Philco with Beam of Light on craigslist

[Bill Cahill]

Well, what do you know?
It appears I have now been blocked from sending mail to this guy.
Oh, well. The heck with it. I have better things to do.
Maybe he just doesn't really want to sell it.
Bill Cahill

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by Bill Cahill

The simple reason for the variable pitch control was because not all records were 78 rpm. There were variables, including 76, 80, and, 90 rpm.
<snip>
I never heard from owner.

Sorry you did not get it !

I remember reading somewhere that the variable speed control would go down to 39 RPM, and that was a speed (1/2 of 78 RPM) that was sometimes used for home recordings... don't know if that was true, but it seems reasonable.

jr

[Steve K]

Yes, the 42 model changers were dual speed, 78 and 39.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Bill Cahill

Well, what do you know?
It appears I have now been blocked from sending mail to this guy.
Oh, well. The heck with it. I have better things to do.
Maybe he just doesn't really want to sell it.
Bill Cahill

I'm sorry you didn't get it. Once a craigslist ad is removed, I don't think the email address works anymore.

[Bill Cahill]

The ad is still there.. I got a mailer daemon message that my mail was undeliverable due to my address being blocked by receiver.
Bill Cahill

[bandersen]

I don't see it at my end. It shows up as "This posting has been deleted by its author." as of yesterday afternoon.

[sean]

Yeah, from what I read the speed could be adjusted to 39 RPM to get more time on home recording records. I have the 1942 Philco RMS Yearbook that has some service information on these changers and also a photocopy of a service bulletin that Philco put out in 1945. I think I had found the information on the HR-2 home recording attachment in the 1942 Yearbook but I have never seen one of these attachments. The 1941 HR-1 home recording attachment is more common.

The 5/32" beam width is measured at the face of the photocell with a ruler. The tracking force with this type of pickup is lighter than that of a crystal pickup but it is still heavier than a modern magnetic or ceramic pickup. I would have to look at the service information to see what the tracking force is. The service info does show some jigs and tools that Philco made especially for taking measurements and making adjustments on these changers.