I too,. have an RCA 331. I believe that it's one of the first sets to have the (then) new RCA "Ejector" changer. The changer was used from about 1933 or 1934 through the 1938 model year. All models had a magnetic pickup except the last year, which had a crystal pickup. Several other manufacturers used the RCA Ejector changer, and RCA offered it as a component changer in their catalogue sheets. The RCA Ejector, the Capehart 1012 and the General Industries flip-off changer were the three most commonly seen changers until about 1940.
They had gotten away from their fixation that only one disc could be on the turntable at a time. The records were stacked on the turntable. The spindle was spring loaded so that it receded into its center, to where there was spindle depth for only one record. In other words, you could depress the spindle down to only one disc height. This kept the last record on the turntable. In addition to the pickup, there was a decorative sort of arm with a nose on it that depressed the spindle the thickness of the top record. Thus, the top disc (the one being played) actually pivoted on the little nose pivot of the arm. While the record played, everything was peaceful, and as the eccentric groove tripped the changer, the pickup raised and swung back to the start position of the records, as selected before hand. The ejector arm swung leftward, skidding the disc away from the center, then raised, and let the disc fall into a padded bin alongside the changer.The ejector arm returned to the center of the turntable, depressing the spindle below the thickness of the top disc for playing. It can look scary, but it didn't have a reputation for brealing records! After the last record played, the ejector pivot nose couldn't eject it, because the spindle couldn't be depressed any further. Thus, the last record repeated. These changers were equipped with the 33 1/3 speed through the 1935 model year. My RCA 381 is one of the last ones. I have a 1936 model D22-1 RCA, and there is no 33 1/3 speed on it. The holes for the selector lever are there, but that's all. I wish that I could post a picture here, but I wouldn't know how to do it It would be a big help. I have about 6 of the RCA sets with the ejector changer. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Baron" <[email protected]> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 2:28 PM Subject: Re: [Phono-L] RCA microgroove LP demo disc from ca. 1932 - anyinfo?? >I enjoyed this summary and discourse very much. Nice to have a > timeline tied to the evolution of the automatic changer by Victor and > RCA Victor. Could you take a moment, when convenient, to comment about > how the record-flinger changer, as used on my friend's dual speed RCA > 331 (1933) fits into this dialogue? I'd also like to get a sense from > you, with your years of interest and experience in this arena, as to > how common the 331 radio/phono model is. I've often thought of that > era to be the lowest ebb of the phonograph market. > > My friend with the 331 also has a few of the 12" LP's of that era, and > they appear to be VERY much like more modern vinyl LP's, and have > labels and sleeves that are very boldly printed with Art Deco motifs. > > Thanks again for your posting. > > Andy Baron > > > On Apr 27, 2006, at 2:13 PM, Doug wrote: > >> There are several stories that go with your inquiry. >> First, 33 1/3 RPM discs began with the Vitaphone discs pressed by >> Victor, >> and used for the sound in "The Jazz Singer" in 1927. >> >> In 1932, RCA launched a new Long Playing record that was cut at >> approximately the same pitch as the regular 78 RPM discs. These records >> played ay 33 1/3 RPM, ands were pressed in both 10 inch and 12 inch >> sizes, >> though I've never seen any 12 inch ones. I have a (very) few of the 10 >> inch >> discs. There was a special stylus that was intended for playing them, >> as >> you've already observed, and I've never seen one. I have no idea what >> the >> grind of the stylus was. I do know that if played with a regular 3 mil >> stylus, the sound from them is most inferior. It sounds blasty. Many >> articles tell that the discs were pressed from a material named >> "Victrolac", >> whatever that was, but I have a 1932 RCA dealer's fact book thet tells >> thay >> they were pressed from Vinylite. Figure that one out. These "Program >> Transcriptions" disappeared from the Victor catalogues about 1934. >> >> Now, on the changer. Victor had sold two model changers before RCA >> took them >> over. The first was full of pot metal parts that swelled, and fell >> apart, >> but if they were replaced, the changer worked rather well. The second >> generation Victor changer was a fiasco, and they had to recall them and >> rework them to the best of their ability. The changer was introduced >> before >> it was ready for production, so it is told. Fenimore Johnson had tried >> to >> hold it for final refinements thay might have made it more reliable, >> but was >> forced to release it. It was an intermix changer, meaning that it could >> chnage and play mixed sizes of records in its magazine (before it >> destroyed >> them!). >> >> The third changer to come out of Victor (now, RCA Victor) was in the >> model >> sets with a "RAE" model number. There were five models made in this >> series. >> It would change only 10 inch records. The records were held in a cast >> iron >> drum-like thing that swung over the turntable, and crudely dragged the >> bottom disc onto the turntable, after having the preciously played disc >> lifted and dropped into the swinging magazine. It did work, but >> unreliably. >> Records being pulled from the bottom of the stack might not center >> properly >> on the turntable, and end up caught in the mechanism as the magazine >> swung >> back out of the way. There was a "safety" clutch in the changer drive, >> but >> it worked best if the records were made of steel. >> >> In the 1931-32 period, mysteriously, RCA made a phnon combination that >> was >> their Radiola 82, with a Capehart model 1012 changer, which WOULD >> change >> both 10 and 12 inch records. Interesting that RCA's top line "RAE" sets >> could not change 12 inch records, from RCA Victor, the major producer >> of >> classical music, and it was almost all on 12 inch discs! >> >> As far as 10 inch-only changers, RCA did another one in the 1938 model >> line, >> with their "junior" changer that changed only 10 inch records. You >> took a >> changer post off to play 12 inch discs manually, if you wished. >> >> In my collection,I do have examples of exch of the changers mentioned >> above, >> so I speak from experience. I've serviced a lot of changers in the >> last 55 >> years or so. Many have said that RCA never made a good record changer. >> I'm >> inclined to agree. >> >> >> >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: "Robert Wright" <[email protected]> >> To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]> >> Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 5:16 AM >> Subject: [Phono-L] RCA microgroove LP demo disc from ca. 1932 - any >> info?? >> >> >>> Many of you know my area of interest is technical oddities -- odd >>> sized >>> discs, puzzle records, failed experiments with format, >>> inside-out/vertical/universal cut, and especially early attempts at >>> long >>> play discs. >>> >>> I have a question I intend to ask Kurt Nauck, but I wanted to ask you >>> folks >>> first. I'm repeatedly amazed by the depth and range of the knowledge >>> of >>> this list's members. >>> >>> I bought an RCA Victor demo record on eBay based on the description >>> in its >>> rather elaborate sleeve. It's red/orange flexible cardboard with gold >>> print >>> on the front, "RCA VICTOR DEMONSTRATION ALBUM" in bold, fat letters -- >>> very >>> 1930's art deco, typical of much RCA Victor design of that era. >>> Inside is >>> a >>> blurb printed on a page of record sleeve material, "The Music You >>> Want - >>> When You Want It". It's loaded with typical stuff about how only >>> Victor >>> records give you the full degree of pleasure, years of experience, >>> skilled >>> craftsmen, yadda yadda, with the obligatory plug for the new line of >>> RCA >>> Victor instruments, the rhetoric aimed boldly at consumers (YOUR new >>> Victor >>> phonograph, YOUR home, YOUR new records, etc.). >>> >>> This sheet mentions the differences between Chromium needles (green >>> shank), >>> Tungstone needles, regular needles, and 'red shank home recording >>> needle' >>> as >>> well as 'orange shank long playing needle'. This dates it around the >>> time >>> of RCA's takeover of Victor in 1929 and the hard push for sales they >>> made >>> in >>> the years after with home recording, 33rpm program transcriptions, and >>> picture discs. >>> >>> Here's where it gets bizarre. It mentions the brand new Automatic >>> Record >>> Changing Device and its ability to play up to 10 records >>> automatically, >>> but >>> making it clear that only 10" discs could be used "(either long >>> playing or >>> standard)". I've never seen a changer that only changed 10" discs. >>> In >>> the >>> earlier paragraph about various types of needles, it mentions standard >>> records being played with the "speed shift lever at position 1." >>> >>> Under the blurb page is a record sleeve, hole-less, with another >>> blurb. >>> This is the stranger of the two. "This is a NEW KIND of Record!" >>> calls >>> from >>> the top of the page. Then: "Here is a disc that will play several >>> times >>> as >>> long as any record of similar size you have ever heard! Twenty >>> minutes of >>> delightful entertainment have been recorded in its super-fine >>> grooves, and >>> instead of the usual few minutes of a single selection, the two sides >>> of >>> this disc will give you a complete musical sketch, with songs and >>> pleasant >>> talk by Frank Crumit; two inimitable numbers by the famous Revelers >>> with >>> Frank Black; a piano duet by Victor Arden and Phil Ohman; a brilliant >>> orchestral selection by Nathaniel Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra, >>> and >>> finally, a suite of four famous compositions by Wagner, Dvorak, >>> Rimsky-Korsakow and Tchaikowsky. It is the new RCA Victor Long >>> Playing >>> Record. Imagine this wealth of entertainment within the confines of a >>> single 10-inch disc!" >>> >>> Yeah, no kidding! Even the 12" Program Transcriptions were only 12-15 >>> minutes per side (the ones I own, anyway - if they're even that long). >>> And >>> PT's were certainly not microgroove! Heartbreakingly, the record that >>> should've come in this folder had been replaced by a crummy old Victor >>> Radio >>> Tone Demonstration record, a scroll label VE Orthophonic with Milton >>> Cross >>> announcing. It does sound positively fabulous, but it's not the >>> record I >>> was trying to buy. There were, however, a number of shards of what >>> was >>> left >>> of the original demo disc way down in the sleeve, and in addition to >>> clearly >>> being shellac, they were plainly microgrooves, without question -- not >>> quite >>> as fine as an Edison DD, but certainly as fine as Columbia's 1949 >>> microgrooves. >>> >>> All these years we've understood the 33 microgroove disc to be >>> Columbia's >>> doing. Folks, please help me if you can: exactly what failed RCA >>> experiment do I have evidence of here? >>> >>> >>> Thanks in advance, >>> Robert >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Phono-L mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> >>> Phono-L Archive >>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ >>> >>> Support Phono-L >>> http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Phono-L mailing list >> [email protected] >> >> Phono-L Archive >> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ >> >> Support Phono-L >> http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank >> > > _______________________________________________ > Phono-L mailing list > [email protected] > > Phono-L Archive > http://phono-l.oldcrank.org/archive/ > > Support Phono-L > http://www.cafepress.com/oldcrank >
