I just got in a shipment of 50 Sankyo movements.  I sell the 20-note
Sankyo maneville movements -- _with_ 5 pre-punched strips, 2 unpunched
strips, and a hole puncher -- for $55.00 plus postage.  Will ship
internationally too!  Visa/MasterCard charges accepted.  They should
go quickly!

You asked me:

> An interesting feature of the Sankyo movement is the aiding torque,
> which is constantly applied to the star wheels, such that the punched
> paper strip or disc needs to present only a hole to activate the star
> wheel.  Is this technique new and unique?

Actually, no, it is not new.  From my experience over the last 30
years, I've found that _all_ the disc boxes have a braking system
in place for the star wheels.  No star wheel can be left to 'free
wheel'; the wheel must be in a certain position (neutral position)
in order for the disc projection to engage it properly and push it
the proper amount.  (The turning of the star wheel also affects the
function of the damper... so it must be controlled!)

If the wheel had no brake on it, it would constantly be moving and,
when the disc projection came around it could easily hit the point of
the star wheel instead of the valley, causing tremendous resistance
and making the projection want to jump or 'snap' over the star wheel.
This can cause damage to the disc projection (flattening or bending it)
and/or bending or breaking of the star wheel point.

Mermod (Stella) boxes also had a braking system incorporated into the 
star wheel assembly.  The brake on the Stella is a cup-shaped piece of
steel in the shape of a cloverleaf and is between the tension bar and
the star wheel.  The star wheel assembly consists the star wheels,
a spring and a tension bar for each wheel, all of which are held in
place by a common pin.  (Each star wheel, spring and tension bar is an
individual 'unit'.)  The 'units' are soldered to the underside of the
star wheel 'block'.  The tension bar provides the upward tension for
the wheels.

Other companies had different braking assemblies:  Symphonion and some
other makers often had separate brake rails screwed to the underside
or back of the star wheel block and their damper rails screwed to the
bedplate.  Regina, Polyphon and other makers incorporated the brake
into the shape of the damper.

No matter how it was accomplished, the star wheels _must_ have brakes
to operate effectively!

Happy to answer any questions!

Nancy Fratti - Panchronia Antiquities
PO BOX 210 - Whitehall, NY 12887-0210 USA
518-282-9770  or fax: 518-282-9800
E-mail:  musicbox@sover.net

PS:  Regarding the hotel situation for the MBSI Convention: the rooms
for Tues-Wed are gone, but there are still some for Thurs-Saturday.