The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Can anybody show me a full picture of an A 150 DD cabinet?
I got this cabinet in, but, it's very tall.
I don't remembeber them being this tall.
Any pics.?
Bill Cahill

Just ignore the aftermarket record drawer on the shelf...

George P.

Nice case. They are tall! Mine doesn't have casters. Just little nail holes on the bottoms of the legs. Did you addd casters, or, am I missing something significant? Mine is mahoganny. I like yours better.

What are the chances of finding one in oak so I could put my works from my cut down Amberola 3 in it?
Right now, this case is very unstable due to broken shelf, and, unglued pegs all over the place.
Started repairs this morning.
Bill Cahill

I believe these cabinets can be found both with and without casters, probably depending on the cabinet manufacturer or changes in specification. The casters on this oak one are original. There's also a mahogany III here with no casters - - just original gliders.

George P.

I'm having problems....
First, because the cabinet apparently isn't quite as deep as my original one, my boards won't fit. Next, The crank won't go on.
To top it off, the horn lift is jamming up, and, I'm having no good luck. I tried increasing inner diameter of top pot betal bearing, but, it's still not working with this cabinet. Any ideas?
Bill Cahill

The foot of the horn screws and unscrews to custom fit the cabinet. It is rather odd how the horn goes in, The back part of the horn is fed from the back of the machine through the door, and the big part through the grill area. you must de-tach the large horn part from the small horn part, put the large part in front with the foot ball in the socket, (do not yet attach lift handle) then, angle the horn forward slightly, lower the motor board (bed plate) and align up the feed rack so it goes over the feed screw, and at this point feed the back part of the horn through the back portion, hook the two sections of the horn together, (there are two pins and a hook then a thumb screw.) then put the lift lever in place, and adjust your foot, and handle lift height, then feed rack engagement. The motor also has a leveling screw so that it can be level in the cabinet, and so the feed screw goes all across the range of travel. Do not forget to adjust the up position horn drag with the pointed spring tension device on the back of the horn.

That's not what I'm talking about. The horn lift is freezing up.
When I tighten the scew on the horn bracket on top on shaft of lift lever, the entire thing freezes up.
Bill Cahill

Make sure your lift lever hole is aligned with the ball hole in the bottom, also you might need to polish the lower part of the lift lever where it goes into the upper bearing, something in the horn rod may be bent? You may also want to take the sleeve out and turn it around perhaps it is slightly eccentric, and can be adjusted to align. Also make sure the set screw is not going into the bearing far enough to tighten onto the shaft, perhaps the screw is too long. I have never needed to loosen or tighten this sleeve. You can move the round lower bearing a little and see if it will align better. I just checked mine, and it moves freely and easily. To let you know below is a photo of my machine.

If the two A-150 cabinets came from different suppliers, or were made years apart, it's possible that the dimensions could vary slightly. The cabinets were originally shipped to West Orange with no holes drilled so the mechanisms could be fitted at the Edison factory.

If your interior trim around the bedplate is oversize, it can be cut/sanded to proper size. You may need to reposition the motor/horn assembly by lining it up with the existing crank hole and marking where the motor mount screws should be (probably a 2-man job!). Ditto the horn's stabilizing escutcheon at the bottom of the lift tube. Hopefully any new holes will be covered by the hardware.

George P.

The A and B 150 from the Frow Book. Cabinet design Edward F. Pooley was in August 1911 100 were built before being modified. In February 1912 after consultation between Wilson and Rubino , Pooly's designs were changed to become the model A-150 and Amberola III. first order was for 3,000 cabinets , 100 of the original Pooley design, and 2900 of the modified Rubino design, 2200 in mahogany and 700 in oak. then 600 mahogany, 175 golden oak, 75 weathered oak. by October 5th, 102 had been assembled. by the end of 1914 10,555 were reported. The firre of December 1914 left 3158 cabinets. There were B-150 machines in stock after June 17th, 1915. The B-150 was somewhat popular around these parts. I know of 2 B-150 machines within 3.5 miles of each other, one belonged to dealer Frank Rambo, who had the Grahm and Rambo store in La Moille, and the other was most likely purchased from this store also, as it belongs to an established local family. Below is the B-150 from a display of machines we had in class when the grade school building had the 100th birthday in 1987, I was 12 years old, we listened to these machines for 10 minutes prior to class starting, Ain't We got Fun and Bola-Bo Egyptian Foxtrot, and the Duck's Quack were among the class favorite Diamond discs. The other machine is an Victrola XXV School House machine, in its original home, where it was purchased and used, and still resides (Please do not remove this machine from its original home it belongs there.) The building is the oldest working school in Illinois and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, built in 1887 the same year as Edison Laboratory.