B80 Height Adjustment Question

[abraves]

Hi,

I recently got an early B80 1914 DD player. It came without the reproducer and so I got one from Ebay. I installed the reproducer and the stylus does not drop quite far enough to engage the grooves in the record. The indicator pin is at the bottom of the limit so it can't go any lower. I'm totally new at this, but I have read about this on this board so I'll describe it as best as I can.

I can raise and lower the arm easily with the lowering cam in the back. When lowered it ALMOST touches the record, but not quite. I have read about adjusting the arm height for other players, but this one appears to not have such an adjustment.

another approach would be to raise the turntable. Is that a feasible idea? I see a setscrew/collar on the turntable shaft that looks like it might allow it to be raised a bit, but thought I ask the experts first before I make things worse.

[maroongem]

The earliest Reproducers had an additional plate screwed to the weight which the stylus was affixed to. I'm wondering if this extra thickness from the plate is necessary to reach the record on your particular machine. I'll take a pic of this type Reproducer when I get a chance and also measure how much more is added in thickness at the critical point.

[abraves]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the idea and the pic when you get around to it. The stylus mounting on my reporoducer looks like others I've seen - I don't see any extra plate, so you might be on to something here.

To give you an idea of the amount of "miss" that the reproducer has - if I take a normal LP and put it on the turntable and then put the diamond disc on top of that, the indicator is squarely in the middle of the limit indicator. It then plays, but doesn't sound good. I suspect the tiny crater right in the middle of the stylus might have something to do with that!

[French_Touch_C-19]

Hello,
did you mention a "crater".. I think a pic would illustrate nicely your description ;-)
Cheers
François

[abraves]

Ok, here's a try at a picture. My camera makes it difficult to take extreme closeups but I think you can see the little indentation right in the center of the stylus.

I'm a newbie, but I would guess this could cause some pretty significant distortion - which is what I am hearing.

[larryh]

I would think if your just talking about a little dent in the metal next to the needle then I don't think it would have much effect or none.. As to the lowering of the arm.. Does the very bottom where the horn pivots into the bottom of the box not have a threaded lower rod with a little hole in it? That hole is where you put a small tool to turn the horn level up and down? Maybe that model is without that adjustment.. I will have to research that one?

[maroongem]

Here is the pic of the earlier Reproducer weight and plate. The height from the top of the stylus bar supports to the weight is .192 w/o the stylus. On the later ones it's .136 so you are talking about amost .060 thousands of a inch, which is probably more than enough to reach the record with a stylus on it.
When you say a "crater" I'm wondering if the diamond stylus is chipped or missing. It's hard to tell from that pic but if it is broken off, it's a good thing it can't reach the surface of the record as you would more than likely chew right through the condensite surface.

Bill

[abraves]

Thanks for the pic. My does not have this plate for sure.

I think the diamond is chipped because if I raise the diamond disc by putting an LP on the platter, it is just the right height and will play. It doesn't appear to damage the disc to play it.

In regards to the earlier question - I did see the information on adjusting height on other players - mine does not have that adjustment. It does look like I might be able to adjust the platter height and I'll experiment with that, I guess.

[larryh]

I am surely no expert here on this topic, but moving the turntable is Not the answer. Something is not right, but what is the still the question.. Remember the stylus bar flat top should be parallel to the bottom of the reproducer when the needle is in the correct playing position. Usually that makes the limit pin ride a bit above the part where the "V" shaped lower part of the wire that lifts the diamond needle off the record begins when it is in playing position. I have a similar situation with my Chippendale. Some how the rod that the lift lever is fastened to and goes down into the horn support is mostly frozen in place and even when the appropriate bolts are loosened it doesn't adjust upward like it should do. Your machine must have some kind of adjustment to that lift lever where it goes into the horn support that allows for raising and lowering the arm?

[maroongem]

Where the stylus isn't damaging the record, it is more likely that the stylus is worn. If it were chipped or missing you would see a brown groove appearing as the record played. The diamonds were plated into the stylus with varying degrees of plating covering the surface of the diamond and yours (from the pic) looks like the majority of the diamond was covered.
This machine came out in 1914 and was made through mid 1915 and was equipped with the Reproducer that I depicted in a earlier post. When you say that an LP on the TT under the DD record brings the stylus in good contact with the DD, that tells me that it was definitely adjusted with the plate-style Reproducer. Those show up quite frequently on Ebay, the only down side is whether you are going to get a good stylus or not if you buy from a non-phono dealer (and even a "dealer" is no guarantee, unfortunately).
Check the rod assembly that is connected to the knurled knob that raises and lowers the Reproducer/sound tube onto the record and look for an adjustment screw. I know these don't adjust like the later DD machines as their horn set-up and motors were completely different. I'm trying to contact a friend who has a B-80 and get the skinny from him on how the horn is supported at the rear of the cabinet and if there is any adjustment for height.

Bill

Bill

[maroongem]

Here is the proper one for your machine that is currently on eBay.

Bill

cgi.ebay.com/EDISON-DIAMOND-DISC-REPRODUCER-FOR-DISC-PHONOGRAPH_W0QQitemZ350063889886QQihZ022QQcategoryZ38029QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem