believe it was manufactured from 1955-1959

You could use it with even a modern record player. Since this isn't a stereo amplifier you would need another to connect to the opposite speaker.

I'm not an expert, but I do know that tube amplifiers are very durable, can be extremely valuable depending on when made and the model, and sound (amplification of) can vary depending on what make tubes you use. Have grandad check it, i agree and go from there. Hopefully it didn't sit in water.

[cunninglinguist]

Nice find! Eico amps are fairly well regarded and have decent transformers. As mentioned, you'd need another monoblock amp.

If you aren't familiar with tube amps, be very careful as they can contain 400-500 volts. The electrolytic capacitors are probably toast by now. You can use a variac to gradually bring the voltage up over a period of time, but I'd avoid simply plugging it into the wall without doing so first. The caps can explode. You can find tons of info about using a variac for this purpose if you search.

[Mr. Burns]

Nice find! Eico amps are fairly well regarded and have decent transformers. As mentioned, you'd need another monoblock amp.

If you aren't familiar with tube amps, be very careful as they can contain 400-500 volts. The electrolytic capacitors are probably toast by now. You can use a variac to gradually bring the voltage up over a period of time, but I'd avoid simply plugging it into the wall without doing so first. The caps can explode. You can find tons of info about using a variac for this purpose if you search.

thank you, great info, checking it out now-

I could use this singular mono amp to simply power 1 speaker (I have a vintage speaker german loudspeaker from the 1950's which actually still works as a display piece in my living room...Brand is Foha? or similar)

I do fear that once opened up it will be chaos as the vehicle it was in has been sitting for sometime, and the smell of mold and musk was quite strong...I guess I'll see but for now I find these pieces pretty fascinating and interesting