What? I didn't buy a PHONE?!

[Greg G.]

Nope, been wanting one of these for a while, a wind up Victrola.  I wanted a nice-looking working one with a cabinet that was in good shape, as my preference is for working antiques.  First thing I did was look for extra needles, and found out you can only use the needles twice, otherwise you damage the record.  That would explain why the demo record he used didn't sound very well, but Barber of Seville sounded better. 

There's a trivia question that goes with this.  At the end of the video, when the record is done, I say something that is a take on a scene in a famous movie that also involved a record player, although not a Victrola.  Try to name the movie and the scene.  Hint: Early 70s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC9TWdkvBa4 ( dead link 04-26-21 )

[Steve]

Pretty cool Victrola Briny! I always wanted one but never found one I could afford. I used to haves hundreds of 78's too.

is that a bull terrier in your other video?

[Dan]

Couldn't understand what you said:(

[Dennis Markham]

Nor could I. 

Nice record machine though.  I have a similar one.  Not made by RCA.  Mine was made by Brunswick.  It was my grandmother's.  She gave it to me when I was 15 and I've had it in my possession ever since.

[Greg G.]

The word I'm uttering is "Amazement".  It was a stuck record repeating the word.  Another clue?  It was in a hospital.  For some reason, that particular part of that particular scene has always stuck (no pun) in my head.

Maybe I'm making this too hard.  Try to do this w/o giving it away.  The main character goes to visit a relative in the hospital.  On his way down the hall, he observes a room with the stuck record playing with a half-eaten sandwich laying beside it.

[Greg G.]

Nor could I. 

Nice record machine though.  I have a similar one.  Not made by RCA.  Mine was made by Brunswick.  It was my grandmother's.  She gave it to me when I was 15 and I've had it in my possession ever since.

Yeah, I saw some other really nice Brunswicks on CL, but they were in the $500-$600 range.  I remember a genuine Victrola (the actual company) that my grandparents used to have.

[Greg G.]

is that a bull terrier in your other video?

Yes, that's Freyja, a mini bull terrier.

[Greg G.]

The answer is - The Godfather.  The scene where Michael goes to visit his father in the hospital after he got shot up and finds nobody guarding him.  At one point in the scene, he looks into an unoccupied room at a table.  On the table there's a half-eaten sandwich next to a record player that's playing a record that's stuck on the word "amazement".

[LarryInMichigan]

Victrolas, and the like, show up on the Detroit Craigslist site frequently.  I would consider buying one if I had somewhere to put it.  Yesterday, I did however, but a 1929 Stewart Warner console radio from craigslist.  There's a young (15-16) guy near here who has a large collection of antique radios and buys, restores, shows, and sells them.  It was an interesting visit to his house, seeing dozens of beautiful radios from the 1920's-1940's.  His father is very supportive of his hobby.  It was a nice change to see a young, capable person involved in a such a productive and interesting activity.  It is also advantageous that his parents have a large house.

The radio I bought may or may not work.  Unlike old telephones, one does not just plug in an 80 year old radio to see if it works or not.  With +/-400V voltages present, the consequences of something not working properly can be much worse than a missed phone call.  When I have a few hours, I will need to carefully examine and test the radio to see if it will work.  There is a service tag attached to the power cord from when it was repaired, in 1947.


Larry

[Greg G.]

Mine actually needs some work also.  Besides getting a quantity of needles, I discovered it poops out and won't play the entire record on a full wind.  I kinda thought for the price it probably would need some tuning up, but as long as it had basic functionality, the cabinet was in good shape, turntable looked good, I was ok with it.