A brief history of the WELTRON and GEC 2005 and 2007 stereo systems
The WELTRON company which manufactured range of futuristic “space age” music systems in the 1970s was founded in 1968 in Durham, South Carolina by J Pratt Winston.
It has been said that the inspiration for the spaceship design of the WELTRON (GEC) stereo systems came from the 1968 movie 2001 A Space Odyssey. However this is not the case according to Pratt Winston. In an interview with the North Carolina magazine Our State, in Aug 2020 he credited the 1953 The War of the Worlds movie as the inspiration for the various Weltron space-age stereo systems. To quote from Winston in the article: “The aliens marched around in spacey boxes; they had everything they needed in there.” Why not load a radio, tape player, and speakers into something flashy and portable?
Working in partnership with a number of Japanese electronic engineers the group came up with the design of a number of stereo systems, including the 2005 and 2007 stereo systems. Both the 2005 and 2007 systems use the same external spaceship plastic case but with different electronics. The 2005 has an 8-Track deck and is powered by 60 Hertz 110 Volt AC and was mainly tailored for the American market.
The Weltron 2007 (branded as a GEC in Australia ), uses a cassette deck and was aimed for the overseas market and runs on 50 Hertz 240 Volt mains power.
The model 2005 was advertised in May 1973, listed for $300 U.S. Model 2007 was introduced at the 1975 Las Vegas Winter Consumer Electronics Show, for a price of $399 U.S. Current prices for good condition 2007’s complete withy stand and external speakers can range from $1500 to $3000 Australian dollars.
Please note: GEC replacement lids, hinges and manuals are no longer available.
Due to supply and freight issues, we are no longer able to provide GEC replacement parts. To be notified if this changes in the future, you can subscribe for updates here.
REPLACEMENT ACRYLIC LIDS (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE)
In originally designing the 2005 and 2007 plastic cases (in white and yellow) the challenge for the WELTRON designers in the 1970s was to create a clear plastic lid that would stay open when raised. This was solved by using a heat molded light-weight perspex lid, held open by a high strength plastic hinge with two tempered steel springs. This lid arrangement worked remarkably well in the 1970s but after almost half a century of use it has become a major problem for the following reasons:
- The original perspex lids, due to the manufacturing process where liquid plastic was poured into a mold, became very brittle with many years of exposure to UV sunlight and are prone to cracking when opening or closing. This is from the resistance of the lid springs acting on the lid screw holes which are a weak point where the crack would tend to start.
- The strong springs would slowly wear away their plastic supports on the top section of the case and fall off - the lid would then no longer stay open.
- Sometimes the plastic hinge itself would fail from the constant stress of the metal springs.
- Sometimes the temper of the two metal springs would weaken to the extent that they could no longer hold the lid open.
- With a cracked lid that would not stay open, in some cases the owner would simply remove the broken lid. However, with no lid attached the hinge would flop down and be in the way of changing records and so it would be removed as well.
Solving the lid problem
The reproduction lids are made from UV stabilized acrylic plastic and are individually made using a specially manufactured frame, resulting in a far better product that will not deteriorate over the years.
A sheet of flat acrylic plastic is placed in the frame and then heated with very hot air from underneath and blown to the exact same dimensions as the top section of the stereo. Each lid is then hand cut out and fitted to an original 2007 top section. Note: this lid will also fit the Weltron 2005 8-track version. The lids come with instructions on how to properly drill and fit the lid to your machine.
DOWNLOAD: Lid Installation Instructions (393kb PDF)
Click Thumbnails above for larger photos
REPLACEMENT HINGES (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE)
As many people who have enquired about replacement lids did no longer have a hinge to connect the lid to, a mold of the original hinge was made and test copies made. Although this allowed the lid to be attached to the top section of the 2007 (and 2005), accessing and replacing the two metal springs that were frequently missing was found to be virtually impossible. A completely new hinge arrangement was needed using a stronger plastic.
In 2021 a Hobart Tasmania based 3D printing technician who took up the challenge of designing and making a new hinge that held the lid open without needing metal springs. The final hinge is the result of over 60 design modifications, taking place over four months and included selecting the most suitable plastic. Each hinge takes around 5 hours to print with a 3D printer, and is made of multiple parts with the stress lines in different planes for maximum strength, these parts are clamp bonded for at least 24 hours.
DOWNLOADS: Product Information Flyer (94kb PDF), Hinge Installation Instructions (228kb PDF)
Click Thumbnails above for larger photos
FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE)
The 29-page factory service manual for the GEC 2007 is a must for anyone repairing a 2007 Stereo System.
