Victor Victrola

Ok, Here's what happened. I have a Victor Victrola model VV 4-3 Serial # 66508 which did a half gainer from about 6 feet inside the moving van landing on the corner of the lid. Needless to say it came apart. I mean every glue joint in the unit gave. So my brother-in-law who owned the moving company gave me a VV 4-3 Serial #37565 which he had in his warehouse. I was ok with that. Now here is the quandry. My original VV which fell worked and still does, but the cabinet was in lousy shape to start with. The replacement doesn't work (I haven't investigated why yet ). I do know that the crank handle will not thread into the machine. There appears to be nothing to screw into. However the cabinet is in fine shape and everything seems to match except for... no horn cover/grille on the 37565 and it appears as if there never was a cover/grille. Also the 37565 does not have the lever (the fork looking thingy at the 1 o-clock position). What is this for? What I want to know in this long winded post is, if I cannot fix the replacement would it be a no no to just swap the motorboards? And where can I get information on the repair of this player? My forte is in recordplayers and Hi Fi. I know I could figure it out on my own but I always would rather consult the information whenever possible. Thanks!!

The Consolette (4-3) went through a number of design changes over its production run, as described on this page -- http://victor-victrola.com/4-3.htm.

Main Page -- http://victor-victrola.com/

The earlier model -- Serial # 37565 would probably not have been equipped with a grille over the horn, nor does it have the automatic brake ("fork thing," you mention). On your later model, there should be a post extending down from the tonearm that is caught in the brake's fork, as described on this page, http://victor-victrola.com/Brakes%20and%20Sound%202.htm and illustrated, below:




As for swapping motor boards, that may not work, since the early Consolettes were equipped with single spring motors, while the later ones had double spring motors, and I'm not sure if the crank holes are in identical positions, or if the lengths of the cranks are identical. If they are, then there should not be a problem; bearing in mind the fact that the motor might be incorrect for the specific model (low serial #).

Thom,
You have two early Consolettes (4-3). The fork thing is the automatic brake. The 37565 dates from 1926 and the 66508 from 1927. You are correct, the 37565 never had a grille.
4-3 This link will tell you all about it.
The brake works with the little pin on the underside of the taper-tube with records with the eccentic runout. You could probably swap motors, but being the anal-retentive type I wouldn't I would fix them both up.
I don't know this board's policy regarding recommending businesses Thom, if you want send me a private message or contact me at
steampunk"at"bitbucket.be and I can recommend a couple of very good repair services.
BTW Congrats! Although the Consolette is the smallest of the Orthophonics it's a fantastic sounding machine with the right soundbox!

Regards,
J.

Joe, you type faster than me!

Regards,
J.

Thanks guys. Very helpful. I'm not afraid to tackle it myself as I am quite mechanicaly inclined and I have a wood shop so... It will take awhile though as life is rather busy, priorities and all that rot. I guess I lean to the anal retentive type also because I was hoping you would recomend restoring both. As I tackle these I'll keep you posted. Again thanks.

There's quite a lot of information available about antique phonograph restoration. For starters, hunt down a copy of "The Compleat Talking Machine," by Eric Reiss. (That's the way "complete" is spelled in the title, by the way.) It's available from a number of online sellers, including Amazon, or most well-stocked, major book stores via special order. It's worth the $25-$30 investment, since it walks you through most types of repairs.

As Neophone notes, the Consolette does have a fantastic sound for it's size--providing the sound box (reproducer) is in good condition, and any air leaks in the tone chamber are properly sealed.

You may also find some of the sites listed on this page of interest -- http://www.proaxis.com/~settlet/record/links.html (Be sure to scroll down to the Accessories/Restoration section near the bottom of the page for a comprehensive listing of repair shops and parts suppliers.)

Joe,

A friend of mine has an early grill-less Consolette with an unrestored brass sound-box. Gad! I couldn't believe it the first time I heard it. Fantastic! The next time I went over to visit I brought a worn Cameo to test out-Unbelieveable! (I want me one o'them thar Brass sound-boxes! )

I have to laugh; your caveat regarding "The Compleat Talking Machine". I had a heck of a time finding it at first because of that. None of the book store clerks could find it in the database

Regards,
J.

Your reference to air leaks is interesting because I am in the pipe organ business and our pipes, both wood and metal must also be air tight or the sound will be dull, faint or just not there at all. Best regards.

Thom wrote:...must also be air tight or the sound will be dull, faint or just not there at all. Best regards.

That pretty much holds true for all acoustic phonographs--not just the Orthophonic/Viva Tonal, etc. models which were designed for playing electrically recorded records, first introduced in late 1925. For the larger Orthophonic Victrolas, especially, a small air leak will diminish the bass response. Even the little Consolette, which cannot reproduce true bass, will suffer from a loss in the mid-range frequencies.

Keep in mind, the Orthophonic Victrolas represented the ultimate in acoustic sound reproduction--at least in the US market--and in good or restored condition, they are capable of producing jaw-dropping fidelity. Some of these points have already been mentioned on this board (Acoustic Gramophones & Phonographs), so when you have a chance, cull through some of the earlier posts in this section. In the meantime, you might find these useful --

A few sealing tips -- http://www.phonoland.com/forum/viewtopi ... f11cae#251

Related information -- http://www.phonoland.com/forum/viewtopi ... 440bf11cae