The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

A friend of mine who lives a distance away tells me he has a Capitol phonograph lamp that works, but the phonograph runs slowly. He is thinking of selling the lamp and I have an interest in buying it. Can anyone provide any feedback on what could cause this problem? Is it dirt and the electric motor needs to be cleaned? Maybe it needs motor grease? I heard there are motor problems with these phono lamps so this may be a common problemw with this lampp. Any advice on what can be done to aleviate the problem is most appreciated. Thank you.

Rick

I have restored two Fairy Phonograph Lamps with electric motors. Both ran when purchased, but would slow down when the tonearm was dropped onto a record. The problem involved shorts in the motor windings or commutators and both motors needed complete rewinding to get back to normal. The problems have occurred over many years because at the time of manufacture, line voltages were not consistent and there were no surge protectors. Consequently, many electric phonograph motors were toasted and the phonographs were trashed or put into storage waiting for possible repair.

So, when buying an electric powered phonograph of any type, be aware that most motors are not interchangeable and it may be difficult or impossible to find a replacement that works... Also, since we are now in an age of disposable electronics and electric motors, it may be difficult to find someone who knows how to work on these obsolete motors or if they do, they may not want to mess with fixing a small motor. Shawn O'Rourke, who posts frequently on this board indicated that he knew someone who was a reliable motor repair guy, so you might want to contact him. Both motors that I had rewound cost $450 each to repair. If the phono lamp is in otherwise good condition and you can buy it at a "reasonable" price, then it may be worth getting it with the idea of spending some money on rewiring the lamp fixture and fixing the motor. Most of the wiring in lamps of that period were cloth wrapped and may be in unsafe condition, so that is another item to consider. They are great machines and very unusual, but no replacement parts are made for them and unless you are mechanically inclined and want to do your own restoration, it may get expensive to have someone else do it for you... Just sayin'...