Exportation vs Exhibition Reproducers

[brianu]

I've got an exportation reproducer, for the life of me I can't recall where I found it, but I figured I may as well rebuild it... it's basically an exhibition reproducer, same size, etc, but obviously the back is different... it has three screw holes rather than two for the flange. I was wondering whether these three hole flanges might be available somewhere or if I should just use a new exhibition flange, drill the two extra holes through the rubber and fill the extra original. Has anyone rebuilt one of these?

[Jerry B.]

I've always thought that the Exportation and other knock of Exhibitions were pirated copies made out the States and out of reach of the long arm of the Victor Legal Department. Other thoughts? Jerry Blais

[wjw]

The Exhibition certainly had lots of imitators in Europe. I think the three-screw mount was a good idea.
- bill

[CarlosV]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

[gramophone-georg]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

I'm wondering if that was a German thing... with the outbreak of hostilities in WW1 the Germans just Bogarted all sorts of things they really didn't have rights to as spoils of war. This might be the reproducer they Bogarted to play the Opera Disc records they pressed from stolen HMV masters.

[epigramophone]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

I'm wondering if that was a German thing... with the outbreak of hostilities in WW1 the Germans just Bogarted all sorts of things they really didn't have rights to as spoils of war. This might be the reproducer they Bogarted to play the Opera Disc records they pressed from stolen HMV masters.

The Exposition was another Exhibition look-alike of European origin.

A lot of "enemy" property changed hands during WW1. The Germans seized the Gramophone Company's assets in Germany and sold them to Polyphon, and the British seized the Lindstrom group's assets in Britain. That is how some of John McCormack's Odeon recordings came to be re-issued on the UK Columbia and Regal labels in the early 1920's.

[CarlosV]

I am not sure about the relationship of the exhibition copy with WWI. There are examples of copies of Columbia and Edison phonographs made by Pathé and others in France well before the war. My guess is that the patents filed in the US were not easy to enforce in Europe (British Empire excluded), so local entrepreneurs had an easy time copying and retagging. Also the exhibition by the war time was outdated, so probably these copies were made before its outbreak.

[alang]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

Even on another Exportation reproducer from Europe the rubber back flange would be hardened and have to be replaced. Since I am not aware of any 3 hole rubber back flanges there are only two options: use and Exhibition back flange and drill/fill holes as needed, or build your own back flange from silicone like Mica Monster described in another thread recently. I have done the drill and fill with another Swiss reproducer with the same three hole setup and it worked like a charm.

Andreas

[CarlosV]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

Even on another Exportation reproducer from Europe the rubber back flange would be hardened and have to be replaced. Since I am not aware of any 3 hole rubber back flanges there are only two options: use and Exhibition back flange and drill/fill holes as needed, or build your own back flange from silicone like Mica Monster described in another thread recently. I have done the drill and fill with another Swiss reproducer with the same three hole setup and it worked like a charm.

Andreas

You're correct, Andreas, I mistakenly thought you intended to drill holes on the back of the reproducer. A rubber flange can easily be drilled as you say. I don't like the ones for sale, though, I bought from two sources and they all seem too hard for proper tracking. Probably making one out of silicone would be a better solution.

[brianu]

As Jerry says, the Exportation was made in Germany/Switzerland and a blatant copy of the Exhibition. It is relatively easy to find in Europe, so if you are really looking for one it may be better to look up German ebay and buy a complete one instead of building a Frankenbox.

Even on another Exportation reproducer from Europe the rubber back flange would be hardened and have to be replaced. Since I am not aware of any 3 hole rubber back flanges there are only two options: use and Exhibition back flange and drill/fill holes as needed, or build your own back flange from silicone like Mica Monster described in another thread recently. I have done the drill and fill with another Swiss reproducer with the same three hole setup and it worked like a charm.

Andreas

You're correct, Andreas, I mistakenly thought you intended to drill holes on the back of the reproducer. A rubber flange can easily be drilled as you say. I don't like the ones for sale, though, I bought from two sources and they all seem too hard for proper tracking. Probably making one out of silicone would be a better solution.

Thanks for all the comments... and yes, it's only the rubber mount/flange I'm talking about obtaining or altering... I'm really not interested in franken-anything, let alone creating such garbage myself.