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Success Stories If you have successfully repaired or restored a piece of equipment, why not write up what you did and post details here. Particularly if it was interesting, unusual or challenging. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE! |
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28th Jun 2010, 6:39 pm | #21 | |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Quote:
Dave |
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28th Jun 2010, 7:35 pm | #22 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
In my experience, portables tend not to have this facility though.
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29th Jun 2010, 2:05 am | #23 | |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Quote:
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Just playing with high voltage.... |
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29th Jun 2010, 10:07 am | #24 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Nice gramophone Josh! Only thing to be wary of is WD40 - it is not a lubricant, it's primary use is to disperse damp / water in electrical equipment (in cars) - it does fool people into thinking it is a lubricant by working well for a couple of weeks - but then it 'glues up'! So keep an eye on the motor / spring for a while to see if it has gummed things up - if it has, then a clean / regrease/oil is needed
Cheers Andy |
29th Jun 2010, 11:22 am | #25 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Well if I keep using it over the next few weeks hopefully it will keep things lubricated. Most liquids and lubricants tend to start collecting and forming desposits if left for a while and not moving so hopefully by spinning it every so often it will keep everything working alright.
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29th Jun 2010, 7:15 pm | #26 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
I have an Edison Diamond disc acoustic machine with a built-in volume control. A cloth ball "sock" on the end of a stiff wire is thrust into the throat of the horn by sliding a lever across. Very effective too!!
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30th Jun 2010, 8:08 am | #27 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
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3rd Jul 2010, 11:39 pm | #28 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Yes, as said above, WD40 should not be relied on as a lubricant. Use grease on the parts that should be greased & a little machine oil on the other parts as required. It should be ok to use WD40 to thin out the hardened grease to start with, though.
When winding it up, never wind it until it stops, or you'll end up with a broken spring...you'll get a 'feel' for when it's nearly fully wound & has enough to play one record side. As said, don't leave the gramophone in the 'wound-up' state when not in use. It should NOT be let to run down fully with no record being played on the turntable. Letting the unit 'free-wheel' off load to 'stop' is not good, as the flywheel effect of the turntable will try to 'back-wind' the spring when it gets to the fully un-wound state & there is a slight chance that at its age it could snap the centre out of the spring...& that will be the end of it. You can run it down without a record playing so long as you slow it down & stop it just before it reaches the end of the fully un-wound state. Hope that helps |
4th Jul 2010, 12:31 am | #29 | |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Well done Josh, £12 for hours of fun is not bad!
Yes, take it to school, with a few records. (There aren't any wind-up iPods yet are there? So your mates are still dependent on wall chargers). Quote:
Or remove the pickup head and stuff some cotton wool in the tone arm. |
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5th Jul 2010, 10:27 pm | #30 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Not heard about not letting it run right down fully , except after fitting a new spring ,in which case it can unhook itself .I fitted a few new phonoservice springs in th 80s and they always came with that warning... i even did it by accident and had to take it apart again
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6th Jul 2010, 8:15 pm | #31 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
It's no good. I can't get a sound out of it.
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6th Jul 2010, 9:03 pm | #32 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Isn't modern technology useless?!
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7th Jul 2010, 4:48 am | #33 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Reminds me of that scene from Austin Powers!
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7th Jul 2010, 9:35 am | #34 | |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Quote:
I do what Barry does in his post above; petrol and a scrub with steel wool on the length of the spring. Lubrication is using graphite grease; I guess Molyslip is as good. You must lubrocate the spring through its entire length before fitting it into the barrel, a messy job! As for letting it run down, I cannot think how the spring will be broken by doing that; it might just unhook the inner end, but if that was tight against the arbor as it should be, it will hook back on when you wind it next.
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7th Jul 2010, 9:57 am | #35 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
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12th Jul 2010, 10:37 pm | #36 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
When I was about 10, I had a Decca the same as the one you've got, but in red & cream. The spring was broken so as with a lot of things like that at the time, I pulled it to bits. There is only one part of that gramophone that as far as I know still exists today & it's shown in the picture below. It's the circular chrome needle holder which can be seen in another gramophone that I still have today that didn't have one at the time.
This gramophone had a broken spring too, but I was able to get it replaced at the time. It also had a broken winding handle - note the repair I did as a ten year old, using a bent piece of copper water pipe...I've got the broken off bit as can be seen, so one day I'll get round to repairing it properly - though it's lasted over 40 years as it is, so no rush. The last time this gramophone was used was about 12 years ago playing 78s at a classic car show. It's up in my loft (where it's staying for the time being & where the photo was taken - I've got quite enough stuff down from the loft into the main part of the house at the moment). When I opened the lid, all the wood filler that I'd used to fill a split in the top of the oak lid back in the 1960s had disintegrated & dropped all over the deck, so I had to take a vacuum cleaner up there to clean it all away. It's a Bandmaster with a posh Thorens deck with push button control & autostop. I remember the motor being all chrome plated - although it's over 40 years since I've seen it. So, in the first picture below, you can just see the poor old Decca chrome top needle well in the bottom right corner. While I was up in the loft & just for the possible interest of others reading this thread, I took a picture of a couple of different gramophone motors, a double spring & a single spring type. Lastly, while I was up there for those who are interested, I've taken a picture of what a new spring looks like before it's fitted - note the single turn of thick wire holding it tight...if that were to come off, the spring would expand to the size of a bicycle wheel - & that can be VERY dangerous! |
11th May 2012, 3:02 pm | #37 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Have you tried boot polish to shine up the leatherette and cover up stains?
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11th May 2012, 5:34 pm | #38 |
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Re: Decca Gramophone
Works well, have done that a couple of times although not on my Decca....yet
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