New to forum, looking for info..rare Pathé??

[Inigo]

May his soul rest in peace.
Now I understand what it's laminated} paper. But this technique could not have been applied on the 1920s fire the Pathé Diffusor... I wonder what the treatment for that was indeed...
Besides that, in my experience with diaphragms, plastic or plastic coating is something that kills the high treble response.

[jamiegramo]

There are a couple of members here that have made replacement lumiere pleated diaphragms. It would be interesting to know what they treat the paper with? The paper was originally coated with something to make it more resonant.

[CarlosV]

There are a couple of members here that have made replacement lumiere pleated diaphragms. It would be interesting to know what they treat the paper with? The paper was originally coated with something to make it more resonant.

I am not sure that originally the Lumières were coated. I have two French and two English Lumière with original diaphragms: the French is not coated with anything apparent, and as to the English, one has a gilt paint and the other looks like just the plain folded paper, similar to the French version. There may be some treatment on the paper, but it is not evident just from looking or touching. The Pathé's - both the US Actuelle and the the French Diffusor - do not have any coating, and both cones utilize a paper that is much thicker than the pleated Lumière. As a side note, when I repaired a tear in the unpainted English Lumière years ago, I noticed that the paper that was used is Japanese, it has a water mark indicating made in Japan. This choice may be related to sound quality or physical robustness, as a Japanese stock would be much more expensive than paper made in England.

[CarlosV]

Carlos, if the diffusor has rivets, they need to be drilled out anyway and either re-riveted or replaced with screws. The molded edge problem would be solved with a hair dryer or heat gun and the laminated paper is very flexible, as long as stiff cardstock is not used. If I had a Pathé diffusor, I would not hesitate experimenting, especially if it had a hole in it already. The Polly Portable oscillators require bending into a cone shape and then latched/un-latched to fold.

Also, the type of lamination I use is thin, not thick like an ID card. Think of an office document that is laminated - very flexible.

Curt, the idea is interesting, now that I understood the details. It may work for Diffusor cones, provided that the rivets can be successfully replaced. I tried that once and ended up destroying the frame, both rivets and frame are aluminum and when I pressed the drill against the rivet head I crushed the frame. Luckily I found a replacement intact Diffusor cone for sale some time later - these cones are not that rare in France, they were used in many different Pathé machines..

[jamiegramo]

There are a couple of members here that have made replacement lumiere pleated diaphragms. It would be interesting to know what they treat the paper with? The paper was originally coated with something to make it more resonant.

I am not sure that originally the Lumières were coated. I have two French and two English Lumière with original diaphragms: the French is not coated with anything apparent, and as to the English, one has a gilt paint and the other looks like just the plain folded paper, similar to the French version. There may be some treatment on the paper, but it is not evident just from looking or touching. The Pathé's - both the US Actuelle and the the French Diffusor - do not have any coating, and both cones utilize a paper that is much thicker than the pleated Lumière. As a side note, when I repaired a tear in the unpainted English Lumière years ago, I noticed that the paper that was used is Japanese, it has a water mark indicating made in Japan. This choice may be related to sound quality or physical robustness, as a Japanese stock would be much more expensive than paper made in England.

To be frank I’m not sure they were treated with anything. I was told years ago that the paper was treated with some sort of acetate but this could be wrong or I remember incorrectly.

[Inigo]

I remember having seen one reddish cone made of what looked like thick waxed paper or thin cardboard, and another one that was similar but had a texture pressed in the material, similar to that of the Rexine covering any of the typical portable gramophone cases.
These must have been intended to provide stiffness to the cone. As Carlos said, these cones were largely used in France Pathé models, with large production. They sounded pretty well.

[Curt A]

The Japanese paper that you mentioned is probably silk paper, which is strong, thin and flexible.

Carlos quote:
"I tried that once and ended up destroying the frame, both rivets and frame are aluminum and when I pressed the drill against the rivet head I crushed the frame."

Obviously, there are issues when disassembling any delicate part.