The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hi all,
I'm Rick Force, a mew member here. I just bought an unbranded AU graphophone (made by Columbia) that has too much play (backlash) in the govenor, so it is very noisy and sometimes won't start without giving the platter a push, or push the govenor via the break/ speed disc back towards the vertical platter worm gear (if it stays there, it runs nice and almost quiet). There seems to be about ⅛" horizontal movement (the noise seems to come from the gear teeth no meshing properly). Is there an adjustment to close this gap in travel? Also, how do I find the date it was made (i'm told these came out in 1904, but would like to know my date) or how many years did they make these (production run)? There are no markings/ numbers (other than "oil" above the winding shaft) that I can see. Thank you, Rick.

There should be a set screw on ether side of the governor shaft that will allow you to adjust the bushings.

Phonoboy wrote:There should be a set screw on ether side of the governor shaft that will allow you to adjust the bushings.

Thank you Phonoboy for the reply. I didn't see any set screws or adjusting mechanism, but will look again. I will post pics tomorrow of the AU. Thank you, Rick.

Be sure your motor is wound down completely before messing with the governor. Jerry B.

Already have

Rick on the open works Columbia AU (Standard AA is the same) there are no bushings or set screws to adjust.

One end of the governor fits into a hole in a fixed plate. The other end of the governor fit into a hole of a J shaped arm.
This arm is adjustable by the two screws that mount it to the motor frame.
With the screws backed off you can move this arm up and down, and in and out.
You want to find a position where the motor will run the best.
This type of governor and motor normally has a lot of backlash so just finding the sweet spot where the motor runs the best is a good goal.

If the holes that the governor rides in are very worn it may be a difficult adjustment.

Good luck, you'll get it with a little time.

Larry Crandell

Thank you Larry for the info., i'll give it look see Rick