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Found In The Wild

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2024 12:13 am
by BigC
I was shopping a antique store in Yuma, the temperature was over 110 and on the side where all the furniture is displayed I found a DECCA portable phonograph. The tag said it didn't work and the price of $25 reflects it. The wife is most of the time very understanding but this time she showed her disapproval. $25 we send that at Starbucks so I took it home. After some trial and error I figured it out and it was playing very good. I can't pass on a odd phonograph especially if it has a low price. The reproducer is in bad shape but it still plays really good. If anyone has information on this phonograph it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2024 4:06 am
by Orchorsol
Well done! Here in England that Decca model was called the Rally. They had a nice swirl-painted motorboard and came in several colours. Not the finest sounding Decca but I have a soft spot for them.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2024 4:13 am
by epigramophone
The 105 "Rally" was introduced in October 1930, and your example was made for the French market.
There may be a paper label beneath the turntable showing the exact date of manufacture.
It appears to be missing the record album which fits inside the lid, as here :

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Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2024 4:49 am
by Inigo
The reproducer I don't know if it's original, but it's a Swiss Paillard Maestrophonic (I believe) and it's very very good, but it is very heavy and the record wear is noticeable. You'll get a warm and loud sound from it, very pleasant. You can unscrew the front cover (three tiny screws) and examine the aluminium membrane for any creases or holes. If there is nothing and it sounds well, don't touch. If there are creases but it sounds good, don't touch. If there are small holes, just cover them with a drop of Elmer's glue and let them dry, this will improve the bass response.
These are delicate to overhaul, as they use thin flat rubber gaskets and these tend to adhere to the diaphragm, when you try to disassemble it you must be careful. Also to know that the five screws of the front ring go through the diaphragm edge too. The diaphragm is very large.
Unless it has irreparable creases or holes, and so need a new diaphragm, usually it doesn't need anything to be done. The pivot does not need oil nor any adjustment, as it is not a pivot, but a thin flexible copper plate, fixed to the bar and to the front ring with two screws on each side. These are strongly screwed in, or they are fixed bolts on some soundboxes, and don't need adjustment unless they are loose, very rarely.
As I've said, if these soundboxes have been well treated, they are eternal and don't need overhauling.
I've had two of three of these soundboxes, and they are very good. I think these seem to be from the early 30s, advanced orthophonics, European style, and they were sold to many Phonograph makers, and apart in many machines of different brands, apart from the original Paillard machines which also carried them.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2024 4:40 pm
by BigC
Thank you everyone for all your information it is extremely appreciated. Funny if all of you hadn't said anything about the reproducer I would have tossed it in the spare parts box and looked for the original. Looks like the reproducer is more valuable than the phonograph. I really do appreciate your help. Thank you.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 7:32 am
by Inigo
It could have been the original, as the machine was made by Decca UK for export to France, where the brand had its good business. It could have been added by the French Decca branch. Or it could have been a substitute added by any of the prior owners of the machine... We don't know until we see any French Decca catalogue of the era.
But it is a very good soundbox, anyway, worth preserving. Have you tried it? If it is in good shape you'll get astonished by the sound.
My recommendation is to play it using soft tone needles, the thing ones, as playing this with loud thick needles will give a somewhat strident sound. I mean the thinner ones in these images for comparison with the thicker ones. You'll find the sound much more pleasant.
In the first image i world use the naked medium tone, the soft tone seems too thin... In the second image, the thin one
It's mostly a matter of personal taste, but many of us agree on that the so called loud tone produce a too loud and harsh tone.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 7:50 am
by Inigo
There are other 'problems' --let's say-- about these soundboxes. And it is that the system of transmitting the sound to the diaphragm is through a somewhat stiff thin copper plate, acting as a flexible pivot. But it is actually stiff. Part of the energy goes up by the needle bar to the diaphragm, and a substantial part is used to vibrate the whole soundbox body, dampened by its mass, and the flexibility of the rubber joints with the tonearm at the soundbox neck. The soundbox mass is large, so it reacts against this loss of energy, and makes the system work well. But the rubber gaskets at the connection to the tonearm must be flexible and soft for all this to work well. If they are old and hardened, the overall performance will be impaired. Maybe that's the only part of this soundbox that needs attention. In this, the system is complex, based on metal necks and a thin rubber cylinder gasket squeezed in between the metal parts... It's difficult to disassemble, and the thin rubber will be probably destroyed in the process. I'm sure this was machine-assembled. So a solution for this is to add an intermediate rubber adaptor, if possible... Kind of 'life belt' system, out from the soundbox, so you don't need to touch it.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 11:24 am
by epigramophone
As you say, the simple flat spring arrangement lends itself to mass production. It's main disadvantage is that it cannot be adjusted or "tuned" for optimum performance.
Before WW2 Decca never made their own soundboxes. The majority were of Paillard origin. After WW2 they adopted the Meltrope III design, but I have not been able to discover who manufactured them. Was it the original manufacturers, Amplifiers Ltd, or Decca themselves?

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 1:19 pm
by BigC
I did play it once I figured out the brake system that was locked up. With a old loud tone needle and a old record it still played really good. I really just wanted to see if I could get it running again so I can put it up with the other phonographs I have recovered. But it goes to prove the quality of workmanship they had compared to today. That phonograph has deen sitting for years and probably never got serviced and I cranked it and it was smooth hardly any resistance and it came back to life. I was amazed.

Re: Found In The Wild

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2024 6:34 pm
by Inigo
Well, there is actually one method of tuning... The two screws that attach the plate to the front ring can be loosened or tightened. They're usually tight. You can loosen them a bit, just imperceptibly, and the sound changes. I've never tried to include a thin felt layer or paper, of thin cork sheet in between, but I'm sure this would change the sound, making that joint more flexible. That's more drastic than simply increasing or reducing the pressure on the screws.