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Old 28th Jun 2010, 6:39 pm   #21
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

Quote:
Originally Posted by ppppenguin View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by howard View Post
...but how does one turn the volume down ?
Stuff a sock in it. Or use softer tone needles. Or both.
My floor standing gramophone has doors across the horn which act as a volume control. When it's too loud I just send the missus over to close them.....

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Old 28th Jun 2010, 7:35 pm   #22
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

In my experience, portables tend not to have this facility though.
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Old 29th Jun 2010, 2:05 am   #23
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio1950 View Post
I had about three quarters of a spring wound back into the drum, then a momentary lapse of concentration, and about fifteen feet of coiled, greased, sprung steel decided to fight back. Result?- three hours wait in Accident and Emergency, a badly gashed hand, and a distinct loss of pride!
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Old 29th Jun 2010, 10:07 am   #24
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Default 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
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Old 29th Jun 2010, 11:22 am   #25
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Default 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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Old 29th Jun 2010, 7:15 pm   #26
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

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My floor standing gramophone has doors across the horn which act as a volume control. When it's too loud I just send the missus over to close them.....

Dave
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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Old 30th Jun 2010, 8:08 am   #27
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

One post moved to a new thread here:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=55801
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Old 3rd Jul 2010, 11:39 pm   #28
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Default 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
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Old 4th Jul 2010, 12:31 am   #29
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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:
Originally Posted by Audio1950 View Post
...I had about three quarters of a spring wound back into the drum, then a momentary lapse of concentration, and about fifteen feet of coiled, greased, sprung steel decided to fight back.
I had this happen to me also, when I was 13, with my Columbia gramophone spring. Definitely something to get out of the way of, fast!

Quote:
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Quote:
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...but how does one turn the volume down ?
Stuff a sock in it. Or use softer tone needles. Or both.
Or remove the pickup head and stuff some cotton wool in the tone arm.
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Old 5th Jul 2010, 10:27 pm   #30
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Default 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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Old 6th Jul 2010, 8:15 pm   #31
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

It's no good. I can't get a sound out of it.
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Old 6th Jul 2010, 9:03 pm   #32
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Isn't modern technology useless?!
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Old 7th Jul 2010, 4:48 am   #33
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

Reminds me of that scene from Austin Powers!
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Old 7th Jul 2010, 9:35 am   #34
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

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Originally Posted by Boom View Post
What's all this I hear about just loosening the drum lid and boiling the whole lot in parrafin to clean it?

Dave
Never use paraffin on any sort of clock-type mechanism; it never dries out and will remove any lubricant.
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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Old 7th Jul 2010, 9:57 am   #35
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It's no good. I can't get a sound out of it.
Ah, but modern CD's are only recorded on ONE side, and you're trying to play the wrong side. Just turn it over, and listen!
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Old 12th Jul 2010, 10:37 pm   #36
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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!

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Old 11th May 2012, 3:02 pm   #37
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Default Re: Decca Gramophone

Have you tried boot polish to shine up the leatherette and cover up stains?
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Old 11th May 2012, 5:34 pm   #38
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Works well, have done that a couple of times although not on my Decca....yet
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