Ww2 waters Conley special services phonograph

[Inigo]

Aha... I didn't notice that! Never seen before in a machine like this... Maybe it's for playing V discs...

[Steve]

I've had a few of these over the years. The soundbox is very light so will not damage the records due to its weight, but with that said, I would advise against playing any very good condition records on these as they do not sound particularly good anyway and the vertical alignment of the stylus bar to record is virtually impossible to achieve with that soundbox / tonearm combination. They are more of a wartime relic, worth owning for posterity and display, but not for use in my opinion.

Incidentally, whilst the machines I owned were all of a generic type of similar pattern to the one shown in the picture, all mine were referred to as "Portelec" and made by the Pacific Sound Equipment Company with motors manufactured by General Industries of Ohio, IIRC.

[OrthoFan]

I second what Steve posted. But, of course, using it as a "static display" is no fun. My suggestion is, first of all, to have the sound box overhauled with fresh soft gaskets, have any kinks or dents taken out of the diaphragm (or have it replaced if it is torn or punctured), and have the needle bar fulcrum adjusted properly. In that way, you'll get the maximum sonic performance, and minimize record wear.

Of course, if you plan to play it, you'll also want to hunt down some fresh steel needles, since they are good for playing one or two sides of one record before being replaced. Fortunately, new production steel needles are readily available.

If you acquire any V-discs in good condition, rather than play them, look for conventional (78s) recordings of the song titles performed by the same artists--pressed in shellac--and save the V-discs for posterity and their collectable value.

OrthoFan

[Damfino59]

The forum has several threads about these WWII phonographs. Here’s just one:

viewtopic.php?t=2910

[Frisco The Beagle]

Nice machine! I have had several and all required some work.

The tone arm base was usually made of pot metal, which will swell over time and "clamp down" on the tone arm. This prevents the tone arm from tracking freely with the record. There should be some ball bearings (usually 5) in a thin race in the tone arm base assembly, which help the tone arm to pivot freely. These bearings are often missing. Check for them and replace if missing.

I have had a similar problem with a record playing for a short period of time and eventually the motor slows down and stops. The vinyl discs are bad about this. the harder shellac records will play better. The same thing happens if you play a newer vinyl record on an old Victrola. I believe the heavy reproducer just bogs down in the softer vinyl.

There should be a small spring at the reproducer pivot in the overall tone arm assembly. This spring can be adjusted to lessen the weight (and drag) of the reproducer on the record allowing it to play normally. Make sure this spring is in place and functional. I have played both shellac and vinyl V-discs on these military machines with much success after making repairs and adjustments as discussed.

Good Luck!

PS - I think we were bidding against each other for that green reproducer, haha.