The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Does anyone know where I can obtain a stroboscope to correctly dial in my Edison Standard A? I tried setting it by ear, but I guess the old ears aren't what they used to be. Thanks!

egambino,

Welcome to The Talking Machine Forum!

To make things easier, I created a 120 RPM and 160 RPM strobe, both with text identifying the speed and without, all placed on the same sheet of paper for easy printing. Just download this document, and print it: You would want to use the 120 RPM strobe with your Edison Standard, although I included the 160 RPM strobe in the same page for convenience. If you are using Windows, you will most likely need Adobe Reader (which is free software) to print PDF documents, assuming you do not already have it installed.

Here are images showing the 4 strobe graphics in the PDF:

(120 RPM @ 60 Hz, with text)



(120 RPM @ 60 Hz, without text)



(160 RPM @ 60 Hz, with text)



(160 RPM @ 60 Hz, without text)

As mentioned in the PDF, the strobes were created with strobo.exe (attached below), then scaled in Illustrator for use timing cylinders.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if I can be of further assistance.

— MordEth

Thanks so much! I'm assuming that this is placed at the end of the mandrel, between it and the endgate. You can probably tell I am quite new to this, although I have been dying for one of these for years. I do have some kind of wind-up phonograph (I think it's some kind of Indian garbage, date unknown) that I got years ago. I love this Edison, and since it's 106 year old technology, I might even be able to grasp the mechanics of how it works! Now I'm going broke buying cylinders.

egambino,

You’re very welcome.

egambino wrote:I'm assuming that this is placed at the end of the mandrel, between it and the endgate.

Yes, you want to slip the strobe on the end of the mandrel, and after starting the phonograph, you want to watch the strobe ring under a normal fluorescent or incandescent light, and adjust the speed control of your turntable until the bands in the ring appear stationary. Once that’s happening, your machine is set at the speed of the strobe.

egambino wrote:You can probably tell I am quite new to this, although I have been dying for one of these for years. I do have some kind of wind-up phonograph (I think it's some kind of Indian garbage, date unknown) that I got years ago.

If this is a disc phonograph or gramophone, and you need a strobe for it, I recommend the one that Matt Brown makes available here.

And despite being new to the hobby, it is entirely possible that you’re more knowledgeable than I am, as I’m far more of a ‘computer’ person than a ‘phonograph’ person. I’ve learned a lot from the members of this board, but I’m still more the tech support and computer answer guy than the person to go to with a phonograph question.

egambino wrote:I love this Edison, and since it's 106 year old technology, I might even be able to grasp the mechanics of how it works! Now I'm going broke buying cylinders.

Despite the age of these machines, in my opinion they often feature ingenious solutions to facilitate playing music mechanically, and the precision with which this is accomplished is quite impressive. Edison had a lot of good ideas, as did other manufacturers. One thing in particular that impressed me (sorry, but it’s on a Victor) was the precision of the auto-stop on the Granada—at one point we were recording multiple clips of the same record on it, and the brake engaged at exactly the same time (the waveforms lined up very precisely) each time.

And after 83 years, it’s still remarkably reliable.

I don’t think my modern audio equipment will still be working when it reaches this age.

— MordEth

A while back, Kevan posted a thread on the Edison board regarding a device that also could read RPMs as well as other speed functions.
speedometer
For a lousy buck plus shipping, I went ahead and ordered one for myself. It arrived the other day and I pitted it against machines that had already been set with a strobe and I have to say that it was dead on!! It reads a magnet that is attached to the TT or mandrel and computes the revolutions. I used a rubber band to affix it to the end of the mandrel and it's small enough so it doesn't hit the bed plate or anything else during the rotation. The magnet is strong enough to penetrate through the felt on the TT so you just need to attach it to the top edge.

Thanks Bill for the feedback on the speed o meter.
Here is a link to the demo I did on youtube awhile back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsCV66xCdOA

I ordered 10 of them and gave them out to other collectors and they all say that they are BANG ON with the speed.

MordEth wrote:egambino,

Welcome to The Talking Machine Forum!

To make things easier, I created a 120 RPM and 160 RPM strobe, both with text identifying the speed and without, all placed on the same sheet of paper for easy printing. Just download this document, and print it:

120_and_160rpm_60hz_strobe.pdf

You would want to use the 120 RPM strobe with your Edison Standard, although I included the 160 RPM strobe in the same page for convenience. If you are using Windows, you will most likely need Adobe Reader (which is free software) to print PDF documents, assuming you do not already have it installed.

Here are images showing the 4 strobe graphics in the PDF:

(120 RPM @ 60 Hz, with text)



(120 RPM @ 60 Hz, without text)



(160 RPM @ 60 Hz, with text)



(160 RPM @ 60 Hz, without text)

As mentioned in the PDF, the strobes were created with strobo.exe (attached below), then scaled in Illustrator for use timing cylinders.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if I can be of further assistance.

— MordEth

Hi David,

After searching around a bit I've learned that this stroboscope will not work as European power is 50hz. Can you or anyone else provide a printable download of a 50hz stroboscope like this? Thanks, Bruce (having recently recorded a bunch you youtube videos on my Triumph too fast )

Bruce,

If you have a copy of Reiss' The Compleat Talking Machine you'll find a stroboscope for 50Hz in Appendix C.


Regards,
John