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I have this Edison Home up and running. Now to see whether it's running RIGHT.

I picked up four Blue Amberol cylinders from eBay. Three of them are swollen, so I've ordered a reamer. They play a bit, but not at all well, skipping and repeating like a disk record with a crack in it, even though they aren't cracked and the feed screw is advancing right along.


This machine is designed to play 2 minute and 4 minute cylinders. A clutch adjusts the feed screw speed, and the reproducer has a choice of 2 min or 4min styli.

Which setting do these blue amberols take? How does one tell which setting to use for any given cylinder that shows up?

How much run-out should a good cylinder have? Two of these have quite a bit, as if out of round. I'm hoping the reamer will fix that. But should a cylinder have any detectable run-out at all?

I've not undertaken to overhaul the reproducer, hoping it's not necessary. But do these machines ever require replacing the styli?

Seeking enlightenment,

Bangster

With the exception of some rare Mexican 2 minute versions, all Blue Amberols are 4 minute records. You probably are playing these on the 2 minute setting on your machine and/or are using the 2 minute stylus; this would cause significant skipping and possibly repeating too.

There is an article on the Antique Phonograph Society website about cylinder identification. Scroll down for the info you are looking for:
http://www.antiquephono.org/basic-antiq ... onal-tips/

Yes, the styli can wear out, but it takes years. Replacements are available.

2 minute cylinders such as the black wax Edison
"Gold Moulded" records have 100 grooves per inch.

4 minute cylinders such as the black wax Edison
"Amberol", and the later celluloid "Blue Amberol"
records have 200 grooves per inch.

You will soon learn to see very easily by eye just
simply by looking at the size and the density of
the grooves, whether any record is 2 minute or 4 minute.

Trying to play a 4 minute record with the carriage
moving across using the 2 minute speed, will cause
skipping. Likewise, trying to play a 4 minute record
with a 2 minute stylus and 2 minute feed will also
cause skipping.

A badly worn 4 minute stylus which cannot correctly
follow the fine 4 minute groove will cause skipping.

To properly play any cylinder, the feed must be set
properly for that record, and the correct stylus must
be used, and both styli must be in good condition.

Please get some magnifiers. There are lots of very
inexpensive loupes out there. With even a 10x loupe,
you can see enough to be able to know if there is
a flat spot worn on the stylus.

And, to answer your question about runout on cylinders:
No, ideally there should be no runout. But the Blue
Amberols sometimes do have some little runout.
A little bit of runout will still work ok.
But any much more than a little will cause the record
to sound like it's got runout in it.

The old Edison 2 minute black wax Gold Moulded records
hold their shape extremely well.

Glad to hear your machine is running well. What was the cause of the motor noise you asked about.

Do you have a model H reproducer for playing your Blue Amberols? The model C will not work as the stylus is too big to fit the grooves. The stylus often does need to be replaced as they are easy to damage if used incorrectly: dropping it on the record. tossing the reproducer in a box and letting it flop around for years, etc. A loupe is good for looking for a bad stylus. The model C stylus is easy to rotate to a fresh side.

Dave D

Thanks for the information, Everybody.

The reproducer is a model "O". Flip between two styli. It doesn't want to come out of the carriage, and I don't intend to force it since it seems to be OK. Under a 12X loupe, the 4-min stylus shows no chips. I'm hoping this puppy is about ready to go back to the owner. When I get the cylinder reamer, I can give it an audio test run test run and hope to know more.

BTW, a recent test run with one of the cylinders had horrible fidelity...scratchy and tinny. Could have been many things, including bad cylinder. But not enjoyable. I hope that's not the norm for cylinder recordings.

bangster

PS: Forgot to say, the motor noise was caused by a worn out pinion on #3. Replaced it, and it no longer klunks.

It would be nice if you could rebuild the reproducer which probably is difficult to do if it is lodged in the carriage. Cylinders can sound very good if the reproducers are rebuilt, new gaskets, and when putting the diaphragm in, the diaphragm must not touch the side of the reproducer cup, it must be perfectly centered. Do not tighten the retainer ring tight, as the sound will be thin, and lack bass, the retainer should only be thumb tight, you put the retaining ring down with your thumbs, just until it stops leaking air, but no more. I also suggest carefully cleaning the diaphragm (toilet bowl cleaner, then rinsing it with dawn and water, and when dry applying a coat of clear lacquer,I suspect Edison diaphragms were a copper alloy, and if they do not have holes in them, sound better than newly manufactured copper diaphragms.