Mystery phonograph...

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startgroove
Victor III
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by startgroove »

Here is what the back bracket and tone-arm should look like. The horn you have may be the correct one for a Talk-O-Phone, since they are very similar to the way a Victor horn mounts.
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long_island_phono
Victor II
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by long_island_phono »

phonogfp wrote:That's a great group of parts for $25! The back bracket, tone arm, sound box, and elbow alone are worth about 10 times what you paid.
Mormon S wrote:Could it be possible that the dealer matched and distributed them together?
In situations like this, it's best to abandon wishful thinking, and apply logic from a dealer's standpoint.

First is the unlikely chance that J.C. Groene & Co. carried franchises for both Victor and Talkophone. As a matter of fact, that Talkophone cabinet was used for "client brands" made by Talkophone (such as "Globe"), and since a Google search shows that J.C. Groene & Co. was a prominent sheet music publishing company, it's likely that they were selling this Talkophone-supplied machine as its own brand.

Second, why would a dealer discard the Talkophone-made support arm, traveling arm, sound box, and horn - - only to substitute Victor parts? That would result in an expensive machine for the dealer to assemble and for a buyer to purchase.

Again - - congratulations on a very nice bargain!

George P.
Hopefully I can be forgiven for my slight spelling error, especially when I have a Globe with an oddball front mount to rear mount conversion 10 feet away from me!
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JerryVan
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by JerryVan »

Skihawx wrote:I'd do the reverse.
I very much agree. The Victor parts will be infinitely easier to find and the end product is likely to have a greater value, (if that matters).

If you do want to find the Talk-O-Phone parts, then by all means do so, but I would recommend not selling the Victor stuff until you do. Who knows what parts may turn up first?

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Mormon S
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by Mormon S »

JerryVan wrote:
Skihawx wrote:I'd do the reverse.
I very much agree. The Victor parts will be infinitely easier to find and the end product is likely to have a greater value, (if that matters).

If you do want to find the Talk-O-Phone parts, then by all means do so, but I would recommend not selling the Victor stuff until you do. Who knows what parts may turn up first?
I could just do both. What model are the victor parts original to? Also, I found 2 talk-o-phone models with ths same base & motor, but different arm/horn assembly's.

Martin

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phonogfp
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by phonogfp »

long_island_phono wrote:
Hopefully I can be forgiven for my slight spelling error, especially when I have a Globe with an oddball front mount to rear mount conversion 10 feet away from me!
I didn't catch any spelling error. I still don't... :?

But this brings up a good question. Martin, what's under that Victor back bracket? I have this machine as a Globe front-mount, so they were available in both configurations.

George P.

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Mormon S
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by Mormon S »

An update on an old post.

I got around to working on this. I cleaned the case up, replaced the felt, rebuilt the reproducer etc. I will paint the horn when I get the time to, it turned out to be an aftermarket horn for victor machines made by H&S. The needle actually lines up pretty well with the grooves, so I think if I get the motor running, I can play it the way it is until I get a base for a victor III, but that's a big if.

I've been having difficulty getting the notor to run. The gear that connects the spring barrel to the spindle is very worn out, and somebody tried to weld the governer weight to the spring. And to make it worse, one of the tiny governer screws fell of the table and I can't find it. :oops: :evil:

I will have to call Ron Sitko and ask if he can make me some governer spring, but I have some pretty serious phone call anxiety, I try to avoid them when I can...
This motor might have to go out to Wyatt Marcus anyways.


A question for you guys; do you have any frankenphones that you have kept the way you found them and enjoy?

Thanks
Martin
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Inigo
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by Inigo »

Why don't you let it stay, get the motor well restored, and enjoy it as it is? It looks very nice, and with that sound system it will sound pretty well... I hate modifying things, unless the design is bad. But if you have checked tracking and it is good... it won't harm your records. Just a thought ..
Inigo

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travisgreyfox
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Re: Mystery phonograph...

Post by travisgreyfox »

I would try to make it correct or sale the parts and buy one that is correct. If I have a historical object in my collection that is not "correct" it sets off my OCD and bothers me to no end. Others are different though.

As for your screw/phone problem, Walt Sommers sells these on ebay for $4.99 (for a pair of 9). I have bought some from him a few times and haven't been disappointed.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/9-Pairs-Victor ... Swqu9U9I8x


-Travis

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