Wurlitzer 140 battery pack? 930 amp?

vanceinatlance · July 21, 2015, 06:19:03 PM

So my latest find is a wurlitzer 140 (not A or B) that came with a really cool (looking anyways) 930 accessory amp. The piano and amp are both in need of lots of service, but there really is not much information available about these out there I could find. Is there a reason for this?
They both appear to use germanium transistors and the 140 has parts in its circuit I don't believe I have seen before.
The 930 accessory speaker has 4x 6x9? Speakers arranged 1 per side of the amplifier box and what appears to be a remote on/off/volume control with cable.
When I removed the amplifier from the Piano, I noticed that it has a 6 pin round plug marked "battery pack". It appears to be labeled from the factory that way. Was there a battery pack option on the 140 pianos?
Anyone with a working 140 piano out there?
930 accessory speakers?
Any information would be much appreciated.

pianotuner steveo · July 22, 2015, 07:22:01 AM

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the 930 was meant for the 140. The 930 was an accessory for the 120 originally. I'm assuming any older model can be used with it but I believe it was a 120 accessory when new.

The 930 is mentioned in the 120 manual I believe, but no schematics. I have no idea what the jack is for.

vanceinatlance · July 22, 2015, 09:39:28 AM

Thanks for the info Steveo.
I wonder what for or why that battery pack label is there? Maybe an idea that was ditched from the factory? Was battery used as a term for an accessory amp possibly? I think two parts on the amplifier that confused me are very old varistors. I read from another post here that this model used them for the tremolo. One of them is ,unfortunately, broken in half.
The amp in the 930 is very early solid state. It looks almost like a 1-off board. Maybe the one I have was modified, but then, everything seems like it is proper vintage and not obviously messed or tinkered with. I saw a picture of what was labeled as 930b amplifier that had a tube amp inside and was paired with a 145b piano. I can not locate anything on this particular speaker.
I am going to try to post some pics as soon as I get them formatted to a reasonable size.

Peter Hayes · July 22, 2015, 10:20:02 AM

I bought a 140 at a garage sale many years ago and the guy who sold it to me said that they used at funerals, playing it at the grave side using the battery.

vanceinatlance · July 22, 2015, 11:15:08 AM

Wow, I never thought about these being used graveside! The stories behind these instruments and how they were used are fascinating. I feel like the best bonus in purchasing a vintage instrument is if you are able to find out about it's past.
I may have to make some modifications to my will now haha!
These are some pics of the accessory amplifier it's control and the 140 plug marked with the battery pack plug. Unfortunately, some home painting was done on them.

DocWurly · July 22, 2015, 03:46:23 PM

Quote from: pianotuner steveo on July 22, 2015, 07:22:01 AM
No, the 140 did not have a battery pack. I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the 930 was meant for the 140. The 930 was an accessory for the 120 originally. I'm assuming any older model can be used with it but I believe it was a 120 accessory when new.

The 930 is mentioned in the 120 manual I believe, but no schematics. I have no idea what the jack is for.

Sorry, Steveo, but I think you are thinking of the 920 amp, which indeed was intended for the 120 Wurly. The 930 was a "tone cabinet" which was indeed intended for the 140. There was also a 930B which went with....you guessed it....the 140B.

See lines 42 through 44 of this list (may show up on a "next" page):

http://paleophone.net/?page_id=923

pianotuner steveo · July 22, 2015, 07:09:02 PM

This is the first time in 40 years of using Wurlitzers that I have ever heard of a battery pack being used with a 140.

Yes, maybe I meant 920 instead of 930.

DocWurly · July 22, 2015, 08:40:40 PM

Can you post pix of any serial number plates for any/all items? What especially is the serial number of the 140?

vanceinatlance · July 23, 2015, 10:15:03 AM

Thanks for the information Paleophone! I looked at your reference page previously, but never scrolled past the information on the 140 to see the tone cabinets. Great resource page you have created and thanks for sharing it with everyone!
I can't find a serial number yet on the 140. The piano looks to have been home painted and not so well. The amp is stamped model 140 and it matches the description of the 140 circuit people have described, so I'm calling it a 140!
The 930 tone cabinet does have a serial 804558 on a plackard located at the bottom of the cabinet that also gives the model number of 930. If you know any other place to find a serial, I will look. It will all be stripped down eventually so I should have access to every nook and cranny.

DocWurly · July 29, 2015, 11:15:48 AM

The serial number plate should be on the back panel, near the various plugs. It was probably painted over? Unless it was removed.

I think the 140A also had a 140 amp. If you are ever replacing reeds, you will want to know which one it is. The 140 will probably have more of the 1950's / 120 model sound, because of those reeds. I'm guessing.

phreeet · September 26, 2015, 07:06:32 PM

I have a Wurlitzer 140 electric piano. On the back panel it has a battery pack input. Is there a battery pack I can buy to make my 140 a portable battery powered piano?
Please see pics.
Thanks,
Zach

Does anyone know how to make a battery pack that would power the Wurlitzer 140?

pianotuner steveo · September 26, 2015, 07:25:33 PM

It would be extremely difficult to find one, let alone one that works...

Like I said earlier, I never heard of this until recently and I've been using Wurlis for 40+ years, so I've never seen one. I still have never even seen a 200B either.

vanceinatlance · September 26, 2015, 11:53:55 PM

Well, from reading the schematic, the battery pack seemed like it would have been pretty proprietary. The circuit looks like it needed three voltages, +250 for the electrostatic pickup, and +20v and -20v for the amplifier circuit. I don't believe something like this would be sitting on the shelf at a local batteries plus store. Most likely, you would have to custom build a battery pack to run the piano. It would be kind of neat to do! Mine has a long way to go before I start fiddling with the battery pack idea, unfortunately.

DocWurly · October 24, 2016, 01:57:13 PM

Hey, I was just looking more closely at some of my research pix.

Not only did the 140 have the battery back, but so did the 140A..... and even the earliest 140B's!!!

The jack is on the back panel, between the phono and speaker jacks. It has 6 holes surrounding a 7th larger hole. On some of the 140 series, it appears a wire has been threaded through some of the holes. I'm not sure whether this is original, or a way to bypass an electrical problem that the pack might have caused.

The earliest 140B I've seen, most likely from late 1964 or thereabouts, has a serial number of 27895. It has the battery pack, and long dampers that cover the screws, which look like 120-style screws. By serial number 29808, that phono panel has no battery pack.

What I don't know is whether the later models used a 940A and 940B battery pack, or the same 940 as on the 140. Especially important in the case of the 140B, which had a new amp design.

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Wurlitzer 140 battery pack? 930 amp?