Edison long play kit updated

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pughphonos
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by pughphonos »

wtt11 wrote:LP is indeed very interesting~ Here is mine. Unfortunately, I don't have a holder for that extra reproducer. However I don't see any difficulty of playing a less perfect LP record all the way through. Not as miserable as most people think it would be...
I play my LPs quite a lot and don't have difficulty with most of them. The key in most cases is to take a pen knife and widen the spindle hole so that you can then adjust the position of the record under the stylus via a few test rotations by hand. You'll still encounter the usual skips that you might need to jump the stylus over, but the improved tracking will make for a better listening experience and extend the life of the record.

Also, place a business card under the part of the record where the stylus might be dipping (relative to the rest of the record). This also helps minimize "swish."

Ralph
"You must serve music, because music is so enormous and can envelop you into such a state of perpetual anxiety and torture--but it is our first and main duty"
-- Maria Callas, 1968 interview.

A Ford 1
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by A Ford 1 »

Hi All,
Fran my wife held the reproducer for the photo of the tag board spacers and got the photos to her computer and I took the photos. My wife has very little in patience. I often say to friends in our group gatherings, when she pops off, that she has no patience she makes patients out of others and god put me on earth to scrape her off the ceiling. There was some fuming over getting the photos on the web site.

Pughphonos I think you were increasing the diameter of the center hole to better center the records to minimize the inward outward motion of the weight and stylus if this is not the case please advise.

I will likely install the kit in my C-19 which is a rather late one the tag has 32H19 173825 it is not any thing close to pristine I think it is rather rough and missing the grill and crank. I bought a crank on eBay but it is actually for a console. Are there any spare grills out there?

I must now check the A,B-250, C-19 thread to send a pm to its author that my C-19 does not have the word Edisonic on it because he thought it was an Edisonic and I was not swift enough about Edison Machines to correct him.
Thank you all kindly for your help and assistance,
Allen

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fran604g
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by fran604g »

A Ford 1 wrote:Hi All,
Fran my wife held the reproducer for the photo of the tag board spacers and got the photos to her computer and I took the photos. My wife has very little in patience. I often say to friends in our group gatherings, when she pops off, that she has no patience she makes patients out of others and god put me on earth to scrape her off the ceiling. There was some fuming over getting the photos on the web site.

Pughphonos I think you were increasing the diameter of the center hole to better center the records to minimize the inward outward motion of the weight and stylus if this is not the case please advise.

I will likely install the kit in my C-19 which is a rather late one the tag has 32H19 173825 it is not any thing close to pristine I think it is rather rough and missing the grill and crank. I bought a crank on eBay but it is actually for a console. Are there any spare grills out there?

I must now check the A,B-250, C-19 thread to send a pm to its author that my C-19 does not have the word Edisonic on it because he thought it was an Edisonic and I was not swift enough about Edison Machines to correct him.
Thank you all kindly for your help and assistance,
Allen
Hi Allen,

I'm likely the person you're remembering, I'll have to look through my posts, PM's and notes to refresh my memory, but I know I wouldn't have assumed it was an Edisonic, that's a very different machine.

I'll get back to you soon.

Best,
Fran
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"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while" - the unappreciative supervisor.

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pughphonos
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

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A Ford 1 wrote: Pughphonos I think you were increasing the diameter of the center hole to better center the records to minimize the inward outward motion of the weight and stylus if this is not the case please advise.
Hi Allen,
Yes, exactly so--so that the stylus keeps as straight of a track in the groove as possible. One can do this (once the spindle hole is enlarged and allows for some adjusting of the record) by very slowly turning the turntable by hand (just a few inches at a time) to see if the stylus is shifting back and forth horizontally in a test groove; the ideal is for it to not to shift horizontally at all. Once you have the record truly centered (which means having the grooves TRULY concentric around the spindle) then you're ready to turn on the motor.

Unfortunately there are plenty of Edison Diamond Discs that have their grooves pressed somewhat off-center--and the same holds true for the Long Play records. It's just more of an issue for the LPs as the grooves are so narrow--and that heavy stylus/weight assembly can more easily jump a groove if things aren't truly centered.

Now, collectors who want to keep their records as pristine as possible will not want to enlarge the spindle holes--but those are the people who are more interested in eventual resale and probably don't play their Edison LPs anyway. I'm in the opposite camp: some modifications are acceptable.
"You must serve music, because music is so enormous and can envelop you into such a state of perpetual anxiety and torture--but it is our first and main duty"
-- Maria Callas, 1968 interview.

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howardpgh
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by howardpgh »

This may be a silly question.
Does the record speed remain the same and the just the groove pitch is changed for long play?

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pughphonos
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

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howardpgh wrote:This may be a silly question.
Does the record speed remain the same and the just the groove pitch is changed for long play?
The speed remains the same (80 RPM) but the groove width is only a third of the width on the standard discs, if I remember correctly.

Ralph
"You must serve music, because music is so enormous and can envelop you into such a state of perpetual anxiety and torture--but it is our first and main duty"
-- Maria Callas, 1968 interview.

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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by fran604g »

pughphonos wrote:
howardpgh wrote:This may be a silly question.
Does the record speed remain the same and the just the groove pitch is changed for long play?
The speed remains the same (80 RPM) but the groove width is only a third of the width on the standard discs, if I remember correctly.

Ralph
Yes, Ralph, the LP was/is 450TPI. The second set of gears reduces the speed to which the reproducer (horn assembly) is propelled across the record.

Fran
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"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while" - the unappreciative supervisor.

52089
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by 52089 »

pughphonos wrote:
howardpgh wrote:This may be a silly question.
Does the record speed remain the same and the just the groove pitch is changed for long play?
The speed remains the same (80 RPM) but the groove width is only a third of the width on the standard discs, if I remember correctly.

Ralph
Correct, the standard Diamond Disc pitch is 150 threads per inch, the Long Play is 450 threads per inch, and both play at 80 rpm.

A Ford 1
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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by A Ford 1 »

Hi All,
In the past I sent my LP reproducer off to Steve Medved so that he might try to have new diamonds made for other collectors. He rebuilt it for me and in so doing he found the diaphragm had a kink in it. at some point I will send in a photo of that original diaphragm. I was surprised that this problem must have occurred in the manufacturing assembly.
I had over time decided to keep the Kit as it was and look for the components to convert my ratty old C-19.
Through the forum I have been able to assemble all the parts I need from the kind members of the forum. Because of the gracious helpful people of the forum, I have been able to obtain the parts needed and in the mean time also purchased a nice C-19 locally at auction.
I wish to thank all of you responding to my many requests for parts and information etc.

Allen

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Re: Edison long play kit updated

Post by A Ford 1 »

Hi Fran,
I have found among my emails that Steve was the person that thought my C-19 was an Edisonic but of course it is not.
I also over polished the lid key escutcheon to brass but with care was able to determine that other hardware is plated with rose gold a high copper alloy. Gold alloys can have at least the colors of rose, white, or green and of course gold to my knowledge. I think these various gold color alloys were in favor in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. Of course the gold is mostly worn off the center and some edges of the door pull. I will have to be on the look out for a replacement escutcheon for the lid key hole.
Allen
Last edited by A Ford 1 on Sun May 28, 2017 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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