Fairchild 539G w/ Cook F7... worth the effort?

[phinalcut]

Hello all!

I recently acquired a Fairchild 539A lathe with a Cook F7 cutting head attached. The condition is pretty rough... The mechanicals seem solid, but all the rubber bushings are shot, and the cloth wiring looks like it needs replacing.

I have some experience fixing old electronics, but I've never encountered one of these before. I'd love to try cutting some records on this thing (it came with a few boxes of Audiodisc blanks), but I'm not sure how much ancillary gear is required, and whether it's worth trying to get this guy back up and running.

I can't find any documentation on the Cook F7. I've read that it uses a 500 ohm coil with some type of feedback mechanism... Does this particular head require a proprietary amplifier? Can something compatible be rigged up using a standard high power amp and a transformer?

I have a few styli that look to be in decent shape (red shanks so I believe that means ruby?). All are equipped with tiny nichrome wire heaters. Any suggestions for voltage/current across these heaters?

I've got a few recordings that were made on this rig by the previous owner (in 1951!) and they sound incredible. I'm not looking for much in the way of fidelity, but it would be magic to see this thing in operation.

Thanks in advance!

-Ryan

[powerstrip]

Anything made by Fairchild is worth the effort. Brilliant machines for mid-level / intermediate cutting techniques.

Though, interestingly enough, I have never heard of cook.

Any photos ?

[tragwag]

most of the info on the Cook stuff is historical, not technical
if you search Emory Cook (Cook Audio Labs, Cook Records, etc) you'll have better luck.
the short answer is he developed an alternative stereo groove system, 'binaural' recording. a brilliant idea, and a brilliant guy to have come up with it.

I'm a bit in the thick of the Cook stuff as a friend of mine recently visited his widow Martha Cook, who I'm told is 99 years old.
She gave him some documents that may be of interest, but I'm still waiting on scans and can't know what he has - likely just articles or ads I would guess.
anyway, if I get some info I'll certainly post on the forum!

[dubcutter89]

Hi!

Sounds like a really nice authentic vintage mono setup - congrats!
The Cook recording stuff is rare and only very little info is floating around...
I can imagine that it is more like a modified Presto or Grampian head and also able to be used without feedback for quick tests.
There is a brochure for sale on eBay right now, maybe nice collector item for the set.
AFAIK Paul from Aardvark Mastering has/had one and maybe knows how to use that thing.
And if you decide to go for something more convinient I'm sure there's some trolls here waiting for obscure collctors items

Cheers
Lukas

BTW, maybe you can take some pics of that stuff - always nice to see new (old) rigs!

[phinalcut]

Hi All-

Thanks for the info! I will post some pics once I get access to a better camera than my phone- it doesn't do macro too well.

Regarding Emory Cook: This is very interesting... I actually bought a couple of his early Calypso records years ago, and then some of the CD reissues made by Smithsonian/Folkways. I wasn't aware that he was involved with this particular recording gear.

The Fairchild Lathe is built like a tank (weighs about as much too.) Very interesting gearbox/clutch mechanism on this thing...

By the way, the records that were cut on this are meticulously labeled. One of the stats listed is "Turnover = 500". Can anyone shed some light on what "turnover" might refer to in regards to record cutting?

-Ryan

[dubcutter89]

"Turnover 500" might mean that the LF turnover frequency is set at 500Hz, as it used today and since decades... (the 318µs time constant)
Search for phonograph record equalization and you will find that in the earlier days manufacturers and companies were not using same standards and so you would have to eq for every record...

Lukas