Hi, I just bought 2 old Shure PA columns, you know, the heavy 5
footers. I was told they are from the 1960's. They look older than the
Shure columns i've seen on eBay lately. Mine do not have a silver line
running down the middle of them from top to bottom.

They are model SR103, and the plate has two wattages listed, 78 and
34. Was that for when there were more than two columns wired together?

Anyway, my question is... what exactly do I have here? I've spent a
day on Google and haven't found much, except when I searched on
"VocalMaster". Mine do not say VocalMaster on the front or on the
plate, though. And it seems like people rip VocalMaster PA systems
anyway.

Any info you can give me would help. And a manual or web address with
similiar info would be awesome. Is there any way to determine their
age?

My plan, unless they have great value, is to add a 1/4 plug, and use
them with a head for my Fender Strat. But I don't want to mess with
them if they are rare or something, not because of value but because I
have a thing about keeping rare, vintage things in their original
state.

Thanks a lot!

- D Man






















__
__

Dish wrote:
Hi, I just bought 2 old Shure PA columns, you know, the heavy 5
footers. I was told they are from the 1960's. They look older than the
Shure columns i've seen on eBay lately. Mine do not have a silver line
running down the middle of them from top to bottom.

I am terribly sorry.

Anyway, my question is... what exactly do I have here? I've spent a
day on Google and haven't found much, except when I searched on
"VocalMaster". Mine do not say VocalMaster on the front or on the
plate, though. And it seems like people rip VocalMaster PA systems
anyway.

Yes, these are the predicessor to modern line arrays. There really isn't
anything to them... they are a bunch of full-range drivers wired in series-
parallel. The stack gives you tight horizontal pattern control at the
expense of comb filtering.

Any info you can give me would help. And a manual or web address with
similiar info would be awesome. Is there any way to determine their
age?

Shure will probably give you information if you write them a letter. They
might even have some docs on the 'discontinued products' section of their
site.

My plan, unless they have great value, is to add a 1/4 plug, and use
them with a head for my Fender Strat. But I don't want to mess with
them if they are rare or something, not because of value but because I
have a thing about keeping rare, vintage things in their original
state.

If you do this, the drivers will not last five minutes. These are voice grade
PA drivers that are not intended for the sort of treatment that guitar amp
drivers regularly withstand.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In article writes:

Hi, I just bought 2 old Shure PA columns, you know, the heavy 5
footers. I was told they are from the 1960's. They look older than the
Shure columns i've seen on eBay lately. Mine do not have a silver line
running down the middle of them from top to bottom.

They are model SR103, and the plate has two wattages listed, 78 and
34. Was that for when there were more than two columns wired together?

Anyway, my question is... what exactly do I have here?


From a 1976 Shure catalog:

The SR103 is intended for permanent installations and may be used
outdoors for extended periods without adverse effects. All electrical
compnents, hardware, and enclosed surfaces have been designed for
maximum resistance to adverse weather conditions. Adhesives used are
moisture-resistant. Drain holes are proveided tominimize moisture
accumulation. Connections are made through a six-screw terminal strip.


The SR102 is the portable version with protective siderails and a
handle.

The basic rating is 16 ohms, 100 watts maximum program material
(whatever that means - "until they blow up"). It may also be used with
constant voltage (25 or 70 volt) systems without an external
transformer. I guess that's why the six terminals. The two wattages
are probably taps on that constant voltage transformer. It's up to you
to identify the terminals further, but I suspect you'll want to use
the pair that gives you the 16 ohms.



I've spent a
day on Google and haven't found much, except when I searched on
"VocalMaster". Mine do not say VocalMaster on the front or on the
plate, though. And it seems like people rip VocalMaster PA systems
anyway.

Any info you can give me would help. And a manual or web address with
similiar info would be awesome. Is there any way to determine their
age?

My plan, unless they have great value, is to add a 1/4 plug, and use
them with a head for my Fender Strat. But I don't want to mess with
them if they are rare or something, not because of value but because I
have a thing about keeping rare, vintage things in their original
state.

Thanks a lot!

- D Man






















__
__

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo