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The soundbox on this 102 is clearly marked His Masters' Voice AB. Has anyone seen one before, I certainly haven't.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126394018722 ... R8SmyqXOYw

Barry

Phono48 wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 5:28 pm The soundbox on this 102 is clearly marked His Masters' Voice AB. Has anyone seen one before, I certainly haven't.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126394018722 ... R8SmyqXOYw

Barry

Very well spotted !!!

There is a previous thread which talks about this sound-box too:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=54728&p=325293&hil ... ox#p325293

There seem to be at least a few made / or at least stamped like this.

Fascinating !

poodling around wrote: Sun Mar 24, 2024 5:59 pm

There is a previous thread which talks about this sound-box too:

Thanks for pointing that out. I'd forgotten all about it!

Barry

It looks as though the person at Hayes who accidentally sent the approved die to be cast with "AB" (following the modification from "A" to "B" type No. 5) was not found out until a batch were returned from the founders and subsequently used!

Steve wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 7:37 am It looks as though the person at Hayes who accidentally sent the approved die to be cast with "AB" (following the modification from "A" to "B" type No. 5) was not found out until a batch were returned from the founders and subsequently used!

That sounds like a good explanation.

'Don't get me wrong, I would like one of these sound-boxes and always keep a 'look-out' for one, but why is this one in such bad condition I wonder ? Most if not all 5a's and b's I have seen are in pretty good shape. Were the backs made of pot metal or is this one different ?

Also, I guess that this machine would give a very good idea of the date when the a+b mistake was made if we could see the 'ivorine' ?

During the production life of the No.4 soundbox, HMV regressed from brass to pot metal. All 5A's and 5B's are pot metal.
By contrast, Columbia progressed from pot metal to brass on their excellent No.9 and No.15.

epigramophone wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 12:26 pm During the production life of the No.4 soundbox, HMV regressed from brass to pot metal. All 5A's and 5B's are pot metal.
By contrast, Columbia progressed from pot metal to brass on their excellent No.9 and No.15.

Thank you epigramophone, that is really interesting.

The seller has up-loaded a photograph of the 'ivorine' and I think it is 1940. (It looks like B4 ?).

I speculate, but wonder if the '5ab' mistake was made because the usual factory workers were 'sent off to war' and the new people were inexperienced ?

Very interesting indeed.

Is it possible this is a wartime measure to create a universal case to take either the newer 5B diaphragm or surplus stock of 5A diaphragms? Stamped with both as they just didn't know for sure which it would end up being?

Much like the the card that came with wartime machines explaining why the record tray was no longer provided, I wonder if there was a label on some soundboxes saying "due to metal shortages you may have either a type A or a B"?

EdgarFB wrote: Mon Mar 25, 2024 4:20 pm Is it possible this is a wartime measure to create a universal case to take either the newer 5B diaphragm or surplus stock of 5A diaphragms? Stamped with both as they just didn't know for sure which it would end up being?

Much like the the card that came with wartime machines explaining why the record tray was no longer provided, I wonder if there was a label on some soundboxes saying "due to metal shortages you may have either a type A or a B"?

A very interesting and plausible theory I think.

After what you have said, I also wonder if the 'pot metal' used to create this sound-box was even more inferior than that which was used for previous ones, because of 'metal shortages' and that is why this one has deteriorated so much when compared to others I have seen ?

Here's another, on a machine that sold for an insane price!

AB on an early model.... but I suspect possibly a later replacement for the original No16



https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/more- ... _15846151/