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MMD > Archives > November 2008 > 2008.11.12 > 01Prev  Next


Thorens Musical Box From Ice Cream Truck
By Jaques Haas

I have a Thorens disc music box that came out of a 1960s-era ice
cream truck.  It's driven by an electric motor that turns a worm gear
that turns two disc gears.  One of the disc gears is plastic and --
Surprise, surprise! -- it broke, so I'm looking for a replacement
if such a thing exists.  Let me know if you need me to provide any
pictures.

Another issue is the built-in amplifier is broken.  It has an RCA
audio jack on the rear, but currently it's not putting out any signal.
I don't understand exactly how the amplification works, but there's
some thin wire wrapped around the comb part of the music box, which is
attached to a magnet.  From there it goes to a volume potentiometer,
then to an amplifier.  Something is broken somewhere in the line, since
I'm not getting any output.  The amplifier hasn't worked since I've
owned it so I have no theory there.

Thanks for any help, and let me know if any more information is needed.

Jaques Haas

 [ An old-time auto radio shop can repair the amplifier for you.
 [ The audio transducer is "variable reluctance magnetic", the same
 [ technique as used in guitar pickups placed underneath steel strings.
 [ -- Robbie


(Message sent Wed 12 Nov 2008, 05:16:58 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Box, Cream, Ice, Musical, Thorens, Truck

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