DD A-150

[schweg]

At the request of the honorable and esteemed Valecnik, here are pics of my Edison DD A-150 at my office. Sorry it took so long, my computer had a virus and it took a while for my computer support person (23-yr old) to get things up and running.. While I was at it, I took a few other pics of my office. I decided that since I spend more hours a day there awake (well at least pretending to be) than I do at home, I'd take in a few things to make the day go better. I've given a few short concerts during lunch hours to friends who know of my hobby/obsession. The DD is by the window so the pictures all didn't turn out as well as I would've liked. But you get the idea.








Wall by my desk. Tom and I have many animated conversations during the day. He's much more interesting to talk to than some of my co-workers.



And this little guy sits behind me and makes sure I keep working. Plus it keeps the Victor/Edison balance in harmony.



No crank required on this. Once I replaced the missing wire & lubed it a little, it started right up and plays great.



Welcome to my world!! Steve

[Lenoirstreetguy]

Wall by my desk. Tom and I have many animated conversations during the day. He's much more interesting to talk to than some of my co-workers.

Steve

Do your co workers get annoyed when you have to shout in his good ear?

The A-150 is great!! I've never seen one one the flesh and I've always thought they were attractive machines, although I understand they weren't particularly hot sellers.
Jim

[Valecnik]

Thanks for posting Schweg. Are all those parts oxidised? Appears even the crank escutcheon and crank are oxidised. Also appears you've got that early volume control on the reproducer. So this one is configured exactly like my oak one. I also had a mahogany one years back with all metal parts, crank escutcheon and crank gold plated??? Also the original paint on your horn looks really good. You are lucky for that!

[schweg]

Bruce, Yes all the metal parts are oxidised. That and the nice condition of the paint were the main reason I bought it. I think I remember reading in Frow's book that gold, nickel, and oxidised finishes were all used on the A-250 during it's production run.

Jim, No problem with the yelling, most of the time my co-workers have to yell at me since I wear headphones and face away from the door when I use my workstation. I have a hand-me-down Ipod from one of my kids, I'm sure I bought them a newer version and got their old one!! I still can't find the headphone jack for the A-150 so have to listen to new music on the IPod although I do have some Jimmie Rodgers, Dave Macon, and Bob Wills mixed in with the newer stuff.

Me? Anti-social? No way, now get out of my office!!

Steve

[edisonphonoworks]

This is my favorite machine, I hope to have mine restored soon, got to get it out of storage and put back together, It does not have a volume controle and does not seem to have a sign of even having one.I really like the A series machines. They have a brass horn instead of steel, and this gives them a different tone. I know that the early DDs from before the fire, really are not as interesting in selections as later ones, but the surface is really nice, when they survie. The oldest DD I have is 80051 circa 1912-13 It is the experimental ones that are in a green box, with lithograph cover. These had celluloid sheets with condensite coating, mounted to the cores, and were very quiet, and the recording quality superb, these though have problems with the edges curling.

[Valecnik]

Bruce, Yes all the metal parts are oxidised. That and the nice condition of the paint were the main reason I bought it. I think I remember reading in Frow's book that gold, nickel, and oxidised finishes were all used on the A-250 during it's production run.

Jim, No problem with the yelling, most of the time my co-workers have to yell at me since I wear headphones and face away from the door when I use my workstation. I have a hand-me-down Ipod from one of my kids, I'm sure I bought them a newer version and got their old one!! I still can't find the headphone jack for the A-150 so have to listen to new music on the IPod although I do have some Jimmie Rodgers, Dave Macon, and Bob Wills mixed in with the newer stuff.

Me? Anti-social? No way, now get out of my office!!

Steve

What a lucky guy you are to have a job which allows you to have this kind of stuff in your office where your co-works can see, hear them from time to time!

This is my favorite machine, I hope to have mine restored soon, got to get it out of storage and put back together, It does not have a volume controle and does not seem to have a sign of even having one.I really like the A series machines. They have a brass horn instead of steel, and this gives them a different tone. I know that the early DDs from before the fire, really are not as interesting in selections as later ones, but the surface is really nice, when they survie. The oldest DD I have is 80051 circa 1912-13 It is the experimental ones that are in a green box, with lithograph cover. These had celluloid sheets with condensite coating, mounted to the cores, and were very quiet, and the recording quality superb, these though have problems with the edges curling.

Mine also does not have a volume control on the horn but has the felt one built into the reproducer. If possible, why don't you show us some pictures of 80051 and it's box. Those are very rare.

Thanks,

[Steve Stephens]

Schweg, nice photos of your A-150. I'm so new to the Edison DD machines although I did have a non-working one decades ago. What I am curious about is the decoration on the bedplate and how it changed or disappeared during the production of the top-end machines such as yours and the C-250. I've seen some C-250 (or possibly the later (C-19) that either had no decoration or it had worn off. Knowing how companies continually change things to make them better or cheaper can anyone give a general observation as to what bedplate decoration was used on which variations and which machines did not have decorated bedplates? What other colors were used than brown and black? I'm in the process of trying to digest the information in my new Edison Disc Phonographs book which I hope will lead me to choose the machine of my choice. I just have to find a local Edison dealer to see his offerings.
Thank you.
Steve

[Valecnik]

Schweg, nice photos of your A-150. I'm so new to the Edison DD machines although I did have a non-working one decades ago. What I am curious about is the decoration on the bedplate and how it changed or disappeared during the production of the top-end machines such as yours and the C-250. I've seen some C-250 (or possibly the later (C-19) that either had no decoration or it had worn off. Knowing how companies continually change things to make them better or cheaper can anyone give a general observation as to what bedplate decoration was used on which variations and which machines did not have decorated bedplates? What other colors were used than brown and black? I'm in the process of trying to digest the information in my new Edison Disc Phonographs book which I hope will lead me to choose the machine of my choice. I just have to find a local Edison dealer to see his offerings.
Thank you.
Steve

Steve, Others may be able to give a more precise answer but surely the most decorated are the A series. All except the A60 and A80 had the wood grained horns and brown or maroon bedplates with gold decoration very much like that of an Amberola 1A, 1B, Opera, Triumph. All the B series I believe had flat black horns. Some had a light strip painted around the perimeter of the bedplate and a diamond shaped instruction, I think about speed control instructions or possibly about oiling in one corner. By 1919, when the cabinets were cheapened and the W19, C19 etcetera were introduced I think all bedplates were flat black bedplates and flat black horns. No decorations at all on the bedplates anymore except the Thomas A Edison Signature in the upper right corner.

Perhaps someone who has a machine with one of those second style bedplates could post some pics and tell us what model it is on. I too would like to know some more about the variation.

BTW when you do find your local Edison dealer don't forget to ask for a tone test!

PS: Below is a link to the A300 featured phono so you can see another example of the early decorated bedplate. Schweg also posted some pics of his A375 which has the same decorated bedplate in very good condition. If you search A375 you should be able to find it here.

http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... hilit=a300

[Steve Stephens]

BTW when you do find your local Edison dealer don't forget to ask for a tone test!

Should I happen to fail the tone test I suppose I will have to find another hobby that doesn't involve sound. Is that sound thinking?

Thanks Valecnik for your explanation. I keep hearing how good the C-250 is so it must be a lot more common, along with the C-19 than the A-Series machines of the same style. Now I'll have to broaden my horizons in looking for an A Series machine but, first, I think I'll have to lay eyes on a number of different models to see how they differ. Somehow I don't think there are a whole lot of Diamond Disc players around the San Francisco area as I never had one when I was collecting years ago other than one smaller machine that was missing the reproducer.

Your walnut A300 is stunning.

If anyone can post photos of their DD machine's bedplate it would be nice to see how the different models and series were decorated and painted.

Steve

[Valecnik]

Well here's a start.

- C19
- W250
- A250 Oak and Mahogany A250.

Interestingly the Oak A250 (SN 4165) has an earlier brake mechanism and a nickeled turntable while the later Mahogany A250 (SN 12887)has the more standard brake and gold wash turntable. The oiler holes on the bedplates are also configured differently, the one visible in the front left corner of the oak machine being moved under the turntable on the mahogany one. It's hard to discern the difference in the pictures but the mahogany A250 has a maroon bedplate and the oak machine has a brown bedplate.

The style still missing here is the second style bedplate, black with some striping and the "diamond shaped instruction box" in one corner. Perhaps there are also multiple variants of that too. Hopefully somebody can post one.