[SPAM] Re: [Phono-L] Young collectors
Douglas Houston
cdh041 at earthlink.net
Sun Jun 28 18:44:17 PDT 2009
Another one just turned on a light. One of the radios that Chevrolet
offered as factory accessories in 1937, had a volume expander on it,
believe it or not! I think I may have one in my collection of shrunken
heads. It was so simple, it was funny.
They had an incandescent bulb, across the secondary of the output
transformer, either from a special tap on the winding, or across the entire
voice coil. On soft levels, the bulb would be a low value resistive load on
the output, and attenuate it. As levels increased, the bulb would light
brighter, increasing the resistance across the speaker, and effect higher
volume. It was purely a brute-force item. There was a switch on the radio
case (they were cable-controlled sets at that time) to select expansion, in
or out. At least, I have the service bulletin, but I'm going to have to
look up the set.
Aside from the thread somewhat, Chevrolet had a radio in 1941 and 1942,
with 4 short wave bands on it. I have one in my '41 Chevy convertible.
There were some interesting things in those years of advancing
civilization.
> [Original Message]
> From: <Zonophone2006 at aol.com>
> To: <phono-l at oldcrank.org>
> Date: 6/28/2009 8:38:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [SPAM] Re: [Phono-L] Young collectors
>
> interesting
> in the 70s i knew a rock band that used the expanders too in their live
> performances
>
>
> In a message dated 6/27/2009 3:51:23 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> gbogantz1 at charter.net writes:
>
> An interesting thing about dynamic volume expanders/compressors for
> readers
> of this antique phonograph forum is that they date back to the early
> 1930s.
> dbx didn't invent them by any means. The earliest appearance of this
> circuit in consumer products was in models by E.H. Scott in the Allwave
23
> (a massive 23-tube radio divided into two or more chrome-plated chassis
-
> the volume expander was yet a separate chassis sold as an option), and
the
> RCA R-99 record player and D-22 radio/phonograph, both of which included
> the
> volume expander as standard equipment. These models appeared about
1935.
> Professional compressor circuits were being used a little earlier,
mostly
> to
> compress the signals for AM radio broadcasting (FM wasn't available
yet).
> These circuits really weren't technologically feasable until the
invention
> of the pentagrid tube (it had FIVE grids!) which was originally designed
> for
> the purpose of providing the oscillator and mixer functions in a single
> tube
> in superheterodyne radio circuits. But the extra grids allowed this
tube
> to
> be used as a DC-controlled transconductance amplifier - the variable
gain
> element necessary to accomplish dynamic volume control. Pentagrid tubes
> were used for this purpose for many years until the development of solid
> state technologies that could do the same thing. Curiously, though, the
> most popular DC-controlled amplifiers used in recording studios then and
> even NOW are a simpler technology employing light-dependent resistor
(LDR)
> elements. Even though this technology is 50 years old, modern recording
> engineers still prefer the sound of LDR compressors over the more modern
> circuits.
>
> Greg Bogantz
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <Zonophone2006 at aol.com>
> To: <phono-l at oldcrank.org>
> Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2009 5:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [SPAM] Re: [Phono-L] Young collectors
>
>
> > does anyone remember the expanders of dbx fame
> > i have and had used a lot of them back in the 70's for expanding and
> > constricting the music
> >
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 6/26/2009 11:47:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> > phonographs at charter.net writes:
> >
> > I used to work at a hi-fi stereo shop in Madison, WI about 2 years
ago
> > and
> > found that many young people were into turntables and vinyl. They
> tended
> > to
> > be high school and college age students. The biggest reason why they
> > liked
> > vinyl was because it was cheap. They could buy used records at used
> > record/CD stores and at garage sales for 99 cents or less, while the
> > average
> > used priced CD for popular music was $8.99.
> >
> > Even though these vinyl enthusiasts understood records and were
familiar
> > with them, they had little to no knowledge of 78s or cylinder records.
> > When
> > I would share this technology with them, they thought it was the
> coolest
> > thing.
> >
> > Records have been making a comeback now for several years and new
vinyl
> > is
> > being produced, although expensive at nearly $30 or more for an album.
> > Just
> > a few years ago there were high-resolution formats of digital music
> > called
> > SACD and DVD Audio. These formats were near record quality, but never
> > really caught on as they needed special players to play these discs.
> > Records actually began to overtake these formats and within a few
years
> > SACD
> > and DVD-Audio was dead.
> >
> > When CDs came out around 1983-84, it was thought they would be record
> > killers and records would go the way of the cassette tape. While
there
> > was
> > a huge decline in record and turntable sales, the market never died.
> It
> > faded away for a few years, but is coming back. There are many young
> > people
> > who appreciate the quality of high-end turntables and stereo systems
to
> > give
> > these records the respect they deserve. A good stereo system will
make
> > records sound better than a CD. Records have an ambiance that CDs
lack
> > and
> > can produce a 3D audio effect, while CDs have a monodimensional sound.
> >
> > Online music, including MP3, MP4, WMAs, etc have become very popular
in
> > recent years by people of all ages. It is a matter of convenience.
> > Convenience always wins over quality. Take disc records to cylinders
> for
> > example. Discs were more compact and soon provided two songs on one
> > disc,
> > even though they didn't sound quite as good as cylinders at the turn
of
> > the
> > century. Online music also allows you to buy only the songs you want,
> > eliminating the waste of a full album and is more cost effective.
This
> > is
> > proving to be the demise of the CD. Many stores have reduced the
space
> > used
> > to carry the once mighty CD. Perhaps the CD will one day go away as
> > well.
> > This awaits to be seen.
> >
> > Many of the younger people who are a product of the iPOD generation
may
>
> > not
> > have heard records and probably have never heard a good sounding
stereo
> > system. That is a shame because it is an experience to behold. All
we
> > can
> > do is educate and share this information with these younger
generations
> > in
> > order to keep the analog recording alive and well.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org
> > [mailto:phono-l-bounces at oldcrank.org]On Behalf Of Robert Wright
> > Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 4:31 PM
> > To: Antique Phonograph List
> > Subject: [SPAM] Re: [Phono-L] Young collectors
> >
> >
> > But because DJ'ing is 'cool', some of that mentality rubs off on
(young)
> > consumers. We have a more phono-conscious youth culture now than in
the
> > last 20 years because of it. Meanwhile, analog (vinyl, strictly
> > speaking)
> > has been strengthening its foothold in the audiophile market (and
> > publications) VERY solidly since '97 or so, and there are more record
> > labels
> > (both large-scale that release on vinyl AND indie labels dedicated
> > strictly
> > to audiophile pressings) today than ever. Someone else on the list
> said
> > it
> > already -- it comes and goes in cycles, as it always has -- remember
the
> > pre-war blues 78 market back when Gayle Dean Wardlow risked his life
> > canvassing for them in the 60's?
> >
> > The truth is, we only know the state of things as we can see them,
and
> > none
> > of us ever really has an accurate idea of the overall picture
> > (thankfully).
> >
> > Best to all,
> > Robert
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "John Maeder" <appywander at hotmail.com>
> > To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org>
> > Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 3:30 PM
> > Subject: RE: [Phono-L] Young collectors
> >
> >
> >
> > Yes, that was my line of thinking exactly what with club DJs
scratching,
> > etc., when I planned my talk. I think, perhaps, that club DJ's are
the
> > primary consumer of vinyl and 'civilians' simply aren't exposed to it
> in
> > a
> > hands-on home environment anymore. Having said that, I recently read
> > that
> > vinyl record production is at its highest level in a couple of decades
> > right
> > now, although still just a very small fraction of unit sales. I
guess
> > just
> > music 'geeks' buy vinyl nowadays? Even CDs and DVDs are in sales
> decline
> > now because of MP3 and MP4.
> >
> > John M
> >
> >> From: jay.horenstein at gmail.com
> >> To: phono-l at oldcrank.org
> >> Subject: RE: [Phono-L] Young collectors
> >> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:18:34 -0700
> >>
> >> Vinyl isn't a thing of the past. It's still used in clubs.
Turntables
> > are
> >> used as instruments in Rap, Hip Hop, R&B. Classes on how to use them
> >> as instruments are given to aspiring DJ's. Stereos are still sold in
> >> almost
> >> every large store, and new artists are still recording on vinyl.
It's
> >> my
> >> guess that the young people ignorant of the record player, download
> all
> >> their music from the internet, and are probably just as clueless to
the
> >> CD.
> >
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