The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

An appliance to make music and heat the house at the same time! They should have installed a Sterling heat engine motor for the ultimate hot machine. An interesting concept, but about as risky as keeping Mrs. O'Leary's Cow in the living room. It might become a bit troublesome calling out the Fire Department every time I have the urge to play a record.

Perhaps it can play the Ink Spots recording of "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire."

Clay

Wow! That really is the "Hot One" !!!!!

)

Tony K.

I wonder if it will play "Hot hot hot hot
hotter than Hell" by Kiss?

The idea of having a flame acting as a speaker is very old, as this spectacular gramophone tells. Still today, there are Hi-Fi enthusiasts experimenting with flame speakers. I never had the opportuniy to listen to a flame tweeter, thus I ignore the quality of sound of these transducers, which however have the remarkable quality of delivering a 360° round emission. Some examples are easily found on YouTube.

Two basic principles are used. In the first, a very high voltage (sound) signal is discharged through the flame of a Bunsen burner. I suppose that atoms ionized by the flame are the conductive medium, but it's just my educated guess, just as it is my guess that the shape of the flame is modulated by the intense electric field and hence a sound wave is emitted in air.

In the second principle, the quantity of gas (or more precisely the mix of gases, as in the schematic below) sent to the burner is modulated in a compression chamber by the vibrations of a diaphragm, which variates the pressure of the gas according to the musical signal picked up from a record (or whatever else). This principle, although electro-mechanically implemented in the schematics below, is merely mechanical and I believe it is the one used in the Flameophone. As a side note, this mechanism is very very similar to that of Victor's Auxetophone: it is just differently implemented (in the Auxetophone, a moving-shutter mechanism is used). This is, I suppose, the reason why the sound is audible even when the flames are off, as reported by the reviewers back then.

In few words, the working principle of the Flameophone is indeed substantiated, hence the quite positive review, and I would be very curious to listen to its unique, peculiar sound!

I have seen an example of one of these Flameophone portable gramophones -- it was being offered for sale at a collectors fair in the UK , many years ago. From memory , it was in good cosmetic condition and the price tag was as expected , a four figure sum ( and the first figure was not a one ! ).
It created a lot of interest -- I've never seen another . Regards from England Dulcetto

Back when this was being sold, many homes still had gas lighting... So, you put on your favorite Bessie Smith record...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4bXDKticro

THEN, you smell the small leak coming from the chandelier...

I am always amazed at what has been tried 100 years ago is coming back today. Electric cars are 100 years old. Edison and Ford were working together but stopped. Faraday ( unsure of spelling) invented stuff that is still researched. Tom B

Hmmm....oxy accetalene bottles, chain saw trombone and a bull horn...