Minifon P55 wire recorder , pocket size of mid 1950s

N_Cook · 2011-08-15T07:19:04+00:00

Anyone aware of any pitfalls for the unwary renovator? Its been in anEnglish garden shed for 40 years. But all mechanicals seem to be ok,despite patchy rust and grime. Spool bearings and sprung tri-ball retainersfunction, "winch-winding" head up and down mechanism works, motor turns byhand, "capstan" cylinder rotates, and deck slides across on piano keyactivation.All rubber parts perished. One electrolytic has its aluminium case corrodedto dust.I intend getting just the mechanicals in working order , hook the play headup to a modern tape recorder amplifier to hear what is on the wire drums,before looking at the electronics proper. All 3 peanut valves and all therest of the electronics seem to be present. At least the previous ownerremoved and discarded the 3 batteries 40 years ago.There is one brand new Protona set of spools with security tape around theoutside of its case but also yellow thread with Protona logo stamped leadseal on this thread linking the spools. What is that security aspect about ,I cannot find a www reference to that.much prettier looking one know of a www higher resolution version of the schematic on the lastof the second page?user manual

Aug 15, 2011 20 Replies

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Adrian Tuddenham 15 years ago

That's gigantic compared with the wire diameter. You run the risk of it hitching in adjacent turns and causing a snarl-up. Don't risk it, knots are quite good enough.

I doubt if any glue would successfully bond to PTFE.

(If PTFE is non-stick, how do they get the PTFE coating to stick to saucepans?)

~ Adrian Tuddenham ~ (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply) www.poppyrecords.co.uk

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