Frankenstein Restoration Progress (pictures!!)

[HardlyHumanFX]

Behold, the beast. It was originally an A92 Wilcox Gay Recordio from about 1938 (attached schematics).

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I'm not sure 'restoration' really applies here. I basically replaced 90% with non-standard parts. HOWEVER! First I tried to restore the original tube amplifier but could never rid myself of the ground-loop hum. I replaced the tube amp with a modern 40w amplifier with an 8ohm output. I output to a step up transformer to get the astatic crystal cutter head to the right voltage. It seems to be responding well. (I later found a manual that told me how to get rid of the common hum in this exact model. Oh bother!)

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The machine never had a vacuum system, so as you can see, I'm building one. The 3D printed arm attaches to the original arm. I'm attaching a soft copper tube to it and a flexible line to a dental aspirator. Lots of suction and intended for use in a small diameter hose. You'll also notice I cut a hole in the arm. You see, the needle I'm using from MyShank can only take about 14g of weight, so I've 3D printed a counter-balance arm to get there. (the factory adjustment only gets me to 45g). I've also added a heating element transformer and controller.

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The original playback arm was astatic and very heavy. I copied it in 3D software and 3D printed it for a modern cartridge to fit inside the much lighter arm shell.

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I couldn't have gotten this far without my new friend Jim (GrooveGuy). He's put up with a lot of newbie questions and assumptions about this fantastic vintage technology. He had some fun ideas that were critical to maintaining my ridiculous fetish with this substandard home machine. Wish me luck and enjoy the photos. More to come. I'll load video after my tests.

Jason Anderson
Orange, California

[Aussie0zborn]

Brilliant!