In a cafe near the place where I stay parts of the summer, the owner some
years ago got a restored 1925 Duo-Art piano donated from a retired
collector.

The cafe, "Thomasgaarden Cafe", in the small town Roros of Norway, is
well known as an art gallery, as well as serving food and giving concerts
to small audiences.  So if someone of you wants to see a player piano on
your trip to Norway, and the little "tourist goal" town Roros,
"Thomasgaarden Cafe" is the place where you should visit!

Now for the problem: The piano seems to play reasonably loud, and it has
at least some expression when operated by the pedals.  However when the
motor is turned on, forte fortissimo is the only level it will play at.
I suspect that the motor, which is a 230V 50 Hz replacement for the
original 115V 60Hz, runs far too fast.  The pump is the black square box
with four pumping bellows inside it, with a large swing wheel outside.
I'm just on vacation here, but is interested in helping the cafe owner,
as I seem to be by the few ones, knowing something about player pianos
around here.

The measurable hard facts are that the motor runs at 1275 rpm, with a
small belt driving wheel about an inch or so in diametre, driving the
pump, and that the player seems really tight, and fully operable with
some expression operated by pumping the pedals evenly.

Do anyone know how rapidly the large swing-wheel should rotate in an
upright Duo-Art system, or the vacuum level the pump should give?

Where may I in a simple way connect a clear plastic tube to measure the
vacuum level that the pump gives?

A common problem with motor driven mechanical instruments seems to be the
difference in electric currency between Europe and the USA.

Will a 230/115VAC transformer work just fine, or will the 50/60 Hz
frequency difference still affect the performance of motors in mechanical
instruments?

Sincerely
Thomas Henden, Norway.