[fmlondon]

Was the beam-of-light phonograph one speed or two speeds?

Thank you.

[Ron Ramirez]

1941 models which had the beam of light changer used a single speed (78 rpm) unit.

Higher-end 1942 models with the beam of light changer used a two speed (78 and 39 rpm) unit. Why 39 rpm? That is a question only dead Philco engineers can answer...and dead men tell no tales. I've never seen any documentation explaining that odd decision.

Since you titled this thread "Philco 42-1016" I assume this is the radio you are asking about. The 42-1016 used the same changer as the 42-1015, two speed, gold in color.

[BrendaAnnD]

Exactly half speed. Interesting.

[morzh]

I think I might be able to answer the question for the dead Philco engineers.

A similar feature did exist on many record players in 50-s, 16 rpm, half of the 33-1/2.
It was also used for playing 16-2/3 rpm records but those never became to popular and were used for radio. mostly spoken programming.

But they also gained the name of "transcription" players ad at exactly half speed they would allow playing the record at exactly the same key at half speed, which was convenient for transcribing music into notes in bands.

Perhaps 39, being exactly 1/2 of 78, could be used for the same purpose when 33-1/2 speed was not yet conceived.

[Ron Ramirez]

Ah, but 33-1/3 rpm records had already been developed for the Vitaphone system in 1927! Those early 33-1/3 rpm records were not microgroove as were the postwar Columbia LP records, and soon disappeared once sound-on-film techniques were perfected.

https://www.history-of-rock.com/record_formats.htm

[mikethedruid]

That's correct Ron... and... the speed is 33 1/3, and the "talking record" speed was 16 2/3, or half that speed. I remember the 16 2/3 was used a lot back in the 1950s and 1960s for recording books for the blind. I remember these records in the library, along with special heavy duty type record players.

Most people in this Phorum are too old to remember the big battle between RCA and Columbia over record speeds. Columbia came out with 33 1/3 records just before WW2, but paused their introduction during the war because nobody was making players, all manufacturing had turned to war production. They came back out with them after the war, when consumer production resumed. RCA came out with 45 RPM records right after, which they had been developing just before the war while Columbia was developing the 33 1/3. They claimed, correctly, that the 45 was capable of better fidelity, which it is because the groove vibrations from side to side are longer for a given frequency at the higher RPM. Remember, this was still in the days of monaural records. Anyway, both systems survived. The 33 1/3 became the standard for long playing albums. It was especially good for classical music recordings since they could fit an entire movement of a symphony on one side. RCA did make long playing 45s with microgrooves, but they only lasted 7 1/2 minutes at most per side. RCA even came out with some 45 "albums" with 2 songs on each side of the record, and 2 or 3 records in the box. Eventually the 45 became the standard for "singles" while the 33 1/3 became the standard for albums. My family were quite familiar with all this since my godmother started as a secretary for, and eventually became a vice president of RCA Camden. I still have more than a dozen of the boxed 45 "albums" from those early days.

[fmlondon]

Thank you for all of that excellent information!  The 42-1016 is indeed a goal, one of three large units I would love to have.

If you ever consider parting with any of those 45 albums, I would be interested,  I have a few 45 albums, including the original Broadway Cast recording of Oklahoma!, as well as classical albums.  I would love to know if they were still making albums when stereo 45s were introduced.