The talking machine world (Jan-Dec 1908)

Record Details:

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THE TALKING MACHINE WORLD. 53 modate what is known as concert records, a record of still larger diameter. It is well known that talking machines at the present time are constructed to accommodate but one of these sizes, and it is the object of this invention to provide improved means whereby any of these three records of different sizes may be accommodated, in a single machine. Figure 1 is an elevation view of the invention, parts being broken away to more clearly illustrate the same; Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2—2 of Fig. 1. Sound Amplifies foe Phonogeaphs and Talking Machines. John H. J. Haines, New York. Patent No. 895,853. This invention relates to talking machines, and has special reference to a type of device for amplifying the reproduction of sound from a record cylinder or plate, comprising a friction roll and shoe introduced between the stylus bar and the diaphragm, whereby the vibrations of the stylus are reproduced in the diaphragm in an amplified degree. The object of the invention is to provide a construction of amplifier which will increase the loudness of the reproduction very considerably without loss of definition or articulation. A further object is to provide means whereby the degree of loudness of the reproduction can be varied at will and by simple mechanism and manipulation. In carrying out the invention a form of shoe is utilized on the friction roll, which encompasses more than one-half of the circumference thereof, and the inventor then connects one end of this shoe with the stylus lever in such a way that the outward thrusts of the stylus created by the vertical undulations in the record groove drive the shoe into intimate contact with the roll, while the friction roll and shoe are caused to bodily follow the stylus in its inward strokes, permitted by the depressions in the record groove. The undulations in the record groove are made up of crests and depressions of varying depth and shape, and it is found that by so organizing the lever system that the crests of the record groove will act directly to increase the friction of the shoe, the sharpest and clearest reproduction i s obtained. At the same time the arrangement must be such that when the stylus enters a depression in the groove, the friction shoe and roll will follow it, so that the shoe will receive the full effect of the thrust caused by the next succeeding crest. This following-up action of the roll and shoe therefore increases the loudness, but it also retains the purity or definition because it overcomes any tendency of the shoe to rattle or loosen from the roll during the recessions or inward strokes of the stylus. The friction roll is carried at the end of a swinging shaft as usual, and its weight is supplemented by a weighted nut applied to the end of the shaft in the usual manner, the total weight at the end of the shaft being predetermined in proportion to the coefficient of friction between the roll and shoe, so that when the machine is in operation, the vibratory system will be floating in stable equilibrium at a certain elevation or distance from the record tablet where the stylus will be in operative relation to the record, and the viorations due to the rubbing of the shoe upon the roll will be at a certain constant rate suitable to co-operate with and augment the vibrations which are to be superposed thereon by the reproducing stylus. Under this floating condition, there will be no effective force applied to the stylus to compel it to follow the undulations of the record groove, and the inventor therefore adds to the vibratory system a supplemental weight or spring so applied as to create a tendency of the roll and shoe to press the stylus against the record surface, thus compelling the stylus to follow the undulations of the record groove and to react upon the friction shoe. This extra weight or spring, therefore, supplies the means for causing the friction roll and shoe to bodily follow the movements of the stylus bar. -But it must be and is so associated with the vibratory system that the vibrations of the stylus are not absorbed thereby, but on the contrary are devoted entirely to varying the grip of the shoe upon the roll. Figure 1 is an end elevation of a portion of a talking machine and the improved amplifying attachment, some parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a plan of the mechanism at the end of the swinging shaft. Fig. 3 illustrates a modification of the stylus bar. Recced foe Talking Machines. Eldridge R. Johnson, Merion, Pa., assignor to Victor Talking Machine Co., Camden, N. J. Patent No. 895,059. This invention relates to improvements in sound records of either the cylindrical or disc type, and has for its object to provide an improved record such that the walls of the grooves shall be so formed as to reproduce the sounds of the record in tones more clear and distinct than has heretofore been possible from records of prior construction. In forming records upon sound recording machines for use in talking machines, such as the gramophone, where the sound waves are recorded in the form of a groove of even depth having lateral undulations as distinguished from an undulatory groove of varying depth, as in the type of machines of which the phonograph is an illustration, it is essential, in order to produce a clear record, that the material be neatly and cleanly cut from the grooves in the process of recording so that smooth, well-defined surfaces be formed in the walls of a well-defined groove. In the art of making sound records, comparatively little attention has been paid to the finishing and the forming of the surfaces of the walls of the record groove. The vertical groove has heretofore been cut by a recording tool, which, owing to the character of the groove and the shape of the tool, has not only had a tendency to tear the material of the record, or distort the same, so as to form roughnesses which, in the reproduction of the record or its duplicate, cause disagreeable sounds, owing to the harsh vibrations of the diaphragm caused thereby, but also, among other things, in the vertical type of record, the resistance on the cutting stylus in gouging out the material increases in proportion to the depth, which objection is overcome in the cut laterally undulating record groove, where the resistance to the force exerted by the cutting stylus is uniform and even. Mr. Johnson has discovered by careful experiments that the best results are obtained in a cut out laterally undulatory groove of substantially constant depth in a record tablet, preferably of wax or other suitable material, and furthermore, when the walls of the groove diverge from the bottom of the same to the surface of the record, or, more superficially, when the walls of the groove are formed by surfaces which in cross section give the lines of a segment of an ellipse, the groove being widest at its mouth, and gradually diminishing in its width toward the bottom. By this con"S;*^ struction, the mate[j^r -n rial is neatly and J accurately cut out, and forms a groove having smooth and well-defined walls; the recording needle has greater freedom of oscillation, and by. reason of the relative contour of the walls of the groove with the outline of the needle, this construction prevents any binding effect and secures a maximum ease of movement of the needle with a minimum of wear upon the record. Figure 1 is a sectional view of a record showing a recording tool in operation in connection therewith, parts of said recording tool being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a large cross sectional view of the record showing the shape of the groove as formed therein; Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a form of groove having perpendicular walls in connection with a needle with an outline siibstantially like that of the end of the record groove; Fig. 4 shows a groove of substantially the same character as that shown in Fig. 3, with the stylus point of the My Dear Sir: ^ We desire to impress as emphatically as we can the dealers of Michigan, Northern Ohio and Northern Indiana with the important fact : ^ That our lines of Phonographs, Talking Machines, Records, and all Accessories have never been so thoroughly full and complete as they are now. The demands of the trade justify our carrying very large stocks. <5 Then our Shipping Department is in readiness at all times to promptly fill orders and ship the goods without a minute's delay. We always have in stock what the dealer wants, and we solicit orders — " hurry" orders, by wire or long-distance 'phone, because we can ship the goods the same day. ^ Have you tried the Indestructible Records? If not, you'll find it profitable to do so. We can supply all orders. ^ We earnestly and respectfully solicit your business in the confidence that the results will be mutually profitable. AMERICAN PHONOGRAPH COMPANY DETROIT, MICH.