I have spent hours searching for information on this Power Amp with no results. Found A, B and C versions but no S. I got got this from an old theatre that closed in the 50s and have had it for many years stored away in a closet. Everything looks to be original.
If anyone can tell me about this amp I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any help.
Bill

Give us a couple of pictures, and tube complement.

6SJ7
6L6
6L6G
5U4G

Probably a projection room / theatre /station moniter amp. Very nice. Could be repurposed as a guitar amp, so if you don't want it, let us know.

I have an Altec 323 amp, found it in a friend’s estate. It was apparently a kit, as the tube sockets are bolted instead of riveted. It most closely resembles the 323B found in Sams 66-2, but has a chrome chassis and plain escutcheon. The circuitry is identical to the 323B. There are no model identifiers on it, and as found was missing the TL-217B output transformer and tubes.

I have re-capped it and am using a Stancor A-3800 30 watt output transformer till I can find the missing Altec transformer. Will probably need to take out a mortgage on the house if I find one. It’s a great sounding amp, but has a slight persistent hum problem.

I don't have a picture of mine and it is in storage at the moment, but here's a picture of a brochure I cadged off the internet:

This looks like a PA amp meant for fixed installations (ballrooms, auditoriums etc). I'd guess it will push about 25 watts RMS with 6L6G's running in class AB1. It's Altec, so it's quality; the output transformer was probably a Peerless (subdivision of Altec). A replacement will come dear, as you suspect, unless you're lucky enough to find a jake who doesn't know what he has. Not too many of them around nowadays.

Does the gain control affect the hum? If so, the problem is ahead of the gain control. If not, start by looking for heater-cathode leaks. Input tube first, and then check forward.

Nice find, congratulations and good luck restoring ,

Larry

The reason I was looking for more information on this was to get an idea of the value. I have plans to put it on ebay. I know there are those out there who might want to use it and it has just been sitting in my closet forever. The A, B and C version seem to be prevalent but the S must not be. Do you have any idea when this was made. Late 40s or early 50s is my guess.
I am posting a few more pictures. By the way, what looks like rust in a couple of the first pictures is not. It is from a room light that I failed to turn off when taking the pics.
Thanks for all the help.
Bill

Just put it on eBay with a starting price of $9.99, and you will soon find out how much it is worth. Don't get nervous if the bids remain low during most of the listing. Use a number of good pictures. A willingness to ship to Asia may increase the selling price.

I have always obtained good prices, using this method.

P.S. Don't put, or let anyone talk you into, a Buy It Now price.

Your date of when the amp was made is correct. On the link below to the schematic of an A-323C, the date says 1950.

http://www.triodeel.com/al323c.gif

Your A-323S is a nice unmolested example. Good luck!

**Question for Larry...why would the A-323S amp call for a 6L6 and a 6L6 G? Why would they not call for the same tube designation in each socket? I'm thinking that either they forgot to put a "G" there, or it is worn off.

Just put it on eBay with a starting price of $9.99, and you will soon find out how much it is worth. Don't get nervous if the bids remain low during most of the listing. Use a number of good pictures. A willingness to ship to Asia may increase the selling price.

I have always obtained good prices, using this method.

P.S. Don't put, or let anyone talk you into, a Buy It Now price.[/quote]

Thank you for that advise. I haven't sold anything on ebay lately but have all positive feedback from when I did.
Still hoping someone on here will know if the S is more or less rare than the other 323 models.
I love the industrial beauty of this thing.

The actual tubes are both 6L6G even though on the chassis it says 6L6 on one and 6L6G on the other.

Agree with all. I'd leave it up to the phool who gets it to restuff all the capacitors. Don't plug it in and sell as is.

One other question or two...what is the "P.E.C. VOLTS" switch for? It looks like it's tied into two jacks on one side of the amplifier.

A guess would be that P.E.C. stands for photoelectric cell, which picked the sound off the film when illuminated by the exciter lamp.

Sounds good to me, Brian. Thanks.

its kind of like this one on ebay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WE-ALTEC-A-323B ... 1e6c6babbb

That's correct. This amplifier is a specific model for motion picture theaters.

-David

Damn if I know, John. I'd bet, however, that your guess is right.

I have the Sams for the 323B, and this one can't be too far from it in its basics. The Sams schematic for the 323B simply calls for two 6L6's, and I'd bet that the 323S schematic calls for them as well.

I downloaded the photo of the wiring and took a magnified look at it. Take a look at the output tube sockets. The keyways aren't visible, but you can locate the keyways by that heavy heater wiring to pins 2 and 7.

You'll see that between pin 5 (control grid) and pin 1 (shield on a 6L6, NC on 6L6) there is a 240K resistor. That's the control grid load resistor, and it must mean that pin 1 is at ground potential, so the amp will accommodate either 6L6's or 6L6G's.

Pity if this goes to some Silas Marner type who'll simply put it on the shelf and gloat about it. An amp like this should be in service.

Larry

Why not keep it and find another. Then you will have a nice pair of monoblocks

If I had it, I'd put it on stage fleet duty. It'll match up nicely with any number of medium-power instrument speakers.

Larry