Phonoland

I need a tone arm for a Silvertone Tru-phonic phonograph. The reproducer is fine, but the tone arm is articulated (double jointed??) - it swings left to right at the base, and has a pivot in the center to flip it over so the needle will contact the record. Mine is broken at this pivot point, and it allows the needle to sit too deeply into the record and slows the turntable, pretty much to a stop.

Let me know what you have by way of replacement parts. This old phonograph came from my wife's grandparents, and I'd like it to be functional, and fixing the tone arm will make it 100%. I'd like for it to be more than just a piece of furniture. Thanks very much for your help.

There were about a dozen Tru-Phonic (also spelled Truphonic) models offered by Sears & Roebuck from about 1926 through the early 1930s. They were sold to compete with the Victor Orthophonic Victrola, Columbia Viva Tonal, Brunswick Panatrope, and similar phonographs specifically designed to play the newly introduced (1925) electrical recordings with greater fidelity than earlier models.





While no match for the name brand products, both in terms of sonic capability, and overall quality, they were priced about 50% cheaper, and sold quite well--especially in the Mid-Western states. Properly restored, this should sound quite nice--more like an early electric radio than an acoustic phonograph.

Compared to Victor Orthophonic models, which turn up all the time, Tru-Phonic phonographs are relatively scarce today. One reason for this is the fact that several key components, such as tone arms, sound boxes, etc., were made from pot metal. Fortunately, the tone arms were relatively generic in design, and you should be able to find a close to matching replacement.

You might want to start by getting in touch with some of the shops listed on this page under "Accessories/Repair:"
http://www.proaxis.com/~settlet/record/links.html

If the sound box casing is in very good condition, then I'd also advise that you have the (now hardened) gaskets that hold the aluminum diaphragm in place replaced, and the needle bar pivot adjusted. This will not only greatly enhance the sound quality, but will reduce record wear.

If you have a chance, please post some photos of your Tru-Phonic. BTW, if you ever come across a copy of the (Reproduction) 1927 Sears Catalog, which sold quite well back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, you'll probably see your model listed, along with its original price. (Your local library may have a copy.)

Good luck with your project!

TG,
Ditto what Joe said. Off the top of my head though, I'm thinking of torque, the problem might be weak main springs. The other thing that springs to mind (pardon the pun) is the angle of the reproducer/Sound-Box. The needle should be 60 degrees. If the needle is perfectly vertical or worse leaning towards the direction of travel, the motor will never be able to turn the turntable, not to mention the damage this will do to your records. I have a Sears, Roebuck Tru-Phonic reproducer that came on my VV-IV and one of the first things I noticed about it was there was no set pin like Victor Sound-Boxes to pre-set the postion of it properly on the tone-arm. I am not familiar with Silvertone tonearms, but pre-Ortho Victors don't have any sort of stop to halt the downward motion of the u-tube or goose-neck portion of the tone-arm. If there's supposed to be some sort of stop on the underside of the tone-arm and that's all that's wrong with it you might be able to get away with just adjusting the reproducer or building a stop up with J-B Weld or a similar product for the time being. If you see a replacement on E-Bay or elsewhere, just make sure it's the proper diameter and length! Try loosening the two screws on the back of the reproducer and twisting it forward ( while in the down-ward postion.)
I'm attaching two photos of my Silvertone on my VV-X. The angle might be a little exaggerated, it's late and I'm sleepy





Good luck with it TG. I hope I've been able to help a bit.

Regards,
J.

TG,
I just found this on the 'Bay:

Silvertone

Is this a similar tone-arm?

Regards,
J.

The trouble could also be:

1. A worn needle (remember, each needle is good for playing only one side).

2. Use of 78s made after about 1932 (the shellac is softer than that in older records).

3. Using styrene or vinyl 78 records.

All of these will drag a spring-wound turntable to a stop.

Record-changer wrote:The trouble could also be:

1. A worn needle (remember, each needle is good for playing only one side)..........

EXCELLENT POINT RC! I forgot to bring that up. TG, you can only play at most two sides of a record to eacn needle. You really should only play one side, but many I talk to play two-I personally don't. New steel needles are very cheap and easy to come by.

Regards,
J.

Thanks for the advise, guys.

Neophone, yes, the one on e-bay looks like my tone arm, except mine's silver colored pot metal instead of the gold. Mine's broken at the joint nearest the reproducer. Someone in the past tried to tie it together with hay string, but it's not doing the job too well.

Any ideas on where to come up with the arm would be appreciated. I saw an old e-bat ad for one, but it was from about a month ago. Maybe if I'm diligent at watching eventually another will show up there, but thought maybe y'all would have a better idea.

TG,

Check your private messages, I sent along some infor for you.

Regards,
J.