Phonograph cylinder

Format

The Edison cylinders, named after its inventor Thomas Alva Edison are about 10.5 cm long in standard size and measure about 5.1 cm in diameter. They have a thickness of about 5 mm and are hollow. The interior of an Edison - roller is conically shaped so that it can be pushed onto the support without slipping after. There are many variations thereof and special formats of other manufacturers such as the rolling of Columbia or Pathé. The rolls were first produced from a brownish wax, whose components are easily distinguished over again. There are different types of wax for this or resins and Natronseife used. For the native format of Henri Lioret celluloid was used already in the 1890s for the first time.

Technology

The recording consists of a funnel which directs the sound to a membrane. This is equipped with a sharp pin, as alternately flatter and deeper groove in the wax of the rotating roll engraved the sound vibrations ( subscript ). To play the rotating at the same speed wax cylinder is scanned with a rounded diamond or glass ball. Forwards the vibrations via a lever system to a membrane made ​​of glass, mica, copper or aluminum, which moves according to thereby reproduce the sound. Using a funnel, this will be amplified and sent back to the environment. Depending on whether voice or music has been recorded, the number of revolutions per minute, was between 80 and 144/rpm. It was often arbitrarily varied (e.g. 136/rpm ). It was not until 1902 there was a uniform speed of rollers ( 160/rpm ), which was widely respected.

The membrane containing the sound can is in Edison devices always a mechanical device ( the spindle ) is moved forward so as to follow the groove. This is required for devices that are intended for recording also, necessarily, because they have the groove in this case, yes only form. Other manufacturers, especially in Germany, on the other hand built phonograph, where as with a gramophone groove takes over the propulsion of the soundbox itself. These were cheaper to produce, but is only suitable for playback.

Development

Mid- 1886, the first wax cylinder was presented with a dictation of Chichester A. Bell and Charles Sumner Tainter ( 1854-1940 ). This had a completely different format and consisted of a cardboard core with coated wax. Founded by Bell and Tainter little later Columbia company sold its own phonograph under the name Graphophone.

In 1888, Edison took over the idea of ​​using wax as a recording medium, and introduced its own format, which prevailed as the standard. A collaboration with Bell and Tainter he had recently rejected vigorously. The Edison cylinders were full of wax and had no cardboard core. In 1902, Edison introduced the black wax cylinder (Gold Moulded Record). These rolls were the preparation, much harder and had a clearer and louder sound than their predecessors. It also comprised a mixture of wax and soap. Due to the increased hardness could be the rollers with a higher coating weight (12 g) play, which resulted in a fair play. However, these so-called hard -cast, even cast gold rolls were called, to be more fragile than their predecessors. The groove density was 100 tpi ( tracks per inch), which led to a playing time of about 2 ½ minutes at a speed of 160/rpm. In 1908, the first wax cylinders were manufactured with four minutes of playing time. This was possible because the grooves here were twice as close together. This wax cylinders and the 2 -minute version were produced by Edison until 1912, the British firm Clarion set 2 -minute wax cylinders forth until the 1920s. The Diktierphonographen produced from 1908 used a groove density of 150 tpi, so the use of prerecorded music rolls were excluded.

End

After the development of more durable and less space requiring shellac disk of the German -born American inventor Emil Berliner, the wax cylinder had no future, although the phonograph was not until the 1950s as a dictaphone in the office to use. The main advantage of the disk was in the easy reproducibility and use of the second side 1904. In the summer of 1929, Thomas Alva Edison gave the last of the since 1912 manufactured from celluloid rolls, the so-called Blue Amberols from.

Edison had attended in 1912 with its own record format ( Diamond disc) and even produced records with a playing time of up to 24 minutes at a speed of 80/rpm in the 1920s. Edison resisted the electrical recording, as he could perceive no advantages over the acoustic recording with a funnel due to a hearing impairment. Recently even normal shellac records and gramophones case of Edison were offered. In 1929, his son Charles Edison to rescue the Edison Phonograph Company with the production of radios, which failed tried. In the same year, the Edison Phonograph Company presented their business in sound recordings and equipment completely.