The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

On a full wind, my vv 2-55 portable takes a little over 7 minutes to spin to a full stop. So maybe 6 ½ minutes of playing time.

However, it takes about 70 turns of the crank for a full wind. This feels like too many. Actually, I could wind even a bit more, but I don't want to risk breaking the spring. Does it mean the spring is weak? Maybe the barrel needs to be cleaned out and greased?

For owners of vv 2-55 or 2-65 portables, about how many turns of the crank does it take for your machine to be fully wound? And roughly how long will it play for?

Thanks in advance for any response.

when you want to wind to full capacity always wind with the platter turning also wind a bit slower than usual when you than reach full capacity you will hear the gears increase in speed a bit thats when your'e there

Can you play one side all the way through? If so, don't worry about it. If you have to wind all the way to the end to play that one side, I would say the spring is a bit weak. Anything less than a full wind per side is fine.

I can play two sides on an almost full winding. And the turntable spins with good power. Though to be safe, I'll only wind ¾ of the way at most, and wind more for the next side.

It was just the high number of windings that it took for a full wind (over 70) that made me suspect the spring was weak or needed to be cleaned out. It probably does, but I'll leave it for now. The barrel is sealed by rivets and makes servicing sort of a pain.

Thanks for the replies.

Shlomo,

It's been a while since I've seen the inside of one of these, but I think the answer to your question lies in the winding mechanism itself. These portables are geared differently (because they are lightweight)to make the crank easier to turn. Cheap portables do not have this, are hard to wind, and tend to want to bounce away from you as you crank them.