Columbia radio and phonograph combo

[gregbogantz]

Hah! Henry, that tractor is probably more commonplace than this phono. I am pretty sure the Columbia 990 came up in earlier discussions on the TMF, but I'll post some pictures here anyway. The 990 is actually a double-whammy for me as not only is it very rare, but it is also one of the VERY few sets that used the first Allen-Hough record changer, dating from about 1929. I think this was the first drop-type record changer sold to the public. I'm a little hesitant to say that because I can't confirm exactly when the Capehart model 10-12 drop changer was first introduced. About this time, anyway, maybe a year or two later. The Allen-Hough was used in only two other consumer models that I can determine, the Columbia 991 radio/phono and the Zenith 75 radio/phono. This changer apparently uses a proximity trip (which would be in keeping with Columbia records which did not have the eccentric lockout groove that Victor used at this time), but some of the parts are missing and I don't know yet exactly what I'll need to get it working. (I also have a newer Allen-Hough with a substantially different velocity trip that was said to have come from a jukebox of unknown make.) The Zenith is pretty scarce - I know of only two examples in collections. And the 991 is believed to be unobtanium - NONE are known to exist. Attached are pictures of my 990 as taken by the previous owner (thanks, Mark) as well as scans of the sales brochure for the 990 and 991.

[Swing Band Heaven]

Thats a great cabinet - much nicer than others I have seen from the same period. Really nice detailing. How does the changer work. The records must hang from that long tube that hangs down to the deck but how does it take only one disk at a time and hold the others back. Is the size of each disk sensed by the other bar to the left. I assume it can intermix disk sizes?

What size is the speaker unit in the machine - I assume its a cone type speaker?

Great machine.

S-B-H

[Henry]

Well, Greg, I gotta say that your Columbia 990 is a very lovely article, but----can it cut grass? (Silly me, I always thought Columbia was a bicycle; in fact, I own two of them, and very nice machines they are, too. But they don't play records.) 8-(

[gregbogantz]

Richard, the Allen-Hough is a ridiculously simple mechanism. And it's pretty klunky. Which is probably why it wasn't used in more machines. Note that the list prices shown in the brochure on both the models 990 and 991 were modest for the 1930 period, so these were not intended to be fancy models. The changer does not intermix record sizes. The changer photo shows the U-shaped record stacking tube in the loading position. It is pivoted at the back so that it can be tilted to connect with the short spindle on the turntable when in operation and tilted back as shown which separates the spindle to allow records to be loaded and unloaded. It's difficult to see in the photo, but there is a ledge cut in the spindle on which the stack of records sits. Also not obvious is the small rectangular object that you see at the back end of the spindle. This is a pusher shelf that supports the edge of the record stack. Dispensing of a record happens when the pusher shelf kicks the bottom record on the stack outward such that its hole is pushed over the ledge on the spindle and it falls onto the platter - typical pusher shelf type design.

But the really klunky part is how the tonearm is controlled. Unlike most record changers, a good bit of the mechanism is above the deckplate. Not seen in this picture (some missing parts have since been added) is a slanted lever positioned to the left and back of the tonearm. This lever is raised in an arc which picks up the tonearm by the tongue that you see on the left side of the tonearm and slides the arm outward during the cycle. Also not seen is the positioning stop which is a knob on a post sticking up from the deck on the right back side of the tonearm. As the arm is lifted and pushed outward by the lifting arm, the tonearm slides along the lifter and slams into the positioning stop. After the next record drops, the lifting arm retracts which allows the tonearm to drop back downward. As it does this, it slides inward along the positioning stop which positions it to land in the leadin area of the record. This stop can be set for either 10 or 12 inch starting positions. It's all rather crude. But there is a muting switch which quiets the electrical clattering and banging that probably occur during the manhandling of the tonearm.

It's a weirdo, all right. But that's why I collect record changers - there were some truly bizarre designs that came along before the Voice of Music 950 essentially blew all the USA manufacturers out of the water in the 1950s, and nearly every RCA and GE and Zenith used VMs after that.

[Swing Band Heaven]

Ah, I see. Sounds simple - but that's good as it means less to go wrong and no pot metal involved (I assume). Yes the price does seem very reasonable compared to otherr models around so i'm surprised that they didn't seel better and more examples survive.

Just one other question and that is volume. Were these powerful sets compared to the Victor ones of the time which had tremendous volume or were these Columbias quieter like the main stream electric machines of the 30's.

[gregbogantz]

Richard, I haven't got this set restored yet. Yes, there is some potmetal in it. The pivot bearing assembly for the tonearm is potmetal and it is in poor condition. That needs to be replaced with something that works. The changer needs all of the trip linkage parts. Nobody seems to have a fully functioning Allen-Hough changer - they all seem to have parts missing. So I don't even know what the missing parts look like. I'll have to re-engineer some kind of linkage to get it working. The speaker is a 10 inch electrodynamic, so the sound of that should be respectable. The amplifier uses a pair of #45 output triodes which were common in the 1929-1930 period. These should make about 4 or 5 watts of audio power, so I suspect that it should play pretty loudly. The earlier Victor sets that use a #10 output make only about 1 to 2 watts of audio power. I guess I should put a priority on this since it's so rare, but I'm more interested in customizing a spare Capehart 41-E changer so that I can use it a lot.