The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

edisonplayer,

Thanks for your reply. I read somewhere around the forum or the internet about using a 6 volt lantern battery. But it's my understanding that the vintage dry cell batteries were 1.5 volts. So 6 volts would be way too much and didn't want to take a chance on damaging the solenoid/magnet mechanism on the Duncan stop. Right now I have mine working with two 1.5 Volt D cell batteries (3 volts total) taped together in series which works just fine.

AR

Using a 6 volt battery will not damage anything. The electrical connection is so brief that there is no danger of anything overheating. A friend of mine bought an Edison William & Mary. When we got it home, we discovered an original No. 6 battery. I think it was the only battery the machine likely ever had. Believe it or not, the battery still put out a fraction of a volt, but nowhere near enough juice to operate the Duncan stop.

VictorTechnologies,

Thanks for the tip with using the 6 volt battery. Just curious, do you happen to remember what was the label on the No. 6 battery you found in the William & Mary? I didn't know the Electric Automatic Stop also came on the William & Mary model. I thought it was only used on the C-250's. Or was the mechanism also sold separately for installation onto any model?

AR

apruizii wrote:VictorTechnologies,

Thanks for the tip with using the 6 volt battery. Just curious, do you happen to remember what was the label on the No. 6 battery you found in the William & Mary? I didn't know the Electric Automatic Stop also came on the William & Mary model. I thought it was only used on the C-250's. Or was the mechanism also sold separately for installation onto any model?

AR

There was a kit sold by T.A.E. Inc. to convert existing Phonographs with the Electric Automatic Stop. I explain the history of the device in-depth, in an article that can be found at the Antique Phonograph Society's website, here: http://www.antiquephono.org/edison-auto ... tric-stop/, and I further explain simple adjustment of the Stop, here: http://www.antiquephono.org/adjusting-r ... tric-stop/

Best,
Fran

Adolfo, here's a real teaser; the one and only image that I've seen of an Edison branded No.6 dry cell battery. It was a very small resolution image, so I needed to enlarge it to a reasonable size for viewing. I have absolutely no idea where I found the image...I wish I had noted the source.

Fran,

I had read your articles but didn't realize the T.A.E. stop mechanism was sold as a kit to be installed in other phonographs as well. This is very interesting stuff.

Yeah, that Edison dry cell battery looks cool. Maybe there's one just like it at the Edison museum in Fort Myers, Florida.

Adolfo