I also have another phonograph that is not Victor, it was made by a company called Health Builders Inc. in New York which is no longer exists called the Camp-Fone by Walter Camp, the creation of football, and exercise records. I got it last year for $10, and I did lots of work including cleaning up the old grease, the springs putting the new grease in the spring motor, cleaning the parts, and finally cleaning the governor since it was stuck while the turntable was running way too fast, wind them up, play a record, and BAM! It plays. It’s not that hard. Fixing a wind-up acoustic phonograph is easy. My Camp-Fone is from 1923, and it’s a collectable, because of its history.
I was at the Hoffman Barn Sale in Red Hook, NY today and I saw the Victor VV-XI Victrola from 1911, and everything is still intact including the record storage without sawing in half. The cabinet is in excellent condition for its age. Both the tonearm and reproducer are still in working order. The design is similar to this one. The price is $279 which is too much for me.
It was kind of the vendor to give you the Victrola. I am sure that several of your followers would donate projects you way. Just to see them be appreciated and working again. Every collector has at least a few forgotten projects that they couldnt get around to finishing. It is such a shame when people cut the legs off of high boy radios also!!!! Neat video!
I own 3 Victrolas and from my experience buying them, fixing them and researching them, very few are worth more than a few hundred even in perfect working order. The parts are expensive tho. That reproducer is probably worth about 100 bucks on its own if its been rebuilt (gaskets and the mica diaphragm are cheap)
EricJohn I only have one Victrola which is my Victor VV 8-4 Orthophonic from around 1926 and it still sounds good, and it plays all records along with all kinds of genres from the 1910’s through the 1950’s including early jazz, Charleston, big band, early rock & roll, R&B and doo-wop. Everything plays after restoring the spring motor and cleaned the spring since I made a video of it a few weeks ago. This morning, I saw a Columbia Grafonola and I wasn’t able to get it, because I already have my Victor Orthophonic 8-4.
thats awesome ! the orthophonics sound way better than their predecessors especially when you play a record from the mid to end of 1920s. I would be cautious about playing anything from the 50s as the records weren't designed for the heavy tonearms so only play 50s records that are already worn out. the heavy tonearms do damage to the records. If you have some rock and roll 78s that are in good condition, best to play them on an electric record player. Ill have to check your videos out! I have a few videos on my channel including a Canadian made orthophonic 4-70 that I got last year.
EricJohn Thanks! Last night, I tried 78's the one that I played on my Victor VV 8-4, where I played on a different record player like my GE Wildcat and it sounds pretty darn good rather than damaging the record since last played on my Victrola. No damage spots at all. The groove is wider, and it has enough pressure to play with a heavy tonearm to track well. My GE Wildcat has a lighter tonearm and it tracks lighter than usual. It's just a big difference.
I've noticed too that playing an early 78 from the acoustic recording era on an electric record player doesn't sound so good. But being played on a record player from its own time it sounds great. Likewise a swing record from the 40s doesn't sound so good on a Victrola, but sounds great on an electric record player. I have a Califone school record player from the 70s that I play my 50s rock and roll records on.
The tone arm has ball bearings that it sits on, usually 5 with a spacer ring. Check to see if they are still there. The parts on that machine will fit a broad range of other models, both floor and table, so if you find a machine with a nice cabinet that is missing a part or two you will be ahead of the game. If you made a base for that sawed-off VV-80 cabinet it would make a bad looking table player! 😂
If the spring motor assembly (usually 2 stage) has both springs intact then this is a keeper. I have done spring repair on these (welding breaks if they are near the middle of the spring and cutting square and grinding a new tang hole if the break is near the end) and it is bloody dangerous if you are not careful. If that motor and the flyball leaves are intact and complete with all the weights then it's worth its weight in gold to the right people.
I worked on dozens of these Califone models in the 1980s. There were dance studios back then in my area that used them all the time. After about 1986 though the use, and thus the repair business on these, dropped off quickly as CDs came into vogue.
I agree, that sawed off Victrola is worthless as it is. But, for parts... a reproducer, a crank, and a good motor... man, that's worth $75-$100 right there. If you got a spot for it, something will come up making it worth while to have. See ya -- Atco
I might take one if one was given to me; but, those new ones are not worth the money. The 1430K's were the last really good ones and the 1010AV, 1030AV, and 1035AV models were so-so. So, let the "hipsters" have their Crosley junk and I'll keep my decent junk.
***** I'll bet it's tinny sounding with a low powered amp. The mechanism looks like a Crosley, complete with the single tipped cartridge with a red needle body.
My Grand Parents had one of those! Shame I don't have the cabinet or I would have probably made you and offer for it as the one my Grand Parents had ended up as an empty cabinet for storage.
I've got a Victor that hasn't been sawed off. The shop selling it was asking a highway robbery price for it. I gently twisted its crank, and could tell right off that the motor had a busted spring. I was there to pick up a violin for my brother that he had seen in a visit there and found out they had doubled the price since his visit. I got angry and started playing some hardball with these dealers. And got the violin AND the Victor for the price my brother saw on the violin! I exteriorized a loop of the broken spring with the whole mess held in a vise, and mig welded the broken ends together (VERY dangerous job!) It works well, although the tone arm crook is missing a part to hold it to the arm itself. I improvised something, and it works pretty well, although the arm looks like the cob-job I did to it.
That first one is what I called an epic fail. I hate the way the Victor Victrolas got sawed in half which it ruined our piece of history. I did owned my 1926 Victrola VV 8-4 which is kinda rare and I did restored the 4 spring motor over the weekend, I cleaned the motor up removed all the original grease which has been seized for so many decades, clean up the spring barrels, the governor and everything I cleaned and it is now running and completely 100% restored and in working condition. I tried a 78 and it plays very well. I made a video of my latest find on my channel if you want to see it. And as for the cabinet, it was beat up and half of the wood texture had come off, but it needs to be redone soon.
This actually happened a whole lot down south where they get frequent flooding and hurricanes. When a floor model was a flood victim, people would just cut off the damaged bottom half of the cabinet. The horse hide glue that Victor used did not mix well when contacted by water, so cabinets would just fall apart. I also believe that people did this a lot during the 30s. When poverty struck, and they lost their homes, they had to move. Not being able to afford the hiring of a moving company meant traveling light. And a Victrola or a radio was the centerpiece of family entertainment at the time, not something to be left behind.
Hey radiotvphononut. Out of the different record players & turntables you've collected what would you say is your all-time favorite one? Thank you! :) Merry Christmas to you & your family. :)
I'm not radiotvphononut but Depends if you want to use it for just average listening any old player will do as long as its not a crappy technics or you want the absolute best player I'd reccomend a 1970's Technics SL-1200 or some audio technica or some high end player like that
Well, that Victor has met an horrible fate before landing in your doorstep. However, the motor works and that's good, it's noisy, but that could be a matter of lubrication or an issue on the governor. To check, you let the motor unwind, and check if the governor can be moved on it's axis with your hand, if so, then it's loose and needs to be adjusted. i'm not sure of the tone arm is complete, if it is, then the biggest issue with it will be the reproducer, which looks pretty smashed. It is pretty much wasted, but I think it could maybe still make a good player, not one that you will sell for a lot of money, but one that works and maybe is good looking.
Get a decent VV-80 Cabinet. Then just rebuild the reproducer and motor and transplant it into the other cabinet. Easy, done it myself, and it saves you money nearly every time. A VV-80 isn't a really valuable machine to start with. Fantastic examples might reach $300 dollars. And that's in showroom condition, either completely original or completely restored.
People must have done all kinds of butchery to those things 60 years ago when they were a dime a dozen. I've seen a few with Garrard or BSR changers stuck into them. What movie was it? "The man with the Golden Arm", I think, where he keeps his drugs, or money, or maybe both in a hollowed out Victrola.
one victrola table grand knock off,i have a table hmv wood 103 table grand from 1928, sorry about ebay its a reel stinker never made a red cent out of them more than 3 times its just a crap way to sell,some things good go cheep but the shit always goes for silly money then you have to repair it i got a trixette on there 50 dollers total shit not worth repairing. motor week cartrage gone,worth less ..jeff.. ps when will i ever learn,.
I also have another phonograph that is not Victor, it was made by a company called Health Builders Inc. in New York which is no longer exists called the Camp-Fone by Walter Camp, the creation of football, and exercise records. I got it last year for $10, and I did lots of work including cleaning up the old grease, the springs putting the new grease in the spring motor, cleaning the parts, and finally cleaning the governor since it was stuck while the turntable was running way too fast, wind them up, play a record, and BAM! It plays. It’s not that hard. Fixing a wind-up acoustic phonograph is easy. My Camp-Fone is from 1923, and it’s a collectable, because of its history.
I was at the Hoffman Barn Sale in Red Hook, NY today and I saw the Victor VV-XI Victrola from 1911, and everything is still intact including the record storage without sawing in half. The cabinet is in excellent condition for its age. Both the tonearm and reproducer are still in working order. The design is similar to this one. The price is $279 which is too much for me.
It was kind of the vendor to give you the Victrola. I am sure that several of your followers would donate projects you way. Just to see them be appreciated and working again. Every collector has at least a few forgotten projects that they couldnt get around to finishing. It is such a shame when people cut the legs off of high boy radios also!!!! Neat video!
They used those 1430ks in my school system too, I loved being a kid in the1980s.
This is a great record player..Worth fixings and a good 78 record
7:50 that sounds better than most of the Caliphones I remember. I assume that has an IC amplifier, which they seem to have built right.
Never saw a tone arm like that in person, only in old movies. Would love to see what makes them "tick" and how one operates! Thank's for the video!
I own 3 Victrolas and from my experience buying them, fixing them and researching them, very few are worth more than a few hundred even in perfect working order. The parts are expensive tho. That reproducer is probably worth about 100 bucks on its own if its been rebuilt (gaskets and the mica diaphragm are cheap)
EricJohn I only have one Victrola which is my Victor VV 8-4 Orthophonic from around 1926 and it still sounds good, and it plays all records along with all kinds of genres from the 1910’s through the 1950’s including early jazz, Charleston, big band, early rock & roll, R&B and doo-wop. Everything plays after restoring the spring motor and cleaned the spring since I made a video of it a few weeks ago.
This morning, I saw a Columbia Grafonola and I wasn’t able to get it, because I already have my Victor Orthophonic 8-4.
thats awesome ! the orthophonics sound way better than their predecessors especially when you play a record from the mid to end of 1920s. I would be cautious about playing anything from the 50s as the records weren't designed for the heavy tonearms so only play 50s records that are already worn out. the heavy tonearms do damage to the records. If you have some rock and roll 78s that are in good condition, best to play them on an electric record player. Ill have to check your videos out! I have a few videos on my channel including a Canadian made orthophonic 4-70 that I got last year.
EricJohn Thanks! Last night, I tried 78's the one that I played on my Victor VV 8-4, where I played on a different record player like my GE Wildcat and it sounds pretty darn good rather than damaging the record since last played on my Victrola. No damage spots at all. The groove is wider, and it has enough pressure to play with a heavy tonearm to track well. My GE Wildcat has a lighter tonearm and it tracks lighter than usual. It's just a big difference.
I've noticed too that playing an early 78 from the acoustic recording era on an electric record player doesn't sound so good. But being played on a record player from its own time it sounds great. Likewise a swing record from the 40s doesn't sound so good on a Victrola, but sounds great on an electric record player. I have a Califone school record player from the 70s that I play my 50s rock and roll records on.
The tone arm has ball bearings that it sits on, usually 5 with a spacer ring. Check to see if they are still there. The parts on that machine will fit a broad range of other models, both floor and table, so if you find a machine with a nice cabinet that is missing a part or two you will be ahead of the game.
If you made a base for that sawed-off VV-80 cabinet it would make a bad looking table player! 😂
That Califone 1430K is a cool player, good sound. Nice little light in the tone arm for setting the needle in the groove.
If the spring motor assembly (usually 2 stage) has both springs intact then this is a keeper. I have done spring repair on these (welding breaks if they are near the middle of the spring and cutting square and grinding a new tang hole if the break is near the end) and it is bloody dangerous if you are not careful. If that motor and the flyball leaves are intact and complete with all the weights then it's worth its weight in gold to the right people.
I worked on dozens of these Califone models in the 1980s. There were dance studios back then in my area that used them all the time. After about 1986 though the use, and thus the repair business on these, dropped off quickly as CDs came into vogue.
merry christmas phononut
I agree, that sawed off Victrola is worthless as it is. But, for parts... a reproducer, a crank, and a good motor... man, that's worth $75-$100 right there. If you got a spot for it, something will come up making it worth while to have. See ya -- Atco
They still make new Califone record players, Model 1005. As used by age 20 something vinyl hipsters.
I might take one if one was given to me; but, those new ones are not worth the money. The 1430K's were the last really good ones and the 1010AV, 1030AV, and 1035AV models were so-so. So, let the "hipsters" have their Crosley junk and I'll keep my decent junk.
***** I'll bet it's tinny sounding with a low powered amp. The mechanism looks like a Crosley, complete with the single tipped cartridge with a red needle body.
How well do those Califone & Audiotronics players really work? Do they have heavy tone arms?
My Grand Parents had one of those! Shame I don't have the cabinet or I would have probably made you and offer for it as the one my Grand Parents had ended up as an empty cabinet for storage.
Are you going to do anything with the jukebox anytime soon?
I've got a Victor that hasn't been sawed off. The shop selling it was asking a highway robbery price for it. I gently twisted its crank, and could tell right off that the motor had a busted spring. I was there to pick up a violin for my brother that he had seen in a visit there and found out they had doubled the price since his visit. I got angry and started playing some hardball with these dealers. And got the violin AND the Victor for the price my brother saw on the violin! I exteriorized a loop of the broken spring with the whole mess held in a vise, and mig welded the broken ends together (VERY dangerous job!) It works well, although the tone arm crook is missing a part to hold it to the arm itself. I improvised something, and it works pretty well, although the arm looks like the cob-job I did to it.
That first one is what I called an epic fail. I hate the way the Victor Victrolas got sawed in half which it ruined our piece of history. I did owned my 1926 Victrola VV 8-4 which is kinda rare and I did restored the 4 spring motor over the weekend, I cleaned the motor up removed all the original grease which has been seized for so many decades, clean up the spring barrels, the governor and everything I cleaned and it is now running and completely 100% restored and in working condition. I tried a 78 and it plays very well. I made a video of my latest find on my channel if you want to see it.
And as for the cabinet, it was beat up and half of the wood texture had come off, but it needs to be redone soon.
Bryan,
I have to be nosy again, my friend,...what do you do with all these record players you repair?
Regards,
John
cut in half, why would they do that *FACEPALM*
It was probably done a long time ago to make it a table top victrola
This actually happened a whole lot down south where they get frequent flooding and hurricanes. When a floor model was a flood victim, people would just cut off the damaged bottom half of the cabinet. The horse hide glue that Victor used did not mix well when contacted by water, so cabinets would just fall apart. I also believe that people did this a lot during the 30s. When poverty struck, and they lost their homes, they had to move. Not being able to afford the hiring of a moving company meant traveling light. And a Victrola or a radio was the centerpiece of family entertainment at the time, not something to be left behind.
Darn, I graduated in 78 and records and transistors ruled. How do you know tubes being that young?
I have one that someone sawed in half like that. Its my only victrola and the crank and front doors are missing. I can turn it by hand and get sound.
I got another one with the crank and its a table model not sawed off but the governor is noisy and the reproducer is not too good.
Hey radiotvphononut. Out of the different record players & turntables you've collected what would you say is your all-time favorite one? Thank you! :) Merry Christmas to you & your family. :)
I'm not radiotvphononut but Depends if you want to use it for just average listening any old player will do as long as its not a crappy technics or you want the absolute best player I'd reccomend a 1970's Technics SL-1200 or some audio technica or some high end player like that
Well, that Victor has met an horrible fate before landing in your doorstep. However, the motor works and that's good, it's noisy, but that could be a matter of lubrication or an issue on the governor. To check, you let the motor unwind, and check if the governor can be moved on it's axis with your hand, if so, then it's loose and needs to be adjusted. i'm not sure of the tone arm is complete, if it is, then the biggest issue with it will be the reproducer, which looks pretty smashed.
It is pretty much wasted, but I think it could maybe still make a good player, not one that you will sell for a lot of money, but one that works and maybe is good looking.
Get a decent VV-80 Cabinet. Then just rebuild the reproducer and motor and transplant it into the other cabinet. Easy, done it myself, and it saves you money nearly every time. A VV-80 isn't a really valuable machine to start with. Fantastic examples might reach $300 dollars. And that's in showroom condition, either completely original or completely restored.
Seus vídeos são excelentes colega, muito bem elucidados...Parabéns..!!!!!
The doors on that Victrola don't look original. The knobs certainly aren't.
uu coud have given him 10 bucks for parts because they sell for parts high in ebay
People must have done all kinds of butchery to those things 60 years ago when they were a dime a dozen. I've seen a few with Garrard or BSR changers stuck into them. What movie was it? "The man with the Golden Arm", I think, where he keeps his drugs, or money, or maybe both in a hollowed out Victrola.
one victrola table grand knock off,i have a table hmv wood 103 table grand from 1928, sorry about ebay its a reel stinker never made a red cent out of them more than 3 times its just a crap way to sell,some things good go cheep but the shit always goes for silly money then you have to repair it i got a trixette on there 50 dollers total shit not worth repairing.
motor week cartrage gone,worth less ..jeff.. ps when will i ever learn,.