It is Saturday once again, and that can mean only one thing! It is time for Quixotic Quantum Quandary–Q³! Today’s Quandary is something special, because I don’t even know what it is, but between the googles and the high random knowledge propensity I feel certain all AT commenters have, I think it can be solved. Hit the jump to see more!
I have been know to peruse Craigslist from time to time, and the Free section always holds a certain draw. Yes, the large majority of the things posted on there are absolute junk, and people are just looking to avoid paying an oversize garbage fee or taking a trip to the dump. But if you keep an eye on it, from time to time some good stuff pops up.
One weekend I saw a post for a house clean out type yard sale. Everything was free, so maybe a yard free is a more appropriate term.
I dragged the family along, and went through the boxes of junk in the driveway, and dug through a garage filled with a Hoarders quality stash of random things.
I tried to pick out a few semi-non-worthless nuggets, and this was one of them.
It was a little depressing to hear the folks running the non-sale sale talk about all the stuff they had found going through everything before they opened it up to the public, as it were, and then hauled everything off undoubtably.
I am not really sure how one goes about ending up with a house load of stuff to get rid of from old folks that you are unrelated too, but it seems to have happened here.
I have done a little bit of research, and I have idea what it may be, but I want to see what you guys come up with!
Like last week, if you need a little help, here is a hint that might come in handy.
One thing I neglected to add last week is a call for parts! At some point the day will come when my stash begins to run out, and expanding the collection always carries with it certain familial hazards. So if you have a super strange piece of some old or neglected technology, please send some photos my way! Just email HycoSpeed@gmail.com and throw Q³ in the subject line so I’ll see it.
Well, it's some sort of variable transformer. If it's made by Wurlitzer I imagine that it's meant for an organ. Otherwise I would've guessed it was for a model railroad.
I'd say that it's the main remote control unit for a Wurlitzer organ. But why would you need a remote control for an organ? So you could feed the monkey without getting up? Turn down the volume when the organist sucks or you don't like the song? Puzzling.
Ah, maybe the controller for a remote keyboard for the organ? There's my guess.
Looks to be the receiver/logic module for interpreting the signals sent from remote track selection modules for juke boxes.
Here I found you the service manual/parts catalog:
http://thearcadeboneyard.com
I completely forgot that Wurlitzer made jukeboxes. Memory fail. Again.
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner. My guess of a rotary speaker controller was completely wrong. apart from the housing surrounding the Googly Bits(tm), the pictures in that fabulous service manual were bang-on matches.
Well done!
Impressive. Most impressive.
<img src="http://deathstarpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Vader_Thumbs_Up.jpg">
<img src="http://www.bleachernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/hooray-zoidberg.jpg"width="500">
Fantastic! Some part off a jukebox remote was what I was thinking based on my limited searching, but you absolutely nailed it! Very nicely done.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.
I don't want it.
<img src="http://zermatschen.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/ce-obsessive-compulsive-hoarder-9010-copy1-630×332.jpg">
Looks like a perfectly sized opening just to the right of your hand there…
Based on the illustration, I'd say this is the Impulse Stepper Model 219.
Dammit, i just narrowed it down to something from Wurlitzer. Then i saw the hint.
Since organ is taken i'm guessing it belongs in a jukebox. So it's probably from an organ.
The Wurlitzer hint was awesome, but those who see "Wurlitzer" shouldn't automatically think juke-boxes or organs.
Try rotary speakers. The transformer's for getting things to the right voltage, there's a variable resistor setup for varying the rotary speed, and two sets of outputs for controlling two sets of speakers.
Hammond and Leslie weren't the only ones doing it.
You'll find the model 219 Impulse Transmitter – Stepper (made from 1946-1949) here:
http://www.jukebox-world.de/Forum/Archiv/Wurlitze…
Note: Some understanding of German may be required.
This is what it connected to, the Wurlitzer 1080A (among other models):
<img src="http://www.jukebox-world.de/Forum/Bilder/Wurlitzer/1080.jpg" border="0" style="border:none;" alt=" " />
Juke boxen are something we've never looked into on Toasters at all… but they're so goddamned awesome, I feel we should. Hmm…