Edison transcribers practice record

[Brad]

I got to spend a little time going through the lot of cylinders I scored last weekend and found something kind of interesting.

First the somewhat less interesting with a question

There were several ICS French lesson cylinders, I appear to have a complete set of French lessons (1 thru 30 on 12 cylinders), a partial set, and 4 copies of "French Readings No. 1". The boxes are very clean, inside and out (except the top label surface) and the surface and the plaster on the cylinders are also very clean. I suspect that these are either brand new, or part of some store stock. The boxes say to play the cylinders at 90 rpm. I tried playing on a Standard A and a Gem B. I couldn't get the Standard to run slow enough just using adjusting knob, and the Gem exhibited excessive flutter when running that slow.

-So what is the secret to playing these things?

Now for the something kind of interesting thing with questions:

There was a single blue amberol style cylinder titled "Edison Transcribers Practice Record No. 6". I tried playing on the Standard and it appears to be a recording of someone dictating a business letter about Edison business phonographs to be be transcribed. Every few revolutions the reproducer skips and repeats a single revolution. I did have better luck speed wise, but not by much.

-So does this thing have different "grooves per inch" than a standard BA?

-Did Edison make BA style cylinders beyond his exiting the phonograph business for education/business? (I know he made the Ediphone/dictiphone, but thought these had different size cylinders)

Now for the pictures:

[Aaron]

Hey Brad,

I think the record is to be listen to while the student would type what he/she heard. I know that you were able to transcribe a cyilinder and send it to an ICS professor to be check. The "skipping" could be the groove repeating to make sure the person heard it to transcribe it. I could be wrong though.

Aaron
P.S. I like the names you gave to the pictures.

[gramophoneshane]

I'm pretty sure these are supposed to used on an Ediphone. If I remember correctly, 2 min cylinders run at 100TPI, 4 min at 200TPI & the Ediphone is 150TPI.

EDIT: The transcription cylinder should be 150TPI, but the ICS cylinders should work on your phonograph.

[ColoradoPhonograf]

Brad,

I've heard of a series of Mexican blue amberols actually being recorded at 2 minute speeds. Since yours has no index markings such as (ie. 2857 or 4036, etc.) I wonder since it skips if maybe it is a two minute blue amberol which does exist. Very interesting...and something I've never seen before. Nice grab on those cylinders.

ColoradoPhonograf

[phonogfp]

Shane's right - - the transcribing cylinder is recorded at 150 tpi. As for the French cylinders, the machines Edison supplied to ICS employed oversized upper pulleys to help slow the mandrels' revolutions. Even so, I should think most "Standards" would be capable of lowering to 90 rpm. Perhaps a slight adjustment to the governor would do the trick.

George P.

[Brad]

Thanks gents!

The 150 TPI makes sense. Too bad I didn't have and know this before the Wayne show, I could have had Norman play it on his most amazing homemade player.

I guess I have put an Ediphone on the list of future machines to sneak past the wife

As to my last question, anyone know if either the ICS records or these Ediphone records in BA technology were manufactured AFTER Edison exited the phonograph business?

[Uncle Vanya]

The "transcribers practice record" that you have was indeed cut at 150 threads per inch, for use in business schools, traing typist to transcribe dictation form the Ediphone.

Your record is of the first series, dating to about the time of the Great War.

The Edison company made a number of series of these records, including a series of ELECTRICALLY RECORDED 6" long 150TPI which were available through the 1940's.

The electrically recorded records were particularly loud, and were designed for classroom use with a special reproducer with a thick diaphragm and a heavy weight.

The transcribing machine would be connected to a ½" copper tube which would communicate with a manifold. From the manifold would extend 3/16" copper or steel tubes which would run under the floor of the classroom to the desks of the typing students.

Each student would wear a standard transcriber's headset (hearing tubes) which would be attatched tothe tube fitting on their desk.

In this manner an entire class of twenty-five or thirty stenographers could practice transcription form the Ediphone.

Beginning in the very late 1930's this system was supplanted by an electric Pro-Technic Ediphone connected to a small amplifier, the output of which was connected to headphone jacks at the student's desks in the usual manner.

[estott]

Brad, Ediphones are pretty easy to find especially the late ones. They're hard to sell because they're plain to the point of being ugly and you can't play entertainment records on them. If you were closer I'd give you mine, though I'm not certain it runs, it's been out in the garage for years.