The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello there,

I recently bought a nice Vox gramophone from the 1920's but unfortunately i'm having a problem.
It seems that in the past someone attempted to repair it with the wrong parts.(wrong speed regulator)
And now it won't regulate speed properly does anyone know where I can get a original or repro speed regulator for my Vox machine?

Hello! Welcome to the hobby, the Forum, and all that. Nice gramophone, by the way--table grands are quite attractive if you have space for them. Does it play still?

Those dial-type indicators are rather tricky to adjust. I have some out in the car (that would probably FIT your machine) and I'll get some pics of them so you can see what they look like.

Have you serviced the motor, wound it all the way up, all that? (Hate to ask, but sometimes people will crank something up that hasn't had an oil change in 100 years and wonder why it runs poorly. Also, that crank is its power source. Wind it up a good bit before testing.)

There are a lot of set-screws in these indicators to adjust how they work. Very tricky, of course, but they work when you get them adjusted right.

Hello,

Yes I tested it out and it plays after winding up the spring completely.
I recently cleaned up the motor and removed all the dried up gunk etc etc.
It has no problem winding up completely and all that.
It simply seems that someone put in the wrong speed regulator and that's probably why it plays at full speed no matter what settings you dial to.

GramophoneGrocer wrote:Hello,

Yes I tested it out and it plays after winding up the spring completely.
I recently cleaned up the motor and removed all the dried up gunk etc etc.
It has no problem winding up completely and all that.
It simply seems that someone put in the wrong speed regulator and that's probably why it plays at full speed no matter what settings you dial to.

please post a picture of the motor showing the bottom of the speed control and the governor assembly . it is one of three things ,1) I doubt if the regulator has been replaced but may not be working , 2) The governor has jammed in the open position or has moved , 2 ) the governor springs have been replaced with wrong ones

Hi,

I hope these pictures are okay.
Just tell me if you need more.

To diagnose the problem, you should first check the governor (preferably out of the motor), and see whether the flange moves in and out freely when you press on it. If it takes too much effort to move, the springs may be too strong, or the flange may be sticking on the shaft.

Next, check how far in the speed control yoke moves: can you move it far enough in for the pads to touch the flange when the governor is at rest? If not, you can either adjust the governor bearings, and/or move the governor on its shaft until it does, or bend the lever arm until the pads touch when you have the control at its slowest setting.

Bill

I have some Vox gramophones, different from the one pictured, but their speed controls look different from yours, although the internal rotating part is similar. In any case, I don't think the speed problem is relates to the control, it is more likely to be due to some instability in the governor.

I just took a look at the inside.
The flange moves in and out freely when I press on it.
I can't move it far enough in for the pads to touch the flange when the governor is at rest.
About the speed control yoke it does not move in far enough for the pad to touch the flange.

Be sure your motor is all the way wound down before you do this! Otherwise you'll be shopping for a new motor.

Anyway, the governors on most gramophones ride in bearings so soak them in penetrating oil, loosen the set-screws that hold them in place, and gently slide the bearings back so the governor friction disc is in range of the pads.

I have worked on a Garrard 30 motor found in a bad copy of an old HMV but not on whatever is in a Vox, so that might be a little different.

Looking at it again, I believe your best option is to loosen the set screw that holds the governor to the shaft, and slide it until it makes contact with the pads.

Bill