In Digest 980118 Bernt Damm wrote:

> I would like to hear the comments from users of the Ragtime
> Automated Music spool frames.  I have been informed that these are
> made of ABS plastic; is this true, and how rigid and durable are
> they?  Is the tracker bar made of metal, does the tracking work,
> do the screws strip easily?

I spent over two weeks last summer trying to get my Ragtime spool
frame to stop folding the edges of "O" rolls.  Forget it!  Those rolls
are too expensive to experiment with something like that.

The main problem is the plastic is too thin, letting the whole thing
flex out of alignment when any brake pressure at all is introduced.
Second, the roll chuck springs are too strong (to compensate for
tracking) and this also pushes the whole frame grossly out of align-
ment.  The frame is under so much strain from the springs, you can
actually hear the plastic creaking when running.

The roll chucks are made of plastic, bearings and all.  Just imagine
what would happen to those plastic bearings and gears after heavy use.
The gear motor is strong: a direct current 12-volt motor with a crudely
regulated power supply.  The speed will vary at the least change in the
house supply voltage.  The motor reverses during rewind.  There is no
shifting gears into reverse -- it has one-way ratchet bearings pressed
into the plastic gears.

The tracker bar is plastic, the nipples on the back fan out into three
rows.  The center row is a straight shot, But the top and bottom rows
are too restrictive; any pneumatics tubed into these will play weakly:
the valve will lift, but it drops out before it should.

In order for this frame to work at all, the brakes have to be very
tight and it will damage the edges of your roll after playing it
through several times.  If the brake is loosened to stop this, it will
sit and jump back and forth between rewind and play.

Player Piano Co. [in Wichita, Kansas] sells a great frame made from
the good stuff.  Even a regular old player piano spoolbox will work far
better than the Ragtime unit.  I have been talking to Glen, the
production manager at Ragtime.  He sent me a "improved" set of
pneumatics.  I haven't had time to use them yet, so we shall see if
they are better than the leaky set I got last year.

Andy Taylor
Tempola Music Rolls