Edison Standard Identification

[amberola75]

This Standard is in an early case, has the speed adjuster on top, but has 2-4 minute gearing like a Fireside A or a Gem D.  Also, I see a small gear attached to the end of the mandrel that I have no idea what it does. Anyone know what I Have?  Also, it has some sort of an electrical pickup on the top of the reproducer. The underside of it is a Diamond B reproducer. It has 2 leads coming from it. Is it possible to connect it to a modern amplifier to hear it play? Any info on this machine would be appreciated.

Jim

[phonogfp]

Looking at this mechanism (especially the planetary gear inside the mandrel pulley), it's safe to say this has been heavily modified.  What's the serial number?  That will at least give us a starting point.

 

George P.

[homestead]

I saw that at the radio collector auction.  I believe it is an attempt at an electrical reproducer similar to the Sykes Electrograph.  I thought of bidding on this one but already have too many projects to do.   Let us know how it turns out for you!!!   All the best   James Manker

[amberola75]

The serial number is 553834

[phonogfp]

Edison Standard #553834 left the factory in November 1907, so it's already a Model B with a speed control above the bed plate.  That's not unique (apparently a few customers had their Standards - and at least one Fireside - modified that way.  Beyond that, I'd surmise that someone wanted a single machine to play a variety of records, and the ability to play/record them electrically.  The pertinent question is, "when?"

 

George P. 

[amberola75]

I did a little more digging into this machine. First off, there is a gear machined into the side of the mandrel. It serves no purpose in this application. It may have been used in the development of the 2-4 minute planetary gear system used for the Home gear change, but never used. (just a guess) In the next picture you can see a spring steel clip that acts like a bullet latch for the gear change sliding shaft. The last picture shows where the main mandrel Lug is machined down to make room for the 2-4 switching gear. Judging from the amount of dirt and grime, this was done long ago. It makes no sense for some back yard machinist to add a gear change to this model because a). You would have to have a Fireside A or Gem D to get the needed parts, so why bother, and b). who would have access to the machining devices necessary to perform these modifications back in the day. BUT, if I were an engineer working in an Edison R&D program, I could very easily see this machine sitting on my desk for designing and developing newer models. That bullet latch was scrubbed when the little piece of spring steel was added to the 2-4 minute sliding shaft. Just my thoughts. The electric reproducer could have been another product in the designing stages.  Just my thoughts.

Jim