[78-L] 78s (sort of) and Cylinders in the news

[Don Chichester]

>I believe it was the Public Archives of Canada which built a player from 
a Dictaphone shaving mechanism. The problem with regular Ediphones and 
Dictaphones are that they are designed to run at 90 rpm (which sometimes 
can be increased to the required speeds of 160, 144, and 120) and their 
feedscrew threadings are about halfway between 2 and 4 minute threadings 
of 100 and 200. The dictating machines use, I believe 150 and 160, but 
I don't remember which is which. You can sometimes engage and disengage 
the mechanism while the cylinder is playing to get it to go slower for a 
2 minute. I have a relatively high fidelity electrical classroom player 
made in the 1940s for the Ediphone dictating lesson cylinders which I 
had been able to use for Blue Amberols, but I assume it would need some 
work because I haven't tried it in 20 years! 
 
 
Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com

 

I use a Dictaphone transport to play my cylinders.  I removed the player portion of the machine, leaving just the mandrel  and the motor.  Speed is adjustable via a small screw on the bottom of the machine,  I have fashioned an arm/pivot out of parts from other phonos, using an 20 inch strip of balsa wood as my arm.  A mgnetic cartridge is attached with appropriate wiring.  The longer the arm, the less misalignment of the stylus at the beginning and end of the cylinder.  The arm extends about 5 inches beyond the pivot to allow a counterbalance.  When assembled, the stylus rides along the top of the cylinder as it rotates on the mandrel.

Works ok for me.

Don
 		 	   		  
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