Electric VV XVII

[Altona1]

Hi guys..new to this sight and was hoping that someone may help me in finding a power cord for a VV XVII. Thanks.

[bbphonoguy]

If it's like the electric Credenza, and has the male portion of the connection at the back, you can cheat and use an extension cord until you find something more suitable. At least you'll be able to enjoy your machine while you look for the real thing.

[Altona1]

I'll take a closer look..I really thought the outlet look different than a regular outlet..I have the machine at a friends house as I just got it and hate to admit it but have to keep it hid from the wife for a little while..thats another story..thanks for the suggestion..much apprecitaed..

[AZ*]

You should be able to rig something up that fits. Check with an electrical specialty store or a "real" hardware store. More importantly, if it is an XVII, it may be equipped with a 32 Volt Universal motor. You need the correct resistance or transformer to step down from 120 V to 32 V. I own an HMV 211 which is similar in appearance to the Victor XVII, but far superior in performance. I use a Variac to reduce the voltage and avoid using the 85 year old resistors.

[Skihawx]

I use a Variac to reduce the voltage and avoid using the 85 year old resistors.

I've heard of people using a variac or transformer and I think it is a bad idea. I'm an electrical engineer and I will tell you the resistor does more than just drop the line to the correct voltage. When a motor is stalled or starting it draws the maximum current. With a 120 volt input there is approximately 80 volts across the resistor when running. When the motor is stalled there is 120 volts across the resistor. The current is simply the voltage divided by the resistance. The resistor limits the peak current in this stalled or starting condition to about 50% above the nominal current. The varaic offers a much lower source impedance and the starting current is going to significantly higher. The current could be an order of magnitude or higher during starting. This is bad for the brushes and windings as well. Go back to the resistors. If they should fail,which is not likely, they will fail open anyway. There is no way the wire wound resistor is going to fail shorted. The resistors likely fail from extreme thermal cycling and oxidization and corrosion. Drying them out once and a while could be good for them!

[Uncle Vanya]

Skihawks knows his onions, I assure you!

I've always replaced the resistors with a little regulated power supply that I build. These units work well,
but I had never considered the current limiting function of the resistor. Perhaps I will need to change the way I
wire Electrolas in the future.

Now, as for your cord. The earlier electric motor machines were fitted with tandem plugs rather than with parallel plugs. In the 'teens the seperable attatchment plug was a relatively new idea, and there were two conurrent standards, the plug with paralell prongs, which mates yet with our modern outlets, and the tandem plug, with the two prongs in a horizontal line. By the early 1920's the parallel plug was the national standard, although receptacles were made with "T" shaped holes which coulD accept either kind oFplug until the 1950's.

You may have difficulty finding a female end to fit your machine. If so, ou might look for the cord connector from an Orthophonic machine, a common item which will allow you to use a more common modern style cord.

Good to see your post, Skihawks!