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I have never noticed this until now; so I am not sure how this should work.

On an amberola A1, should the mandrel begin turning as soon as the on/off swwitch is turned on and before the lift lever is dropped down onto the feedscrew?

The one I have has a brake that engages a little metal band; so, it won't allow the mandrel to turn until the lift lever is pressed down dropping onto the feedscrew. The issue with this is that the needle drops onto the cylinder before the mandrel has a chance to get up to speed.

I have had other A1 machines and just never noticed whether this is correct or not.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Depending on the answer, I might also need someone to send me a picture of what their's looks like underneath the lift lever cover.

thanks,

The brake should release and allow the mandrel to begin rotating before the stylus is in contact with the cylinder. I simply bring the lever down slowly to allow the mandrel to come up to speed before the stylus is all the way down. I have seen other 1As in operation and they will do the same thing. I think this is one reason why Edison redesigned the start/stop mechanism for the 1B/Opera mechanism. That and the amount of noise the 1A makes when it stops. I have seen a reprint of an Edison brochure that mentions a noiseless auto stop, so they must have seen all of this as a negative issue. I think they were aiming for the convenience of a one step start/stop process and it didn't work out as well as they wanted.



Jim

Thanks; so, unless you bring the lever down just a little bit, your mandrel would also be stopped?

I just checked mine and noted that: when the start/stop lever is all the way up the machine is fully stopped. On this machine "up" is against upper edge of the slot in the casting. That could vary slightly from machine to machine. As I pull the lever down, at about a quarter inch from the top the drum brake has released and the mandrel begins rotating. About half way down, the feedscrew engages and the reproducer weight begins to drop. Continuing down, the stylus contacts the record and the lever locks down. Mine comes up to speed in just a couple of revolutions, so a slight hesitation as I pull the lever down is all it takes to reach playing speed before the stylus is on the record. I also like to ease the lever down so the stylus contacts the record gently.

I hope this helps.

Jim

By the way, I don't use the brake lever on the front of the bedplate at all. If the drum brake on the mandrel shaft is working correctly, you don't need it.

Jim

Thanks! That is exactly what I needed to know. You have been very helpful.