The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Bn3PmGrTQ&

I would like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that replied to my original post and offered advice on the 1903 Zon-O-Phone that was given to me by my wife's grandfather, Henry.

I’ve had it sitting out on display in the living room for the past 15 years. Recently, while recovering from knee surgery, getting it working became one of my projects.

I was able to locate a rebuilt reproducer ($90.50) based on advice from some of the fine members here on the forum.
I also replaced the turntable felt after locating a piece at Michaels Arts & Crafts store and cutting it to size($1.60).
Of course, I purchased about 300 needles on eBay as well ($12.99).
I also followed other great advice and did not attempt to restore the wood finish or shine up the brass.

It was a simple restoration to breathe life back to this machine and we're so happy that it’s done!

After putting the pieces of the story together, we learned that it belonged to Grandpa's Aunt, the original owner.
At some point she gave it to Grandpa Henry, he was a mail carrier for the United States Post Office.
My mother-in-law (you'll see her in the video) remembers seeing it when she was growing up in Wellston, MO but she never saw it working.
Apparently Grandpa Henry just never found the parts to get it working all those years. Then, about 15 years ago, he gave it to me to fix up.
My wife's Grandparents have since passed away but we are happy to have such a great heirloom to remind us of them.

I gave it a quick test run a few weeks ago but saved the unveiling for tonight. This evening, after Thanksgiving dinner, I played for my wife's parents.

Thanks again all!

Dwayne

Wow, it works pretty great! You've got your grandparents' record player from 116 years ago and it now runs like a champion. Good to see (and hear.)

Glad you were able to find parts for such a rare machine--seeing the Victor reproducer on there made me smile. An Exhibition Sound Box always carries a great sound, evocative of the turn of the century but still capable enough to handle serious listening.

Great job!!! Thanks for sharing! S. Levi

That's wonderful Dwayne, you've brought your family heirloom back to life nicely. I hope your Zonophone lives on in your and your children's lives for decades to come!

Happy Holidays,
Fran

It's wonderful to see another family heirloom saved and appreciated. It's part of the magic of collecting and preserving old phonographs in that they can put you in touch with a part of your family's past. My one suggestion, look for a record from 1903 and a few more from subsequent years that it was passed down. Congratulations.

Dwayne, Thanks for sharing this video. What a wonderful family moment, with multiple generations hanging out by the fire witnessing the revival of a family heirloom from even earlier generations. I'll echo Fran by saying that I hope it remains in your family for generations to come.

Cody

That is great getting a phonograph going that has been idle for so long. As the forum says one down thirty to go. Tom

It's so nice to have a family piece. It looks and sounds terrific. Jerry B.

Great job!!! I am glad that we all could help. I noticed the screws holding the Exhibition reproducer on the tapered tone arm were very long. This is because the gasket you took off the reproducer was much thicker than what you have on there now.

If you want, you could take the tone arm off the machine and take the whole thing to a good hardware store. They should be able to match the threads and provide you with the proper length screws. You may not be able to screws with "squared" heads, and may have to settle for round headed screws. The screws have to be short enough that they actually snug the reproducer up to the mounting plate on the tone arm. The screws can't "bottom out" in the body of the reproducer.

You may currently not have an air tight seal between the reproducer and the tone arm?

Anyway, just a suggestion! You need some Christmas records!

By the way, you can play anything 78 rpm you find at Goodwill on this machine. If you use steel needles on an electrically recorded record, (Andrew Sisters, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, etc.) you will wear the record out faster. You can change the needle every side of the record you play, or at least play both sides of one record with one needle. The silent run-on grooves of the record are actually shaping the needle to fit the grooves. If you keep using the same needle over and over again, it turns into a chisel, and will have terrible sound, and more importantly, destroy your record.

Electrically recorded records sound great on an acoustic machine! Very bright and loud. Just don't play any valuable electronically recorded records on your Zonophone!

Best,
Jeff Young
Wisconsin

On some of my phonographs that have had the screw hole enlarged I will cut off the tip of a tooth pick about the depth of the screw hole, put it in the hole large side down, maybe add a drop of white glue, and put the screw in to see if it has snugged it up. It works for me most of the time. Sometimes I have to add another tip to it Tom