[78-L] Our second phonograph

[Steven C. Barr]

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From: "S&R Pinsker" <spinsker at erols.com>
> Our first radio had three or four dials, all of which had to be tuned, and 
> a
> question mark shaped speaker sitting on top. It was replaced by a 
> Brunswick
> Hi-boy w.a 12" electrodynamic speaker. I can still remember that it had a
> pair of 45's in push-pull and an 80 rectifier. The other tubes may have 
> been 2A3's.
> The phono was a table top Victrola, light brown wood.I learned how to 
> crank it
> up and change needles. I was only allowed to handle 10" discs.This was 
> over
> 80 yrs ago and I still have our small collection. My great-uncle's 
> furniture store
> in Suffern, NY was the Victor franchise for Rockland County. Wonder what 
> happened
> to the 4 ft high papier mache Little Nipper that used to sit in the store 
> window. The
> Victrola was abandoned when the spring finally snapped. Wouldn't make it 
> all the
> way thru a 12" disc w/o having to be rewound.
>
This describes a typical radio set of the early/mid twenties; they required 
each RF
stage (usually two or three) to be individually tuned to the desired 
station/frequency.
Later in the twenties, "single-dial tuning" was a selling point. Virtually 
all of these
sets used triode tubes; around 1924 the "screen-grid" tubes were introduced 
and
heavily promoted! The typical tube lineup was 24's and 27's, with pentode 
output
(2A3's weren't introduced until c.1929?). I'd have to dig out my Rider's 
manuals
(i had a complete set through #17, but #6 was accidentally sold (long and 
sad
story!) so I need to find an affordable replacement...! In any case, 
"screen-grid"
sets were heavily promoted after 224's were introduced; IIRC, "power" output
tubes appeared c. 1924-25!

> Fast forward about a half-dozen yrs with no phono and the NY Post had its 
> great
> World's Greatest Music promotion. If I remember correctly, after 
> purchasing the
> first album we got a free record player. A friendly repairman, they 
> weren't called technicians
> back then, installed a phono input in our only radio, at that time a 
> Philco table model.
> Early on, I discovered cactus needles.  The next "major" addition to my 
> collection came
> from the close-out of Decca' 25,000 series classics early in WW2. Jordan 
> Marsh in Boston
> had tables and tables of them, in cardboard boxes.
>
> After the war, we lived in north  NJ. I went to the Lafayette in Newark, 
> intending to buy a
> Garrard but the salesman touted me to a GI unit which I suppose we could 
> call "direct
> drive" Good deal, 'cause it was a two speed player and I was ready when 
> LP's came out.
> GE VR cartridge w. that little one tube pre-amp. It was soon joined by my 
> first Rek-O-Kut
> with a Clarkstan arm. They are still up in the attic. Some LP only units 
> followed; a belt
> driven ceramic platter with a light weight aluminum outer platter and the 
> Stromberg-Carlson
> player w. 2 clock motors 180 degrees apart.
>
> Then a R-K Rondine deluxe w. a Sony version of the SME arm which came with 
> an elaborate
> manual which included an explanation of its design theory. Sheila's prents 
> had given her a
> graduation present of a system w. a Rondine Jr and an AR-1 speaker so 
> there are 3 Rek-O-Kuts
> now in the attic. The current player is an A-T direct-drive 3-speed. 
> Current cartridges are Shure
> 97's and RXT-4's. w. two, yes two, elliptical 78 stylii which should last 
> longer than I will.
>
> I'm not really a 78 collector. I have about 1400 78's; mostly classical 
> but including such oddities
> as Cetra's Arabic series and some of their Italian pop stuff that was 
> imported for two stores in
> San Francisco and a couple on Mulberry St. I worked for Soria back at the 
> end of the 78 era and
> the early days of LP.
>
> Enuf history, if you've read this far, thanks.
> Bob Pinsker
>
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