Victor Animatograph speaker

[jrmintz]

Hi,

I picked this cabinet up at a yard sale for $20.00. I don't know how to figure out if the field coil and speaker are working. Is there any 'vintage charm' to this speaker if it is working or should I just toss it and put a modern speaker in the cabinet?

Thanks,

Seth

[snoof]

that transformer could be the OT for the amp?  hard to tell from the pics.  could just be a reg alnico speaker.

[Dynaflow]

 Not sure either, aren't these just a cabinet that went with a 16mm projector?

Regards,

Dyna

Ps: It won't hurt a thing to box that stuff up and put a regular speaker in there. Heck it is a cool looking little cab.

[jrmintz]

Thanks.

Yes, it went with a Victor projector. It's the grill that caught my attention - I think it's a pretty cool looking cabinet.

[stingray_65]

I am NO AUTHORITY on field coil speakers

I'm looking at a field coil speaker on my bench and it has 4 terminals

2 for the magnet coil and 2 for the voice coil

or so i think :)

[Frankenamp]

It's hard to tell from the angle of the bottom photo. If you can post one that is about 30 degrees lower than the bottom photo- so we can see the lower portion of the speaker (the connection area) more clearly. However Stingray65 is correct: 4 connections would definatly be a field coil speaker. I've seen a few that use a common chassis connection (and those are totally unsafe). The general 'look'  says PM driver- but I could be wrong.

[jrmintz]

Here's some pictures of the transformer and attachment points. How can I tell if it would be usable in a guitar amp context? How can I tell the impedance?

[Frankenamp]

So far, it still looks like a PM speaker. I'm curious as to the connections on the other end of the cable. It looks like a pretty non-standard wiring job to me. I think that that round plug with the pin will change impedance, and the two connector socket that looks like a power plug is actually for an extension speaker. Maybe PRR has seen it's like before. It's definatly non-standard and non-safe.  To check impedance, just unhook the transformer, and put a meter across the terminals. multiply the number by 1.414 ie. 3.2 is 4 ohms, 5 or 6 ohms is about 8 ohms, and 12 ohms DC is about 16 ohms AC. This will give you a 'ballpark' figure. all speakers have a impedance curve that varies from DC resistance to somewhere between 20 and a hundred ohms. (that all depends on the voice coil suspension stiffness and strength of the gauss in the magnetic gap)

[jrmintz]

Frankenamp, I don't know what you mean by a "PM" speaker.

Thanks for all the information,

Seth

[Dynaflow]

 I think he means Permanent Magnet...

Regards,

Dyna

[Frankenamp]

Sorry,  PM is audiospeak for a Permenant Magnet. could be alnico, ceramic or neodymium... just a generic class division like white or brown bread. +1 Dynaflow! (was hoping that one of the old-timers would chime in... I'm sure they had those to show movies on the Ark...)

[Dynaflow]

  Yeah, the ark had movies.. The in voyage food was a bit rough, the animals would get annoyed at the thought of a bbq.. 

Regards,

Dyna

[jrmintz]

Thanks everyone. The speaker is 8 ohms, and it works great. The cool thing is, aside from the grill, is that the back comes off. It can be open back or closed.