Edison Model C Reproducer Problem!

[oldphonographsteve]

I am having a lot of trouble with my Edison model C reproducer! It has been skipping on perfectly good two minute cylinders recently and I am at a loss as to what the cause could be. I've had the reproducer sent out to have gaskets replaced, as well as a new stylus put in, yet it still continues to have issues.
Interestingly it only skips when I set down the reproducer outside the starting groove.
This causes the reproducer to move to the left and the limit pin hits the limit loop, when this happens the stylus has a lot of trouble following the groove of a cylinder, and the sound begins to echo halfway through the recording and then skips to the next groove over and sounds clear again!
I would really love to find a fix to this problem, any help would be really appreciated.

Here are some photos of the stylus and the reproducer:

[rodpickett]

Have you tested the reproducer on a different machine?

[Andersun]

What Edison phonograph is it being used on. Please provide picture of the carriage and feed screw.
Thanks!

Steve

[Phonofreak]

There could be a problem that the half nut isn't engaging the feed-screw properly. I had that problem on one of mu Standards. I tweaked the half-nut bar and it worked perfectly after that.
Harvey Kravitz

[oldphonographsteve]

Have you tested the reproducer on a different machine?

Unfortunately I have no other machine to test it on, I am using an Edison Standard Phonograph, it's Model A I think.

[oldphonographsteve]

There could be a problem that the half nut isn't engaging the feed-screw properly. I had that problem on one of mu Standards. I tweaked the half-nut bar and it worked perfectly after that.
Harvey Kravitz

Actually, it appears that the half nut and the feed screw are too close together when a record is playing, as the machine actually slows down slightly when I set down the reproducer carriage.
Is the limit pin actually supposed to touch the limit loop while playing? Because it seems that when I set down the reproducer directly in to the groove (so the limit pin is not touching the loop) it plays perfectly.

[oldphonographsteve]

What Edison phonograph is it being used on. Please provide picture of the carriage and feed screw.
Thanks!

Steve

Here are a bunch of pictures of the Edison Standard Phonograph. The feed screw looks good, and so the does the half nut, which is why I am really puzzled.
I should note that I did replace the stylus linkage with a mediocre wire, until I could get the proper type.
Could this have any effect on the playback of a cylinder and causing reproducer to skip?

[Chuck]

The key to this problem lies in what
the reproducer does when it is set down
on a smooth, ungrooved portion of the record.

A properly operating reproducer will maintain
the limit pin very close to the center of the
loop as the stylus floats along a smooth and
ungrooved portion of a cylinder record.

If the weight happens to be tipped at some
angle relative to the cylinder, anything other
than perfectly parallel to the cylinder's
playing surface, this can be an ingredient
in the problem of the weight and stylus wanting to ride over toward the left, and
end up rubbing against the lefthand side of
the limit loop.

I have a reproducer that had this same
problem. My solution was to see which way
the weight was tipped off of horizontal
and then I folded up a very small piece
of paper towel and stuffed in on the high side
wedged way back close to the hinge block
so that it tends to tip the weight back
parallel with the record more.

It also adds just a tiny bit of drag to the
hinge block pivoting, enough to keep the
stylus riding along straight, and not drifting
over to the left when gliding along on a shiny
smooth ungrooved portion of the record.

It is not jammed in tightly at all.
It does not wedge the weight in a downward
direction so as to add weight.

If it tends to want to skate left for *any*
reason, then there's always that bit of
tendency to it, even when there's a groove
there which is supposed to bring it along.

If there's a skating force there, much at
all, it will sometimes cause the stylus to
skip out of the groove.

When there is no such skating force, the stylus will be able to follow the groove
instead of jumping out every so often.

They key to it all is watching what it does
when playing a smooth ungrooved surface.
That will tell the tale right there.

Another ingredient which might be causing
such a problem is the side-to-side freedom
of the weight. One way to check that is
take the stylus bar off, take the weight off
of the hinge block, and feel the freedom of
the hinge block post in its threaded hole.
It should turn very easily. If it does not,
then it needs to be freed up by chasing the
threaded hole with a tap.

This all, of course, assumes that everything
is working right with your machine's carriage
arm and feed screw.

Do the test of playing a blank shiny spot
on a cylinder and then see what it does.

How much other work was done to it?
Does it perhaps have a reproduction, non-original hinge block?

Chuck

[martinola]

Interestingly it only skips when I set down the reproducer outside the starting groove.
This causes the reproducer to move to the left and the limit pin hits the limit loop, when this happens the stylus has a lot of trouble following the groove of a cylinder, and the sound begins to echo halfway through the recording and then skips to the next groove over and sounds clear again!

Hi Steve.

Sorry to hear of your woes. I had similar problems to this that had two different causes. One was playing a slightly shrunken Indestructable cylinder. The other was a wax cylinder that had reaming issues and tended to come slightly loose on the mandrel while playing. Perhaps you've already eliminated these possibilities, but I thought I'd bring them up. Good luck!

Martin

[De Soto Frank]

Also, make sure the machine / bed-plate is sitting level. If not, this could conceivably cause the weight / limit-pin to skate to one side the limit-loop.

Ideally, the pin should be centered-in / never touch the limit loop during playing.

Does this happen with several different cylinders ?