O/T EDISON EDIPHONE STYLUS

[icemandan01]

hello i have a edison executive ediphone that is in quite remarkable condition for it's age, except for the mouth piece it is complete and in excellent mechanical working condition. unfortunately the stylus has been damaged or worn down, as i tried to record on it but could not make out what i recorded. all i could hear was alot of surface noise and a faint muffled voiced. upon inspecting the reproducer i noticed that there was no tip to speak of on the end of the stylus. so i guess my question is there anyone who can repair these. or will i have to buy a whole machine in hopes of finding a good stylus.

regards dan

[phonogfp]

I think your best bet would be to obtain another reproducer. Ediphone reproducers turn up pretty regularly, and for less than the cost of a new stylus. Good luck - -

George P.

[icemandan01]

hi thanks for the tip, do you know how interchangable they are. would i have to stick with the same type of model.

regards dan

[phonogfp]

I'd suggest removing the problem reproducer, study it carefully, then check eBay or other sources and you'll know what you're looking for when you see it. If you take some good photos of your reproducer and post them in the "Yankee Trader" section of this forum, perhaps one of the members will have what you need.

George P.

[icemandan01]

hi george p. and thank you for the advice i really appreciate it and will post some images there shortly. i would however like to ask another question or four on the reproducer in question. my first question would on the operation of the reproducer. does the stylus serve as a recorder/playback or is it playback only, and the piece in the very middle of the weight does it record or is it more like a groove cutter for the stylus to ride on. also does anyone know what the blue glass ball is on the bottom of the weight is. i am quite stumped on what it is and what it's function would be. my final question is, is there anyway to date this machine by the serial number (D 8046 ER). thanks again

regards dan

[phonogfp]

I'm no authority on Ediphones, so hopefully someone who is can chime in. Your device is a combination recorder and reproducer. The cutting stylus (for recording) is near the center of the device, and the reproducing stylus (missing) is located at the end of the stylus bar. There is a height adjustment for this recorder/reproducer which will bring either the recording or reproducing stylus into contact with the record. I'm not familiar with your model Ediphone, but I notice the word "TALK" in one of your photos. I presume there is also the word "LISTEN" (or an acceptable substitute) that can be displayed. These settings will suggest how the recording stylus ("TALK") and the reproducing stylus ("LISTEN") are brought into contact with the record.

Beyond that, I can offer no further guidance without seeing detailed photos of the controls.

George P.

[gramophoneshane]

Your Ediphone appears to be the same model as mine (but yours is in far better condition).
Interesting that yours is s/n: D 8046 ER, & mine is D296707. I wonder what ER signifies??
Here's a pic of my combo repro showing the recording & reproducing styli.

As far as I can tell, the blue ball comes in contact with the cylinder surface in recording mode, and rides on the cylinder before the groove is cut.
I really dont know, but I presume this was either to help limit the depth of the recording cut, to enable the cylinder to be shaved as little as possible to erase the previous recording, or it might have just helped stop the cutter from bouncing around if someone spoke too loud into the mouthpiece??

[ShawnB]

This is a combination record and playback head. The angular Stylus on the long legged holder is the recording stylus, and engauges when you have the lever in the Talk position for dictation. The little ball on the weight is the advance ball, and keeps the recording stylus with the correct pressure on the recoord. The stylus on the hinged bar is the playback stylus, and when in Listen position plays back the recording . The little screw that holds the weight on the reproducer should not be tight enough to inhibit side to side motion, so it will track the groove. The playback stylus bar tail rides in the top of the V of the recording stylus holder.

[gramophoneshane]

After taking a few more pictures & giving it some more thought, I dont think the ball does either of what I posted.

In "hear" mode, the mechanism in the carriage lifts & holds the diaphragm upwards, which also brings the stylus down to make contact with the cylinder surface. Like an ordinary Edison reproducer, the stylus then levers the floating weight up & down, with the stylus bearing the pressure of the weight & holding the stylus firmly in the groove.

In "talk" mode, the carriage mechanism allows the diaphragm & cutter to drop down, which in turn levers the stylus bar out of action. The weight however is still allowed to float as before, but there is no stylus attached to it the bear the pressure & lift the weight from the cylinders surface, so the ball simply supports the floating weight, keeping it the same distance from the cylinder surface regardless of the changing diametre due to shaving. This also allows the separate floating diaphragm & cutter to maintain the same clearance from the weight while the recorder is in use.
And of course, in the midddle "off" mode, the carriage mechanism lifts both the weight & diaphragm enough to keep everything clear of the cylinder surface.

At least, that's what I think is going on, although my inaccurate technical jargin & lack of explanatory skill may leave you more confused than before
Here's a couple more pics exagerating the mode positions of the reproducer parts that might help decypher what I just posted.

record mode.jpg (74.31 KiB) Viewed 1483 times

[icemandan01]

hi shane, thanks for that bit of accurate technical jargin. i completely understood what you were saying and could not have said it better myself. my reproducer certainly operates in the same manner as yours. i am curious is there a number stamped on the face of your reproducer. as for the s/n i figure the ER was due to some design change perhaps an ELECTRIC RELAY or something like that? but i am only guessing. as for the number itself it does seem to be a bit at the low end, depending of course on where the series started. here's a shot in the dark question, have you ever heard of anyone(a jeweler perhaps) who can put a new stylus on. well i need to try the trader section of this forum to see if anyone would consider parting with a stylus. thanks to all for your help much appreciated

regards dan