I had a internet problem dsl thing died. So I am back and reading more on these books and players.

I been thinking if I can not find a player. Would there be a way to take a kids player and some how slow it down to 8 rpm? Or would this burn out the motor of the thing?

Here's a video of my player:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPVne9g4nNY

Here's a video of the newer plastic model:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgIKSnt0FNU

Haven't heard from you. Have you sent record player out yet?
Bill Cahill

Yes. If you swamp down a 33 motor to 8 via a variac or some such - the increased current running through the motor will burn it out. The only thing you can do is get a new smaller drive shaft or a new bigger idler to take up the difference.

On another topic -

Has anybody been able to find TWO of the all-tube Grey TB players from the 60's - along with the STEREO version of the 83D stylus it came with? I'm trying to add a second identical amp - drill the necessary holes to install it - and end up with a Stereo Talking Book Player.

Because they are getting ready to record onto digital - all 7500 titles in the library of 78's and 33's from the `30's and `40's - all 5000 titles in the 16 RPM TB series from the 60's and 70's and all the other 5000 titles in the RD and FD series from the 80's and 90's for which

A) the master tapes are unable to be found - and onto which no cassette or Digital Cartridge has ever been mastered to date and

B) have yet to be mastered onto digital - which includes hundreds of titles in the LOC library.

Those of you who are familiar with transferring to digital will know that - even though the program source is mono - it is necessary to record from a stereo pickup so that the restoration algorithms in the computer program can perform with the best results possible.

So - if anybody has or knows where we can get a donation of:
1. At least two all-tube grey players from the 60's.
2. Extra amps and/or SCA demodulators from the same period
3. Whatever they call the stereo version of the 83D cartridge

give us a holler if you are waiting for certain books to be transferred from 78, LP, TB RD or FD.

Well people are still browsing this thread six months after it's last post (by me) but nobody seems to be writing, so I guess I'll bump the thread.

RE: RadioTVnut and Bill Cahill and all the other legally or otherwise blind guys:

That's one thing I miss about working at CARRS or the talking book duplication center or any one of a dozen other entities that attracted visually-impaired electronics engineers - the camaraderie like you get online here. Just it's better in person.

Which is why I think so many of us both as kids as well as older guys ended up drafting ourselves under the tutelages of the various electronic swapmeet guys who were too old, fat and or disabled to be doing all the heavy lifting of all these old huge tube and other electronics to sell at the swapmeet.

And then - being we couldn't drive ourselves to the swapmeets when WE became too old, fat and/or disabled - did the reverse by borrowing the younger guys to do the driving while we taught them the business, as well as the engineering side if they had a talent for it.

So my question lately is what's all my fellow blind, legally blind and partially-sighted guys been up to lately?

Like,

Bill: Did you get any more TB's (16 RPM) RD's 8 RPM) and FD's (Flexis) and any better players to use? Cuz if not, even though they don't cut records anymore, the Sacramento LFB has asked me if I wanted to start transferring all their TBs and RD's to digital - whatever ones haven't already been transferred from the master tapes at NLS - and I said OK cuz it'll give me something to do getting over this winter flu after six weeks and no sighn of it breaking up anytime soon.

They also have so many 4-track reel to reels and so much GOOD tape leftover they were going to just toss that I said `Lemme make some reel-to-reels of all this stuff while I'm working'' you know - just pipe it thru a distribution amp and record the reel to reel with one channel and the computer with the other channel - and they said OK.

So even though like I said nobody makes records anymore, you CAN'T be the only guy left in the talking book user list who prefers records and tapes over the new digital cartridges.

I figure once I get a few done, I can dub them down to the right speed on my Tascam 424 Mark I musician's portastudio that has 3 speeds (low [15/16] normal [1-7/8] and high [3-3/4]) and just either dub them all real-time so they have a decent bass response, or cheat and do double-speed.

For whoever don't already know - the heads on a cassette portastudio - even though they are in the correct format for talking book reproduction and recording - and even though they are calibrated for music - really don't do real well on more than double-speed dubbing.

While I've been sick this winter, I've tried even using Chrome or Metal cassettes (type II or IV) and even mastering onto the old BASF or Maxell EE reel to reel tape, using Dolby B but playing back without it and setting the EQ on the reel to reel to 50 uS (normal setting on EE tape - boosts the treble and expands the bass) and setting the EQ on the portastudio to 70 for playback at 120 (does the same thing on the cassette end) and leaving the Dolby off on the cassette as well, but intending for it to be played back with it.

And that works - sort of - and I must have a hundred cases of EE tape that hasn't developed sticky-shed syndrome yet - so I might just use the voice-grade white-box LFB tape for streamers or confetti at the next parade and use the reels for frisbees at the beach this summer.

And then I'll start having a few cassette books I can start dropping to you in the mail whenever I get the chance.

And I'm still looking for some good - or good-to-restore AE3's if you run across any, and the Astatic PowerPoint half-mil styluses for the 1959 two-speed 16 and 33 version I have now which I might start using to tape the 16 RPM TB's into the computer and onto reel to reel so I can dub `em onto cassette.

RE: RadioTVnut
I might need your help in the not too distant future because I'll be setting up a 16-RPM disc mastering center here in the Bay Area. I'll need you and/or some of the other partially-sighted engineers for a few reasons not the least of which being I'd sooner pay a fellow blind guy to do the work of setting up the electronics after I set up the cutting lathe - vs just going out in the community and having to tolerate whatever abilities you get from wherever you can find `em.

Only because the Seeburg guys (see other 16 RPM thread for more on that one) are looking to digitize every nine-inch disc with a two-inch hole ever made - clean em all up in the computer and re-master `em onto new vinyl like Rhino Records did a few years ago for their 78 RPM Jukebox box-sets. Yes they were all cut with a 33 stylus and all pressed on normal modern vinyl just like the 78 Beach Boys record that came out for Record Store Day - but I guess you can't have everything.

They'll also want to be digitizing all the Rowe/AMI CustoMusic discs that are a 7-inch disc with a 45-size hole - but they play at 33 - or a few play at 16 - and remaster those as well along with the old Seeburg and etc jukebox-only 78's from the 40's, 50's and 60's pressed on vinyl - usually colored vinyl - to give people a break from the pop or rock and roll that was popular at the time. So that will be a LONG ongoing project.

So I'm hoping with all that 16 RPM work coming my way - before long I hope to occasionally be able to sneak in a couple 16 RPM talking books and be able to send them to the pressing plant as ``demo material'' without getting noticed too much since I'll be placing the Braille on the lacquers and inscribing the name of the book in the dead wax myself before sending `em out to be plated and pressed.

I really don't want to be doing 8 RPM because as was noted earlier on, utilizing a normal cutting system and mastering electronics, double-speed disc mastering always turns out bad.

I figure if I increase the pitch to maybe 600 instead of the normal 450 the LFB used - I should be alright - even if I'm only doing 90-gram Quiex or JVC SuperVinyl for a 12-inch disc - because 10-inch pressings cost more to make as the dies to press them are a little scarce compared to 7-inch and 12-inch.

So - like I said - what's all my other fellow blind, visually-impaired and partially-sighted guys been up to lately?

I would definately be interested in any Rto R tapes, records, and, earlier players left, plust the bullet cartridges they used./
All I have is the one modern plastic player, and a couple of magazines.
No other books, or, machines. I'm also looking for cassette books for the cassette players.
I would definately be interested. Please e mail me.
Thanks.
Bill Cahill

I just bought one online that I never thought I'd find. This is an American Foundation for the Blind model U-10 and I think this was the very first talking book record player from '34-'35. It also appears that this model has a built-in AM radio and I notice that it has Braille markings on the radio dial. This plays 33 RPM and 78 RPM; but, I wouldn't play a modern LP on it. As can be seen, It uses a heavy tonearm with a big horseshoe style magnetic cartridge. Anyway, I can't believe I found this and I'm very anxious to get my hands on it. The pictures below are ones I borrowed from the seller and if anyone has any more information on this model, I'd appreciate it.

Here's the American Foundation for the Blind "talking book" record player, model U-10, that I believe is the very first model of talking book phonograph. This machine plays 33 1/3 rpm (talking book speed) and 78 rpm (music) records. This model also has a built-in AM radio that uses a TRF circuit. It's interesting to note that this model uses two volume controls. One is for the phonograph and one is for the radio. I think the phono volume control is in the audio circuit and the radio volume control is in the antenna circuit.

This thing uses a heavy tonearm and a horseshoe magnetic cartridge that tracks heavy enough to cut a new groove in a record; so, this will obviously not work with microgroove records. It's my understanding that the first TB records were pressed on some sort of plastic; but, they used they same type of groove as a 78 rpm record. I have some later 33 rpm TB records from the '50's; but, they are microgroove and are designed to be played with a much lighter tonearm. According to the instructions, this machine can also play British 24 rpm TB records by moving the pitch control to it's slowest position. The instructions also caution that the British records are made of shellac and are easily broken.

This should still be an interesting restoration project and it certainly has it's rightful place in history.

Actually, I'm a user of the talking book service and I'm a collector of these vintage TB machines.

The best TB players were the wooden cased tube models from the '60's that played 8, 16, and 33 rpm and used an Astatic powerpoint plug-in cartridge (like what's in the school califone record players).

Here's a video I made of the inside of the machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5utnGAbCpIA

Now try and find somebody who still has some 24 RPM TBs left. In other rarities news...

I found a Baird Videodisc from England in a stack of 78's at the Shellac Shack record section of the Vinyl Alley lot at the college swapmeet last Saturday from a guy who was completely clueless and was going to throw it away because of the crazy look to the grooves - he thought it was a damaged pressing or a mis-cut or some such. 30 line vertically oriented resolution, the entire video falls within the audio spectrum of 80Hz-8K.

If you're talking about the Phonovision, from 1927, you have a key piece of TV history in your hands! Any chance of a pic?