Connecting with European Continental Collectors

[Garret]

Hello all,

Is there a good way to get plugged into the network of phonograph and gramophone collectors on the European continent, especially Germany/France/Belgium/Switzerland? Is there another forum I should check, given the possible language barrier? I am looking for a specific type of gramophone motor, and am thinking that I might have a better chance of finding it by asking around there, as opposed to elsewhere, i.e. the USA or UK.

Thanks!

Garret

[alang]

Try the German forum http://grammophon-platten.de/news.php. You should be able to find your way around with Google translate.

Andreas

[Curt A]

Just a bit of advice for dealing with German collectors: Use Google translate to decipher their posts and expect a "loose" translation... close, but not quite - words may appear in different order than you are used to. I have bought a number of items from German sellers on eBay and have had no problems with communication. When emailing or replying to a collector, use short concise sentences and no American slang or abbreviations. It is better for the translation if you use multiple short sentences than a detailed paragraph... German phrasing and word order is different from English, but if you think of it, many English words and phrases are of German origin.

[CarlosV]

Hello all,

Is there a good way to get plugged into the network of phonograph and gramophone collectors on the European continent, especially Germany/France/Belgium/Switzerland?

You are already connected to a bunch of them, including me in Luxembourg. The German forum is not very active, and frankly the only real active gramophone forum I'm aware of is this one. European collectors are not as gregarious as US ones, which explains the dearth of aggregations and interchange fora around here.

[Odeon]

Hello Garret,

just send me via PM the properties of the motor your looking for, so I may ask our members in the german forum. If you like, I can create an account for you - register with Google translate is a little bit "tricky".

The German forum is not very active...

Right, only nearly 30.000 entrys in the last five years and ~ 50.000 page visitors a month isn´t that active in comparison to this forum...

[Garret]

Thank you, gentlemen! Odeon, I will send you a brief message.

Sincerely,

Garret