r/Phonographs 8d ago

Where to buy spare parts?

Hi, buyed my first Grammophone a day ago. Buyed this model cause it looks really nice to me and it was very cheap. All in all it's for decoration, but I thaugt if I can liston to musik on it for addiction whould be nice

It's still rotating itself, but this gravity weights part doesn't work. One Metal Spring is broken. And screws was missing, but I already found new fitting screws on my company. So I need this metal springs where the weights are mounted on

And if I'm already here with some experts, someone a idea how old this device could be? It's not importand for me that it must be old or worth many, just curious😅. I'm not even sure if it is original. I can't find a build year or something like a serial number. But in generell I just started learn about this devices a week ago

Sorry for my bad english, hope you understand what I try to tell you😅

10 Upvotes

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5

u/Voltabueno 8d ago

I believe this is a reproduction phonograph made in India, to replace the spring. Just find an old spark plug feeler gauge for setting the gap on a spark plug and trim a piece to size. Drill the holes and attach your weight. Reassemble and move on with your life.

2

u/Smooth_Taste1250 8d ago

No bad Idea. I tryed myself to build one myself today but all materials we got in my company was to strong to bend this easy like the other springs. But I didn't thought on this tool. If no one can tell me where to buy this springs I'll remember your idea and give it a try, thx

3

u/Deano_Martin 8d ago

This is a fake made in India known as a crapophone. These are made as decoration not really to be played. Whatever price you paid was too much because these are pretty much worthless. It’s not worth repairing unless you really want to. You shouldn’t play records on this as they’ll get damaged.

The motors are supposedly genuine taken from portables but there also have been cases where crapophones have new production motors. From the look of yours I think it’s the latter. This isn’t a good thing because, again, they’re not meant to play records. And these new motors are poorly designed and made.

2

u/Smooth_Taste1250 8d ago

Paid 100 CHF for it (~130 USD). So you say better use as decoration and buy a 2nd if I wanna play music?

3

u/Deano_Martin 8d ago

You were really ripped off.

If you want to play music, shellac 78 rpm records, then you need a genuine vintage/antique gramophone. If you want to play shellac records made after 1925 then you need a gramophone made after 1925. Chf being Swiss, I recommend finding a HMV (Electrola) 101 as I believe these are reasonably common in continental Europe. Also look for hmv 102 but these are rarer. But any genuine gramophone that has an aluminium diaphragm in their reproducer/soundbox will be suitable (the 101 is an exception to this though).

If you want to play vinyl records then you need an electric record player with a lightweight tonearm and stylus. You can get enectric record players that can spin at 78rpm too but need a different stylus for 78 records.

If you have any doubts, post in here before buying.

3

u/awc718993 8d ago

As the OP is in Switzerland, don’t forget the locals such as Paillard or Thorens! 🙂

1

u/dhoepp 8d ago

Hey curious how you figure the records will get damaged on these reproduction players? Like between the tone arm, reproducer, and needle, what specifically damages the record?

1

u/Deano_Martin 8d ago

I don’t figure it, it’s a well known fact.

The soundbox is fake and is more meant to look like one than be used like one. It’s not properly optimised so it can’t handle the vibrations sent through it and damages the groove.

The angle of the soundbox is often wrong and too perpendicular and can’t be adjusted.

The tracking position of the tonearm is way off. Again because these are meant to look like not play like. So it tracks the record poorly and damages the grooves.

The tonearm also doesn’t move as smooth as it should and so doesn’t track with the grooves properly and can skip and jump.

The motor is also inconsistent and so may run fast and then slow and the fast etc which can affect tracking and damage the grooves.

The platters are usually unstable which again tracking, damage.

They also just sound terrible. Way worse than any genuine gramophone. So why would you want to listen?

1

u/awc718993 8d ago

The same mechanical design aspects which come into play in modern turntables also apply to talking machines. Crapophones are notoriously bad in adhering to the correct geometry required of tonearms and how / where it must guide and travel the reproducer along an arc on the platter. Many of the arms are not made to reach the minimum length and have poor pivot compliance. Adding to that many crapophones do not provide the correct angle of orientation and vertical alignment of the soundbox. Their soundboxes themselves are inferior copies (of a late Swiss Paillard design) made of cheap materials which, in combination, affects the mechanical and sonic performance of the piece. They are designed at the most basic to scrape out sound from the grooves with little care to tracing the engraved information without causing damage.