A Gramophone Wiki

[Andrew Reed]

Greetings,

Last night, I found myself wondering: is there any kind of structured knowledge base or wiki dedicated specifically to gramophones?
Something akin to Discogs for 78rpm records, but focused on talking machines themselves — particularly European models, as I’m French and most of my collection and interest revolve around them.

I'm aware of the Radio Museum, of course, but I find it rather cumbersome and not especially intuitive when it comes to learning specifically about gramophones.

Any recommendations or existing resources would be greatly appreciated.
And if such a resource doesn’t exist — well, perhaps it’s time we create one.

I'm more of a C89 developer — well, a dilettante one — but I’ve also worked with Python and have some basics in C#. A site like Win3x.org, using good old PHP and SQL, wouldn’t be that hard to set up. I mean, just look at the forum you’re reading this on — clearly, we’re not afraid of some 90s aesthetics and IE 5 compatibility.

Thank you in advance!

[m_nakamura]

I'd really like to do something like that too. I'd contribute Japanese-related (and other asiatic).

[Andrew Reed]

Well, in practice, I could probably build the whole thing myself — the structure, the backend, the templates.
The catch? Hosting, of course.

I could throw it on my NAS — if only it weren’t designed solely for file storage and didn’t behave like a hand-cranked modem trying to stream an opera.

Sure, we could use Wix or Fandom. But then Wix insists on plastering its name across every square inch of the screen like a proud sponsor of mediocrity. And Fandom… well, if Mojang had to pay to make a supposedly "free" wiki usable, that probably says everything. Also, the loss of good old HTTP backward compatibility — call me old-fashioned, but I find that a bit distasteful.

There might be some free, underpowered VPS hosting solutions out there. But frankly, buying a proper server — or even a modest VPS subscription like Hostinger — is beyond my current budget.

Still, I’m open to ideas. Maybe there’s a forgotten corner of the web still willing to host a gramophone wiki for the sake of history and eccentric charm.

[m_nakamura]

I think it would be cool but yeah it would cost a lot of money.

It would be neat if it was like Wikipedia where people could edit and contribute new articles. I don't know much about websites though.

[OrthoFan]

There used to be a site, the "World Repository of Manufactured Items" (Romfi.com) that housed an extensive listing of gramophones and phonographs from around the world. Like Wikipedia, it was added to all the time, and contained an impressive number of illustrations of various models, along with related information. Unfortunately, the site died about five or six years ago, and while the internet archive has some of the main pages -- https://web.archive.org/web/20040917121 ... N=90777552 -- those providing details about specific models of phonographs/gramophones are missing.

The most comprehensive list I've seen in print showing models from around the world, was "Veteran Talking Machines" Brian Jewell. ( https://thephonographshop.com/products/ ... 70692224-o ) It provided hundreds of illustrations of various phonographs/gramophones in an index at the back of the book. UNFORTUNATELY, each is about the size of a postage stamp. Still, it might be a useful tool for compiling a Wiki type page showcasing phonographs.

[Andrew Reed]

Well, it came to me like a flash — some kind of chaotic genius strike.

Have you ever heard of ENIGMA? It was a magazine that archived and listed all kinds of number stations. In its early days, it was nothing more than a printed publication, issued monthly. Each issue included all previously known stations, plus newly discovered ones. Just facts. Just continuity.

And maybe… that’s exactly what we need for talking machines.

As someone with a bit of an academic bent — and yes, access to my trusty, jerky Remington 5T typewriter — I honestly think a Word document, or a basic Discord server, or even a dedicated category here on the Talking Machine Forum (wishful thinking, perhaps) could be enough to start.

Ideally, we’d host it on an academic FTP server, or submit it to an archival journal like those used for theoretical computing. Worst case? We just upload it to Archive.org and call it a day.

The truth is, I began this kind of work for myself — trying to document gramophones in general. It was messy and personal: I wrote things like “if it sounds like a film projector, you’re ready for shellac.” But looking back, that might actually be the right shape — simple, descriptive, unpretentious.

I do like database-style websites, sure. But from a legacy point of view, they’re fragile. A .docx file? Easy to pass on. No login, no API, no web stack to maintain. And since most of our research is practically public domain (like onto a discord), there’s no harm in keeping it plain and distributable.

With a website, you get:
– bills
– dependencies
– technologies that vanish (Flash, anyone?)
– and the nightmare of handing over admin rights with the globale complexity.

With a document, you just email it. Done.

So maybe it’s time for a modern “Talking Machine Magazine 2.0” — not a blog, not a wiki, but a structured, printable, archivable periodical.
Like As We May Think — which, let’s remember, was published in the Atlantic Monthly next to vacuum cleaner ads. Even profound ideas need humble paper to live on.

We wouldn’t even need much:

- A section dedicated to research methods (how to identify, compare, date machines)
- A list of contributors
- A retrospective timeline of the talking machine’s history
- Maybe some semi-structured data formatted like a report
- A directory of communities: this forum, mrrgstuff, Lanterne (with host the TTM scan),
- etc.

In the end, the reality is clear: the HMV 157 turns 98 years old this year. We’re already losing machines. If we wait too long, we’ll be documenting gaps instead of history.

So let’s not try to reinvent the internet. Let’s just write it down — properly.

[m_nakamura]

I don't know. I feel like a document is something that can easily be manipulated, copied, lost.

It's all whoever creates it's choice but I feel like a wiki would be much better.

Again, I'm not a tech person so maybe a doc is better.

[Andrew Reed]

I don't know. I feel like a document is something that can easily be manipulated, copied, lost.

It's all whoever creates it's choice but I feel like a wiki would be much better.

Again, I'm not a tech person so maybe a doc is better.

for the technical side of thing, a document IS MUCH SIMPLER.
and for the Legacy side of things, it wondn't be lost, some kind ISBN, mutliple archive project, espacialy for a archival project
we could print it, and in America or Angland as well as French there is copy Right, we even could make a tany organisation for the archival, not a singule pennis from us.

[m_nakamura]

Hmm. It's a cool idea, but I think some other forum members who have been here and in the hobby way longer should also be on board.