Shadows bassist John Rostill went the same way.
Had he turned the volume past 11?
This really shows the value of gradually building up your tolerance to getting electrocuted. I started by testing 9v batteries with my tongue and moved up to replacing a duplex outlet that some moron had wired with each outlet on a different circuit, with one circuit live because I was too impatient to it turn off, in the dark and without a flashlight so I was doing it by feel.
Do not try this at home, kids. Remember what I said about my death wish. It used to be stronger.
The cheater cord came and worked perfectly (yay!) only we don’t know how to work the stereo (boo!). We got static once it warmed up (yay!) but couldn’t find anything on the fm band and then it started making a sound like a melodically inclined yet horny moose which we couldn’t stop, only modulate a little. And we couldn’t get the record player to do anything at all, like spin. So I’m thinking that has got to be that white cord in the back. Any idea where it goes?
My dad’s going to look at it tomorrow. Maybe it’s one of those things where it’s obvious if you grew up with these things.
Is there an antenna hooked up? Where the antenna wires are attached, there isn’t a strand shorting it out? The antenna ends in a T-shape, or something that’s recognizable as an antenna (i.e., it isn’t just a length of the grey twin-lead wire)?
What I believe is the antenna seems to be hooked up (it’s not just loose in there) but I didn’t look too closely at where. Since we’re really interested in the turntable that’s really what we were testing. But even without an antenna should it have not been getting ANYTHING on the FM band? (Didn’t try the AM or the shortwave, though.) The buttons do work with a very satisfying ch-thunk.
It’s possible we don’t know how to turn the turntable on? Couldn’t find a switch, and the selector for speed does have a thing where you can kind of pull it to the left and it goes back which my husband thought was the way to turn it on, but nothing happened. I’m thinking that must be that white cord, but why on earth would they have unplugged that? Could I hurt it plugging it into the wrong thing, if it fits in both of those?
Horny moose sounds probably come from bad B+ filter caps. (I think you’re referring to what’s commonly called “motorboating”). Filter caps go bad if they’re not plugged in for a long time, or even just from age. What you’re learning is that vintage electronics can be ultra-cool and have character not found in cheap junk from China, but are not “plug and play” and come with their own issues.
So true! Anybody have experience with the old TRF (tuned radio frequency) AM receivers? They made really weird noises when off-station.
Congratulations on your lovely singing moose in a box! 
That is ringing a bell, but I can’t dredge it up. Try moving the arm over the platter.
Is it direct drive, on top of the motor, or a belt?
I do remember turntables that worked this way – the tone arm itself was the switch, and by moving it over the platter you started the platter spinning. But if your player is designed to stack, drop & play multiple records in sequence, this is not the power scheme it will use.
Well, hell. 
I did try just moving the arm over the record, I remember having a record player that worked that way when I was a kid. (That didn’t do it.) The turntable assembly is pretty shockingly heavy to me - the base and all are, I don’t know, solid steel or something. It’s pretty impressive. Ze Germans built ziss sing to last, Doctor Jones.
old changers were heavy, especially the base and often the platter.
power to the turntable may come from the amplifier/tuner unit (this is most common). it may only get power when the amplifier function is set to phono and then the control knobs on the turntable (and/or the tone arm) would turn it on. a number of things could cause failure. old sets like this can need repair just from age, they can also fail from just dismantling and shipping. capacitors fail, wires get brittle, connections (solder joints, switches, plugs, pins) go bad. it may take some skilled care to get back in shape but it can be worth it. Blaupunkt made quality and attractive stuff.
i know nothing of this particular unit. nothing.
Do you know if it’s direct drive or belt? And if it’s belt, is there actually a belt there?
What would I be looking for with that?
The turntable platter(n)? either sits directly on the motor, or has a big pulley that is connected (or supposed to be) to a smaller pulley turned by the motor.
It just looks like a turntable. It is alone, as an island is alone.
If there is not a smaller pulley for a belt, I’d say something is wrong with the motor.
You’d have to look under the platter. Here’s a picture. I’m pretty sure that’s viewed from the bottom of the metal platter. If you flip it over, it would sit on the turntable shown on this Wikipedia page. The motor on the Wikipedia page is the brass colored bit in the upper right corner.
On my turntable, there’s a rubber mat that just sits on the metal. Remove that and rotate the metal platter until the little window, like in the picture, shows the motor and belt. On yours, I have no idea.