My First Diamond Disc Reproducer with Volume Control

[CDBPDX]

Just brought home a non functioning oak Edison A250 Diamond Disc phonograph. It has an early reproducer with the bolted on stylus plate AND a volume control switch, a butterfly type arrangement, in the mounting shaft. It is serial number 21765. I've seen a couple of these but never owned one. YeeHaa! The stylus is good but needs a diaphragm and other repairs. I've got the parts, hopefully I can get working!

Unfortunately, the phonograph was missing the ID plate so I can't date the phonograph, it has 2 drawers for record storage, does not have the Amberola style slots on the sides. It came with about 50 unremarkable Diamond Disc records.

Cliff

[hearsedriver]

It doesnt look like you could get full volume with that set-up. Even with the butterfly wide open, you still have half of the tube restricted.

[CDBPDX]

It doesnt look like you could get full volume with that set-up. Even with the butterfly wide open, you still have half of the tube restricted.

I think it obstructs more than half, closer to ⅔ of the total, but I think that makes a very small difference in the output, being so close to the diaphragm. When I get it all put together, I'll let you know.

Is this an Edison product or an after market addition? Frow describes the green felt butterfly, doesn't mention how thick it was.

Also, I remember reading somewhere that these were discontinued after complaints that a totally obstructed reproducer can blow out the diaphragm.

Cliff

[CDBPDX]

First thing I had to do was remove the stylus weight pivot shaft and clean it up so that it pivots easily. This is about the most useful tool I've got. It easily removes the screw that secures the pivot shaft for the stylus weight.

[fran604g]

Chuck, that's a very nice example of this scarce type of tone control, congratulations.

I've studied the Union Manufacturing & Plating Co. a little, and discovered that Harry B. McNulty (original Patentee/owner of U-S Phonograph Co. of Cleveland, Ohio) apparently had procured the right to manufacture and/or market the "Union No.1 Attachment for Edison Disc Machines" (a swivel lateral adapter with "tone control disc" -- my words) at some point in early 1913. The original invention's Patentee was a man named Eugene M. Robinson (U.S. Patent No. 778,271, filed May 12, 1904, granted December 27, 1904).

Almost 10 years earlier (1905) than the UM&P Co. marketed their version, a company named the Tone Regulator Co. at 3oo Wabash Ave., Chicago, Illinois, had been formed by a man named Edward H. Uhl, very shortly after Robinson had filed his application to patent his own various tone regulator inventions. By October 1906, Robinson's device had been brought to market under the auspices of the Wurlitzer Co.

In an introductory article I found in The Talking Machine World, (September 15, 1905; pg. 5 article titled: A New Tone Regulator), the Robinson device was "...perfected and placed on the market by Edward H. Uhl, manager of the Chicago branch of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. Chicago. The device is the invention of Mr. Robinson, the head draftsman of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway."

Uhl was employed by Wurlitzer as early as 1894, as a "traveling man", and had gone on to be a valuable executive for the Wurlitzer Co. (Pianos and Their Makers - Vol. II; Alfred Dolge; Covina Publishing Company - 1913; pg. 215). I'm not sure how this collaboration of different companies was run, but apparently it worked well -- given the success of Wurlitzer. The device was advertised by The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in The Talking Machine World by October 15, 1906 (pg. 20), along with the other similar types of devices held in patent by Robison.

Obviously Robinson's "rotatable disc" device was initially applied to tone arms of disc machines, but it was also designed to be used as an insertable sleeve, and sold for "Edison Machines" (cylinder Phonographs) at 75 cents each.

Cheers,
Fran

[Jerry B.]

I think it's a really cool non-Edison accessory. Jerry Blais

[hearsedriver]

Chuck, that's a very nice example of this scarce type of tone control, congratulations.

I've studied the Union Manufacturing & Plating Co. a little, and discovered that Harry B. McNulty (original Patentee/owner of U-S Phonograph Co. of Cleveland, Ohio) apparently had procured the right to manufacture and/or market the "Union No.1 Attachment for Edison Disc Machines" (a swivel lateral adapter with "tone control disc" -- my words) at some point in early 1913. The original invention's Patentee was a man named Eugene M. Robinson (U.S. Patent No. 778,271, filed May 12, 1904, granted December 27, 1904).

Almost 10 years earlier (1905) than the UM&P Co. marketed their version, a company named the Tone Regulator Co. at 3oo Wabash Ave., Chicago, Illinois, had been formed by a man named Edward H. Uhl, very shortly after Robinson had filed his application to patent his own various tone regulator inventions. By October 1906, Robinson's device had been brought to market under the auspices of the Wurlitzer Co.

In an introductory article I found in The Talking Machine World, (September 15, 1905; pg. 5 article titled: A New Tone Regulator), the Robinson device was "...perfected and placed on the market by Edward H. Uhl, manager of the Chicago branch of the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. Chicago. The device is the invention of Mr. Robinson, the head draftsman of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway."

Uhl was employed by Wurlitzer as early as 1894, as a "traveling man", and had gone on to be a valuable executive for the Wurlitzer Co. (Pianos and Their Makers - Vol. II; Alfred Dolge; Covina Publishing Company - 1913; pg. 215). I'm not sure how this collaboration of different companies was run, but apparently it worked well -- given the success of Wurlitzer. The device was advertised by The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. in The Talking Machine World by October 15, 1906 (pg. 20), along with the other similar types of devices held in patent by Robison.

Obviously Robinson's "rotatable disc" device was initially applied to tone arms of disc machines, but it was also designed to be used as an insertable sleeve, and sold for "Edison Machines" (cylinder Phonographs) at 75 cents each.

Cheers,
Fran

It makes more sense as a "tone" control. I can see that but, volume almost has to be affected as well. It is interesting. Hopefully, we can see a video demo of it in the future!

[Steve Levi]

Cliff, great score. Fran, very interesting information. Steve

[fran604g]

It makes more sense as a "tone" control. I can see that but, volume almost has to be affected as well. It is interesting. Hopefully, we can see a video demo of it in the future!

The original description contained in Robinson's Patent No. 778,271 specified his invention (one of several in the same patent application) as "...a rotatable disk...which the operator can rotate...to different positions to regulate the volume [emphasis mine] of sound waves passing through the horn." Whereas The Rudolph Wurlitzer co. referred to their salable device as a "Tone Regulator", in their marketing campaign of 1906.

Perhaps the careful wording was an attempt to circumnavigate legal protections of competing devices?

Either way, I'm certain that even completely "open" this felt disk would've diminished the volume significantly, and probably wasn't very well received by those who placed it in the path of their horns.

The Union Manufacturing and Plating Co. of Cleveland, Ohio (also owned by McNulty) had marketed by May 1913, a lateral adapter with the rotatable disk to be used on the Edison Disc Phonograph, initially -- as opposed to the device actually being shown used in the Edison Reproducer. The claimed Patent date (December 1904) associated with the device advertisement seems to correspond to an earlier, and dissimilar, Robinson volume regulating device (U.S. Patent No.778,271).

I'm sure that ongoing lawsuits initiated by National Phonograph Company likely prevented the various McNulty enterprises from marketing their device shown directly installed into an Edison Diamond Disc Reproducer, although we know that it was, in some limited fashion.

Advertisement from Talking Machine World, October 15, 1906, pg.20

Advertisement from Talking Machine World, July 15, 1913

Advertisement from Talking Machine World, May 15, 1913

13-4 pg27 Union Mfg. & Plating Co..JPG (64.09 KiB) Viewed 1526 times

Best,
Fran