DRBILL

My usual sources for Magnequest Transformers (Dynaco/Dynakit) have dried up. Neither Joe Curcio at Dynaco Doctor nor Ned at Triode Electronics Online can produce them, citing "no response" at Magnequest. If it turns out that they have stopped production of these original Dyna drop-in items, it is going to make a radical change in the landscape for those of us who use and restore vintage equipment. Mark IV power transformers have not been available for sometime. Maybe the other shoe has dropped. If any of you brothers know of a source for NOS or used power and/or output trannys for the Mark III's, I would be grateful if your could respond. I've got a pair of these on the bench, completely restored with all the upgrades, waiting for iron. Thanks for your help. DR BILL

Dave, I can't add a thing to what DeanG wrote. I couldn't have said it that well with that brevity. Those of us who are in the "helping professions" deal with these sorts of things every day. There is a whole branch of theology called THEODICY which essentially asks the question,"Why do bad things happen to good people?" Or, more simply, "If God is Omnipotent, pure goodness, how can there be evil and suffering?" This is a murky area which we try to hide from public view. WE are, after all, the "Answer People?" If theodicy has no other purpose, it has done its job well in keeping theologians humble. The Black community, so accustomed to pain, turmoil and humiliation, has a wonderful saying: "Look over and see Jesus!" So simple, yet so effective. An ancient priest on his deathbed once said to me, "Bill, the best evidence that I have for the life to come is the insoluble mess that we have made of our present life!" Go for optimism. Say your prayers. Tell God how angry you are at Him. He is a big guy. He can take it. It is a starting place. There are a lot of us that are here for you. You know how to be in touch. Father Bill

---------------- On 5/10/2004 3:34:37 PM hwatkins wrote: I figured father bill was going to recount working at the factory that made these horns..... (not that I would be making fun of older folks) ---------------- WORKED there?!! I OWNED the place! DR BILL

I wonder if you could get those cast in brass? DR BILL

Beautiful job. I am wondering if additional center support might be needed on the power supply board? That's a lot of iron! DR BILL

I would be the first to admit that the Theatre Organ is not one of my specialties (fan that I am of my recordings)! I worked with Larry Phelps at Casavant in the '60's when the N. German Revival was taking hold and that was a world away. I stand to be corrected, but I recall that the Wurlitzer Post Horn/Trumpet/Sax pipes were sheet brass with a spun brass bell. Interestingly, Earnest Skinner, G. Donald Harrison and Henry Willis got far better results using standard pipe materials! So, it might not have been the brass at all. But, like you, I can't wait to find out what your experiment reveals. Keep us up to speed. DR BILL

16 Years Old, 1955. Klipschorns in an old residence that Paul was using as a showroom in "downtown" Hope, Arkansas. I knew I would never be the same. I had to have some. It only took me 48 years! DR BILL

Having been in the pipe organ building business for many years as a youth, this question is very interesting to me on several levels. I'm unaware of any organ builders that have brass foundry capabilities. Our firm (one of the largest and oldest) cast sheets of tin/lead alloy, but we outsourced sheet zinc and sheet brass. Sheet stock was formed over wooden mandrels and soldered or brazed in order to make organ pipes. Now, I have seen sheet metal audio horns which were soldered together. But they were of double thickness and filled with hot pitch to damp them from resonances. Somewhere in storage, I have an old Altec/Lansing multi-cell theatre horn made this way. It wasn't bad at all. My son used it a while with a 15" Jensen bass reflex woofer and a Klipsch tweeter and crossover with the other chanel being a '55 K-Horn. Not shabby. I agree with other posters --a cast brass audio horn would be interesting from a cosmetic point of view, but a disaster as an audio horn unless seriously damped. DR BILL

OK. Here is the rest of my story. Why don't you keep them and do what I did? I bought two Heresy crossovers and two Heresy squawkers. The midrange had to be mounted outboard, on the top, for lack of cabinet depth. The crossover can be mounted inside the enclosure. I connected the Tangent horn to the tweeter connection, the Heritage mid to the mid connection, and the cone speakers to the woofer connection. The results were not bad. It sounded like a Heresy, but with extended bass, although a bit "thumpy". It is the L-R of our TV surround. I understand your concern with your children's safety. But let's face it. Even PWK said the Tangent was a failure. Seriously, I give a lot of stuff to charity. I save more money on taxes than I could ever hope to achieve in sales. Everybody comes out ahead. Of course, everybody's tax situation is different. DR BILL

Well, this is so tedious. Why doesn't everybody come up for air. Don't you know when you have been spoofed? DR BILL

This is a very interesting AND important point about polarity. We are not actually talking about electric shock as a detector. With nothing else hooked up to the amplifier, rub the back of a finger across the metal of the amplifier. If it is correctly polarized you will feel nothing. Otherwise, you will "feel" a slight hum. Another, easier, test is with a simple neon circuit tester. Hold one probe with your fingers and touch the other probe to the amplifier. If you see a very dim flicker, reverse the plug. I emphasize that nothing else should be connected to the amplifier while making this test. If other non-polarized gear is present in the system, it also should be given the same test while standing alone. Use a felt marker to identify plug/receptacle correct positioning for later use. This is something that oldtimers knew to do, but ceased to be an issue with polarized plugs. DR BILL

Welcome! You will find a wealth of information here. We are almost like a family. So-much-so, we occasionally scrap! Don't let that deter you. Boys will be boys. Be tough. Father Bill

TEX, Rope is too merciful. I was thinking Low Oxygen Monster Cable for which no useful purpose has yet been found. FATHER+

HENRY, I'm a TEXAN, too (Fort Worth, which is as good as it gets). Watch your mouth, Son, or the same boys will be on your patio. It doesn't take divine intervention. FATHER BILL

Having been in the "metaphysical" business most of my adult life, I have been very cautious not to "prophesy" out loud or in print. I can hold my dark fears while keeping my own council. Once something is published, it takes on a sort of reality that can be self-fulfilling (like telling children, "While I'm gone, don't put beans up your nose!"). I know it was a joke. It had the expected effect. You are forgiven --but don't do it again or we may have to send some of the boys around! FATHER BILL

There may be a little confusion in Tiger's suggestions as to which board does what. The cap board usually has the bias fix, not the driver board. "If it ain't broke don't fix it." is still reliable advice. I wish I had followed it more often. DR BILL

The short answer is "yes", they will wuss out. The good news is that "normal" recordings will be as good as it gets. I have a couple of MARK III's on my bench right now. I expect at 60 W each, they will be a nice replacement for my Williamsons. Maybe, in your case, it wont have to be either/or. Why not have SET's for some things and PP beef for others? Just a thought! Some people have White Jetta Diesel station wagons AND Red Miata's. Ask my wife. (Or, maybe don't!) DR BILL

Forrest mentioned the Dorian label (Dorian.com); you will find lots of fantastic digitally recorded organs played by Jean Guillou. One of my personal favorites is: "Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/Igor Stravinsky: Three Dances from Petrouchka", transcribed for organ by Jean Guillou (Dorian, DOR-90117). ----- HOLY you know what! On this recommendation I ordered this disk. It will blow you away! It is a technically splended recording (DDD) on a splended organ played by a splendid organist. It will make many friends for Klipschorns, pipe organs, and Mussorgsky. Now you purists, don't scramble your eggs! Don't forget that the orchastral rendition was ALSO a transcription. So why not for pipe organ?! My 6BG6 Williamsons (20 W. x3 ) ran out of steam! In the dark I could see the erie blue haze that they make start to flicker! This is a MUST HAVE. You can order it on line from DORIAN cserve@dorian.attmail.com. $19.99 including shipping. Trust me on this one. DR BILL

Well --- It might not be that drastic. Kill the snake closest to you. He is not trying to create a museum piece. DR BILL

Yo, Dave, If he had said 40's-50's, you might have something worth restoring. But 70's? Most of that stuff is furniture. I'd take a pass --unless you really need a boat anchor! DR BILL

I really am uncomfortable with the readings you are getting from the bias set. Is the selenium stack still in use in your unit or has it been replaced with a diode? What about the 50mfd electrolytics? You might want to clean the bias pot, the same way you clean volume or tone controls --spray it with cleaner/lube and work it back and forth several times. I have even had to replace them when the bias would not hold steady. Yes, good 7199's can be pricy. Do you have a friend with a tube tester that can check them for shorts/leaks/gas, etc. I'm a great believer in the old "thump" test. Might as well test the EL-34's at the same time. I have seen some really bad ones lately with the cathode coating falling like dandruff after only 6 months duty. Long distance trouble-shooting is tough! DR BILL

I was wondering who had similar early R to R tapes and how early. I have about 25. I play them on a NOS AMPEX which came from a defunct radio station. They are better than CD but not as good as vinyl. This is a response to who had the earliest CS's. DR BILL

ANYBODY want to talk about commercial reel to reel? I have a shelf full of these! DR BILL

DIE GROSSE SILBERMANNORGEL DES DOMES ZU FREIBURG, Hans Otto, organist. DENON C37-7004, 1982. It is a Japanese issue. Notes in Japanese and German. Price: ¥3,800. DR BILL

I had the "studio" (flat black) model of the same speaker when I was in college. I think my boss hand stole it from WLSU when he left there. I think I gave him $25, which was a piece of change back then. It was really a very good speaker. The crossover was screwy. It jumped an 8Ù input to 600Ù for the crossover which used tiny chokes and capacitors. Then back down to 8Ù for the woofer and coaxial tweeter. I gave that a toss and opted for an EV squawker and tweeter mounted outboard on the top. In the picture, the Wolverine tweet, crossover and L-pad are also mods. DR BILL