The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hello,

Pardon me, I'm not a regular poster, but I have dipped in here in the past. I have rebuilt a few phono motors and happen to be working on a friend's and am running into an issue with governor noise. This is the version of the Victor 2 spring motor with the separate spring barrels and the governor installed diagonally. The friend's Victrola has been broken for years (it was a spring, which I replaced), so I don't know how it sounded before it broke, but all the parts have been thoroughly cleaned and upon reassembly and running there's a chatter from the governor that is loud enough to be obnoxious while playing a record. I've adjusting the play in the bearings. I tried lapping the gear on the governor with the brass gear on the spindle as suggested by Dyslexic Genius Hurt on Youtube https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sn4a2E ... sp=sharing It sounded much better with the Flitz polish on the gears in question, but after letting it run with the polishing compound, removing the parts, cleaning, replacing and relubricating, the sound was just as bad as it did at the beginning. So I'm at a loss.

This is what it sounds like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sn4a2E ... sp=sharing

Anyone have any more suggestions?

Thanks,

Jesse

Doesn't actually sound so bad to me, maybe it's louder than in the video. I do often find that these things are louder without the platter and without a record playing. My Vic III had a 'rattly' governor and I put some synthetic grease in where the mechanism connects and it stopped the rattle but mine didn't sound like yours. I'm sure someone will be along soon to help you with your issue

Just an update, I kept tinkering and managed to fix it. I listened to it running, and it seemed like the chatter was coming from the governor itself and not the meshing of the gears that I thought was the problem. I took the governor apart again, greased the shaft instead of just oiling it. And when reattaching the governor weight springs, since there is some play with the size of the holes, made sure they were seated as far down as possible, tugging on the weight while tightening the screw. Now it's whisper quiet. In case anyone find finds this useful or if someone with more knowledge has anything to add.