The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently purchased a gramophone . The original owner said that they put handed it in Indonesia in 1979 as a used gramophone . I tried getting more information on the gramophone with the logo, but no information is available . The gramophone is missing the crank , I am trying to get a replacement crank and not sure what to buy. Please find some pictures attached , any information on the gramophone and replacement crank would be helpful . Also is there any way to know if my gramophone is an original or a replica ?

The small size of the pictures make it hard to see clearly, But I think this was put together out of a variety of parts. It looks to be mostly a Swiss built machine, possibly by Lindstrom (their mark is on the cabinet) but the tone arm and soundbox are of a much later style. They could be the result of repairs in Indonesia, the 1970's was before the industry of making fake machines started.

I will post better pictures tonight. Where will I be able to find a crank for the Parlophone ?

neenudavis wrote:I will post better pictures tonight. Where will I be able to find a crank for the Parlophone ?

Unfortunately nowhere, with so little information. Unless someone is able to recognise the exact type of motor and to give specs about the thread of its crank, you first need to determine the thread specs. If the crank receptacle is female as in most (but not all) cases, I suggest you find by trial & error a bolt that screws in smoothly, and use the specs of the bolt as a reference.

If you write where you live, perhaps some gramophone enthusiast in your area may come with some "test" cranks and see which fit.

As a side note, it seems to me that your machine has no other Parlophone part aside from the tag in picture; I'm not a Parlophone expert but I don't recognise any of the details typical of the make, so I would not describe it as a Parlophone especially when asking for cranks or you may just confuse your interlocutors.

Indonesian reproduction made from bits and pieces

Thanks for all the information . The motor is a Lindstrom motor , I can see the logo. I will try to find a bolt or will look for experts where I live for trial and error . Since it is a reproduction , I know it is undervalued but I payed 100 USD for it . Is that too much for this machine ?

neenudavis wrote:Thanks for all the information . The motor is a Lindstrom motor , I can see the logo. I will try to find a bolt or will look for experts where I live for trial and error . Since it is a reproduction , I know it is undervalued but I payed 100 USD for it . Is that too much for this machine ?

no $100 is fine for this it is quite decorative and if you ever wanted to sell it you would get your money back Home decorators are always looking for items such as this

In the last picture I seem to see that the governor of the motor is broken: it looks as if one of the wheights is held in place by a piece of copper wire. The gramophone will not play as it was intended, unless you find replacement springs for the wheights and replace them (usually it is easier to find a matching set of three spings rather than just one spring exactly matching the other surviving springs).

$ 100 is very reasonable for this machine as even crap-o-phones are sometimes sold for more than that. I'm sorry that the motor seems to have problems though, perhaps you were not expecting that. I would also look out for a more performing soundbox.

I'd pay $100 for the very nice horn!

It looks very much like a machine I saw in an antique shop in Kuala Lumpur, back around '93: it had the same sort of tone arm, although damaged and rather lumpily patched together, and too short. The horn was different, though.

Bill