The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Apparently I love torture, because I'm setting up another D repeater. This one is on a 2-minute only (Triumph) B, so I have the end gate balancing act to deal with. I have it set up, picking up and setting back down. However, as it rides back to start over, the stylus is dragging on the record. That, of course, is not good for the cylinder or the stylus. The reproducer is a Model O and I have swapped with another model O with the same result. I also tried a different record, with the same result. It does this with or without a horn attached. Obviously, the stylus is dropping down, but within its limit. So, my question is: what is out of whack? I've adjusted the repeater to the mandrel gear and the pickup arm every which way. If I drop or raise the pickup arm, it won't lift, so I don't see how that could be it. Help!

Please post some pictures of your repeater setup on the machine and hopefully the issue can be resolved.

Dan, have you loosened the screw on the back of the carriage (directly behind the Reproducer) and slightly raised the carrier arm in relation to the tube/half nut bar?

George P.

Hi George. If I raise the carriage, it rides too heavily on the feedscrew and not on the straight edge. That does sound logical so I'll get fresh eyes on it and give it a go. But this is the sweet spot for the repeater arm to catch smoothly.

danohallaron wrote: Mon Jan 13, 2025 2:10 pm Hi George. If I raise the carriage, it rides too heavily on the feedscrew and not on the straight edge.

Yes, possibly so, but then the ½ nut pressure can then be backed off by the small adjustment screw in the plate that sits atop the ½ nut leaf spring.


Here...

Thanks. Since the carriage/reproducer/stylus is dragging, it is logical that it needs to be raised. I was running out of steam after a couple of hours while setting it up, last night. So with fresh eyes and attitude, I'll raise the carriage and back off the half nut. Setting up a repeater adds substantial adjustment to the process, for sure.

I guess number one should be making sure that your getting ther proper lift distance. I measured the repeater lift distance on my Alva with the same carriage, reproducer, and repeater setup as yours and the lift distance is ⅜". So if you place the repeater arm up on the worm gear, the carriage should be lifting up by ⅜".

Great info. Thanks.

Just so I understand this correctly, at what point are you measuring the lift?

Carriage lift