Chirola phonograph

[tomb]

I received another package from the post office and it is damaged again. This is the third straight package that is damaged. I got some cylinder from England and half were damaged. I received a Edison home F and the case was damaged. It needed repairs though. Anyhow I guess i am griping about the post office. Here are some pics of the chirola. It is from aprox 1918. It will play both lateral and vertical records.

[OrthoFan]

Those are nifty little portables. Here's a neat ad to go with it: http://mulhollandpress.com/phonobrandsi ... -phono.jpg


There are quite a number of YouTube videos showcasing the Cirola. (Note, no "h" in the name.)

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... A+PORTABLE

I see the tonearm of the one you have seems to sit flush with the lid. (Can't quite tell from the photo.) There should be about an inch of space between the base of the tonearm and the lid so the sound can be reflected.

I noticed in the videos that even electrically recorded records sound okay, probably due to the sound box's large diaphragm. It should sound pretty good once you rebuild the sound box with fresh gaskets.

OrthoFan

[tomb]

The sound box does need repaired and rebuilt. I think I will send it to Steve. Someone said I could use a Columbia reproducer in place of it but this has a nice original look with the name in it and is in fairly good shape. It played but was tinny. The sound box has about ¾ inch spacing between the lid and bottom of the arm.. I did this in a rush as I have limited time now and posted it on my I phone. Here are a couple more pics. They show a repair with the brake and the distance with the bell... Orthofan thanks for the info and add. Tom B

[jboger]

After buying a number of portables, including a VV-50, I got rid of them all except my Cirola. I have two of them although the second one is incomplete. Both have Heinemann motors, as does yours. Too bad about the damage, but it does look like it's coming along. My two have slight differences, and I can see that yours is different from either of mine. I think they are interesting machines out of Philly and worthy of study.