Cable Motor
By Larry Fisher
I have a very old electric motor that has a burned out starting winding. This motor was in a Cable player piano, the likes of which I've never seen. I haven't dug through any of my reference materials to figure out what kind of player mechanism is in the beast, but it seems to be a reproducer. The upright piano is totally filled with mechanisms. There isn't hardly any room to work on it with out first removing the sub-assembly that needs attending to. On the treble side panel below the keyboard, is an assembly that has numerous inverted L shaped levers to adjust something along with a warning sign saying not to mess with them unless you really know what your doing. I haven't messed with them yet, but boy am I tempted! Anyway, a previous tech turned on the motor, and not knowing what a motor sounded like when it's not healthy, continued to look around, pump by foot, play by hand, and then commented on the smell. Soon the room was filled with smoke and the motor was shut off. The tech then suggested the lady give me a call, and have me fix the problem. The starting winding is cooked. To rewind the motor has been estimated at $300 my cost. One would think they could buy a new motor for less than that, however, I'm a bit concerned about the RPM's and the other ratings that I know very little about. I've heard rumors that the speed was specially set at 50 RPM's. I can't see any harm at slightly more speed, since 60 is the present standard. There is no specifications plate on the motor, just a plate that says Cable Piano Co. Does anyone know a model number, stock number or such for a good replacement motor for this instrument?? I have a Grainger Supply here in town to go to. I guess I need some advice from someone that has been through this before I go headlong into some new territory. Any takers??
Lar
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(Message sent Fri 19 Jan 1996, 15:04:32 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.) |
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