The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I recently purchased an Amberola 1-B and I need some help from the Opera mechanism experts in our group. It makes a high speed growl when the mechanism is in operation. I removed the gear cover and I suspect the problem is right there in front of me. Everything looks OK but there is a problem. Any suggestions and solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Jerry Blais

Perhaps the fiber gear has expanded that runs the governor worm, and a replacement is needed?

Hi Jerry,

I have two Operas and a 1B and have (thankfully) not experienced that particular issue. Mine had flutter issues which I've been able to fix with gracious help from Bob Barnett here on the Forum.

However, Keith ('VintageTechnologies' here on the Forum) posted an excellent and very informative posting on his issue with an Edison Opera he had worked on here:

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =7&t=12023

And he also posted a video of his governor going unstable during operation here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aMZ1GB_95E

Both Bob and Keith were excellent in helping me. Hopefully they will contribute here. If I could help I certainly would.

Doug

edisonphonoworks wrote:Perhaps the fiber gear has expanded that runs the governor worm, and a replacement is needed?

Hi Shawn, My Opera motors use a brass gear (not fiber) with the governor worm gear but that gear could be part of the issue and is worth examining for sure.

If, at some point during this particular Amberola 1B's life, someone attempted to adjust the governor when the motor mainsprings were under tension and the motor dramatically released its tension in 2 seconds (YIKES! Not good!) the teeth on this particular gear (and others) could have been damaged making them noisy at best!

My personal thought is that perhaps the governor may need adjusting within its bearings to find that "sweet" spot for quiet, perfect running. Just be doubly sure to release all the tension from the mainsprings first! Check the condition of the friction disc too!

Doug

Jerry,
My Opera does have the fiber gear that drives the governor. You can see if the growl goes away by adding a little bit of oil to it while it is running. If the growl goes away then it might need adjusting or replacing. If the growl is still there then you'll have to dig deeper.

The few Operas and Concerts that I have had experience with had brass gears, so I really can't offer personal advice about fibre gears. With common machines, it is helpful to swap parts to isolate a problem, but spare Opera parts are hard to come by. I wonder if anyone makes new fibre or nylon gears for the Opera? I also wish someone made spare Opera governor parts because those are unique.

This is very perplexing. My Amberola VI did this same exact thing where the mechanism makes a loud growl and the governor looks 'wobbly' or 'unstable.' I know the motor setup is completely different between an Opera and an Amberola VI but I was able to fix the issue by adjusting the governor.

-Steve