Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

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kirtley2012
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Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

Post by kirtley2012 »

I'm going to start using a phonograph converted with an electric dictaphone motor, though does anyone have an idea for running it in the UK on 240v?, ideally I'd permamently mount a transformer in the cabinet but can't seem to track the right one down

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Herman
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Re: Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

Post by Herman »

kirtley2012 wrote:I'm going to start using a phonograph converted with an electric dictaphone motor, though does anyone have an idea for running it in the UK on 240v?, ideally I'd permamently mount a transformer in the cabinet but can't seem to track the right one down

Cheers
Google Step down transformer 240v to 120v

May run slow however due to 50 cycles rather than 60. May need to change pulley dia to adjust drive ratio to bring it back up to speed.

Jerry B.
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Re: Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

Post by Jerry B. »

The step down transformer is the way to go. You DO NOT want just a plug adaptor. Jerry B.

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kirtley2012
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Re: Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

Post by kirtley2012 »

Jerry B. wrote:The step down transformer is the way to go. You DO NOT want just a plug adaptor. Jerry B.
Cool, I wasn't sure if it ran on the full 120 or if they were originally stepped down from 120

Menophanes
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Re: Running a Dictaphone motor in the UK

Post by Menophanes »

A word of warning: a friend of mine who uses a transformer to run American-made audio equipment (modern) on a 240-volt supply tells me that the transformer tends to overheat unless it has some means of cooling, even though his is not within any kind of cabinet. He uses an electric fan.

Good luck with this project, and congratulations on finding (as I presume you have done) a viable motor! Most surviving dictaphones in Britain seem to be monstrous floor-standing consoles which have obviously been left in sheds for seventy years or so, surviving only because they were too heavy to move.

Oliver Mundy.

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