Edison/Bettini Class M Phonograph on eBay

[ambrola]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EDISON-BETTINI- ... 19e3cc26a1
Love to have this one.

[HisMastersVoice]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EDISON-BETTINI- ... 19e3cc26a1
Love to have this one.

Who wouldn't?

[VintageTechnologies]

I suppose we could place bets what that could sell for. Would $30K be too much?

[ambrola]

Bet it will end before auction concludes.

[gregbogantz]

I've not had the opportunity to inspect a Class M up close, so I'm not sure how they are wired. This is the first picture of one I've seen that shows the coiled resistance wire under the deckplate. How is that resistance wired into the circuit? I assume that the governor is a make-or-break switch type, rather than the conventional friction brake style of spring motors. Does the governor switch short and open the resistance wire? In which case, such a resistance would be common to all Class Ms? Or is this resistance just used on this particular sample to allow the motor to operate from, say, a 6 volt instead of 2 volt source?

[ambrola]

I wish some of the guys on here would chime in about this machine. I also would like to know more about how it operates. I have never had a class m, or seen one in action.

[VintageTechnologies]

I wish some of the guys on here would chime in about this machine. I also would like to know more about how it operates. I have never had a class m, or seen one in action.

A friend of mine has a Class M and I have seen it run. To answer a previous question in this thread, the governor is regulated by opening and closing an electric circuit, whereas a normal governor uses a felt pad pressed against the rotating brass disk that the weight springs attach to. On this machine, the governor spins up to speed until centrifugal force pulls the brass governor disk away from a fine wire brush that was touching it, thus breaking a circuit that passed through the brush and governor. As the speed drops, the brass disk returns to the brush and the cycle begins anew. This happens very fast and a fairly constant speed is maintained. The motor is massive, which I think contributes to the steadiness. That type of regulation can be finicky -- I have an early electrified Brunswick using the same system, and it is the devil to regulate.

Several models of Class M were configured and sold to run either on 110 volts DC or batteries. Perhaps the electrical resistor wires indicate this model ran on 110 volts? I am not sure, so this is purely speculation.

[ambrola]

I wish some of the guys on here would chime in about this machine. I also would like to know more about how it operates. I have never had a class m, or seen one in action.

A friend of mine has a Class M and I have seen it run. To answer a previous question in this thread, the governor is regulated by opening and closing an electric circuit, whereas a normal governor uses a felt pad pressed against the rotating brass disk that the weight springs attach to. On this machine, the governor spins up to speed until centrifugal force pulls the brass governor disk away from a fine wire brush that was touching it, thus breaking a circuit that passed through the brush and governor. As the speed drops, the brass disk returns to the brush and the cycle begins anew. This happens very fast and a fairly constant speed is maintained. The motor is massive, which I think contributes to the steadiness. That type of regulation can be finicky -- I have an early electrified Brunswick using the same system, and it is the devil to regulate.

Several models of Class M were configured and sold to run either on 110 volts DC or batteries. Perhaps the electrical resistor wires indicate this model ran on 110 volts? I am not sure, so this is purely speculation.

Thanks for the info. How it gets its power is what has me confused.

[FloridaClay]

A pic from the listing for those reading this thread in the future.

Clay

[VintageTechnologies]

I wish some of the guys on here would chime in about this machine. I also would like to know more about how it operates. I have never had a class m, or seen one in action.

A friend of mine has a Class M and I have seen it run. To answer a previous question in this thread, the governor is regulated by opening and closing an electric circuit, whereas a normal governor uses a felt pad pressed against the rotating brass disk that the weight springs attach to. On this machine, the governor spins up to speed until centrifugal force pulls the brass governor disk away from a fine wire brush that was touching it, thus breaking a circuit that passed through the brush and governor. As the speed drops, the brass disk returns to the brush and the cycle begins anew. This happens very fast and a fairly constant speed is maintained. The motor is massive, which I think contributes to the steadiness. That type of regulation can be finicky -- I have an early electrified Brunswick using the same system, and it is the devil to regulate.

Several models of Class M were configured and sold to run either on 110 volts DC or batteries. Perhaps the electrical resistor wires indicate this model ran on 110 volts? I am not sure, so this is purely speculation.

Thanks for the info. How it gets its power is what has me confused.

The Class M came configured for either low voltage batteries or high voltage DC from the mains. There were terminals on the machine to connect the wires. The on/off switch, the governor break switch and the motor would have been connected in series.