Capehart 111M2 Update
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:13 pm
Just thought I would share a few items now that I am 99% finished with my restoration of this machine from about 1941.
After getting the mechanism of the 16E Flip over changer restored I still was not happy with the reproduction of sound from the 78's. There was a very annoying flutter in speed especially notable on classical recordings which had piano or organ. So, I went thru the drive train and cleaned up several items which seemed to be contributing to the problem. First of all, the coupling between the motor and transmission had quite a vibration to it, I think caused by hardening of the rubber. I replaced this with an aluminum coupling which has a kind of "accordion" section in the middle which takes up any variation in height or sideways mounting of the motor and transmission. I also replaced the motor mounts with new ones which were for a Dayton motor. Next, I used 1/8" rubber washers under most everything including the motor & motor board. Although the coupling between the phono mechanism and the transmission was in fair shape, I reused it only having to reaffix a couple of the pot metal type connections. I was able to do this with J-B Weld. Next was to make sure that the motor, transmission, and phono mechanism were all in as perfect alignment as I could get, including the flat spots on the shafts so that the hex allen set screws were all in alignment with the flat spots. Also made sure that the leather coupling disc was in perfect alignment. Before reconnecting the motor/transmission to the changer mech I first put rubber washers under the four corners of the chassis and secured it to the deck with the four original mounting holes designed for shipping purposes. I left these in place until reconnecting the motor/transmission to the mech. When all was reconnected, I took out the shipping bolts, fired her up and the sound is absolutely amazing. NO wow, flutter, or extraneous noise associated with the mechanism. In playing a recording of a pipe organ over in England I found that, even speed was very accurate. Playing a piece in A minor on the Capehart changer was almost perfectly A-440 as my piano is tuned.
My one modification was that I inserted a GE UPX-003 preamp in between the original rebuilt Astatic B-2 cartridge to boost the volume. Works perfectly with NO modifications whatsoever. I didn't even need to pad it down between the cartridge and preamp. About the only thing I might do is to insert a "filter" to get rid of some of the nastiness on old 78's which have seen better days.
Hope this somewhat wordy explanation will help someone else in their restoration process. Incedantly, the book "The Incomparable Capehart" by Robert Baumbach was extremely helpful in this restoration.
After getting the mechanism of the 16E Flip over changer restored I still was not happy with the reproduction of sound from the 78's. There was a very annoying flutter in speed especially notable on classical recordings which had piano or organ. So, I went thru the drive train and cleaned up several items which seemed to be contributing to the problem. First of all, the coupling between the motor and transmission had quite a vibration to it, I think caused by hardening of the rubber. I replaced this with an aluminum coupling which has a kind of "accordion" section in the middle which takes up any variation in height or sideways mounting of the motor and transmission. I also replaced the motor mounts with new ones which were for a Dayton motor. Next, I used 1/8" rubber washers under most everything including the motor & motor board. Although the coupling between the phono mechanism and the transmission was in fair shape, I reused it only having to reaffix a couple of the pot metal type connections. I was able to do this with J-B Weld. Next was to make sure that the motor, transmission, and phono mechanism were all in as perfect alignment as I could get, including the flat spots on the shafts so that the hex allen set screws were all in alignment with the flat spots. Also made sure that the leather coupling disc was in perfect alignment. Before reconnecting the motor/transmission to the changer mech I first put rubber washers under the four corners of the chassis and secured it to the deck with the four original mounting holes designed for shipping purposes. I left these in place until reconnecting the motor/transmission to the mech. When all was reconnected, I took out the shipping bolts, fired her up and the sound is absolutely amazing. NO wow, flutter, or extraneous noise associated with the mechanism. In playing a recording of a pipe organ over in England I found that, even speed was very accurate. Playing a piece in A minor on the Capehart changer was almost perfectly A-440 as my piano is tuned.
My one modification was that I inserted a GE UPX-003 preamp in between the original rebuilt Astatic B-2 cartridge to boost the volume. Works perfectly with NO modifications whatsoever. I didn't even need to pad it down between the cartridge and preamp. About the only thing I might do is to insert a "filter" to get rid of some of the nastiness on old 78's which have seen better days.
Hope this somewhat wordy explanation will help someone else in their restoration process. Incedantly, the book "The Incomparable Capehart" by Robert Baumbach was extremely helpful in this restoration.