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The official Fairchild 412 registry thread!

Stupid question I should have maybe researched before buying - how do you change speeds on these? Remove platter and move belt? do they do 33, 45, 78?
 
Hawkeye83 said:
Stupid question I should have maybe researched before buying - how do you change speeds on these? Remove platter and move belt? do they do 33, 45, 78?
Click to expand...

On a 412-1 Basic model without a speed selector knob you’d have to move the belt on the platter by hand. That’s for 33 or 45 rpm, not many 412 models had 78 rpm, but I’m no Fairchild expert, only know what I’ve read here and what my particular 412 is capable of.

Go back and read this thread, @Sam Cogley has done an excellent job of putting this together…

VR
Andy
 
My 412-1 has a pop up 45 spindle, but the platter seems to only have one groove and I see no way it can change speeds. Am I missing something?
 
adnick said:
Can yo post a photo of your platters belt area?

VR
Andy
Click to expand...

The best I could do without removing the platter and having to reset the belt, which can be a bit of a hassle for me. Basically the belt sits on the middle, indented rim, which sits between two elevated rims. In the past I've tried to place the belt on either of those but it ends up slipping back to the the indented one.

I guess the question is if there's a pop up 45 spindle, the platter has to be able to play at 45, correct?

C595-C5-D4-7-C6-C-499-B-9-F55-3-AEA870-D03-C3.jpg
 
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sberger said:
The best I could do without removing the platter and having to reset the belt, which can be a bit of a hassle for me. Basically the belt sits on the middle, indented rim, which sits between two elevated rims. In the past I've tried to place the belt on either of those but it ends up slipping back to the the indented one.

I guess the question is if there's a pop up 45 spindle, the platter has to be able to play at 45, correct?

C595-C5-D4-7-C6-C-499-B-9-F55-3-AEA870-D03-C3.jpg
Click to expand...

Im sure that’s why Sam asks about the 33/45 grooves…mine has one larger track and one smaller track cut into the platter. Hard to tell from your photo.

VR
Andy
 
adnick said:
Now that one looks like it has a large track up high?
Click to expand...

Yes and so does mine(does yours?) but when I attempt to raise the belt to play on it it slips back down to the center groove. Of course it could be the belt I suppose.
 
No I have the same issue, was messing with it yesterday, and could only get it to work by holding the pulley assembly up, in its normal position the belt comes off….Haven’t looked into it anymore, working on the plinth at the moment.
 
adnick said:
No I have the same issue, was messing with it yesterday, and could only get it to work by holding the pulley assembly up, in its normal position the belt comes off….Haven’t looked into it anymore, working on the plinth at the moment.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks. I'm fine using it for only 33 as I have several other tables for any 45 use that I need, but was just curious.

Your work on your plinth/table is wonderful. Really enjoying watching the progress.
 
sberger said:
Ok thanks. I'm fine using it for only 33 as I have several other tables for any 45 use that I need, but was just curious.

Your work on your plinth/table is wonderful. Really enjoying watching the progress.
Click to expand...

Thanks, appreciate that….

Andy
 
Mine is serial number 2538. The motor is HSM 14.50-4-675D. It is dated November 1957.
Will come back and fill out more details later!
See other thread where I am dealing with "issues"...don't want to derail this registry thread.
I received mine with motor just hanging...had popped off motor mounts.
Also, broken wooden foot.
Now - MASSIVE hum. No music.
 
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Mine (just aquired) is a 412-1B with a serial number 10095. It looks like the platter only goes at 33 1/3, as far as I can see. I took apart the motor to clean and re-lube. It uses a square fairchild motor. It's quite loud. and it looks likt the motor shaft has a sharp cone on the end rather than a smooth shaft like a dual. is this crorrect, or is it wear. I have not flipped or replaced the bearing, at his point I just flushed it out well and re-lubed, but it is still quite noisy. My table is in a wooden plinth and has a shallow body. Needs new belts.

Jimmy
 
mixographer said:
Mine (just aquired) is a 412-1B with a serial number 10095. It looks like the platter only goes at 33 1/3, as far as I can see. I took apart the motor to clean and re-lube. It uses a square fairchild motor. It's quite loud. and it looks likt the motor shaft has a sharp cone on the end rather than a smooth shaft like a dual. is this crorrect, or is it wear. I have not flipped or replaced the bearing, at his point I just flushed it out well and re-lubed, but it is still quite noisy. My table is in a wooden plinth and has a shallow body. Needs new belts.

Jimmy
Click to expand...

Jimmy:

Belts and/or belt tension can cause vibration with these. The motor shaft should have a pulley one the end for the belt to ride on, yours doesn’t have a pulley? Below is a photo of a motor with the belt pulley:
32385FB6-FC42-4B58-B973-36ED919C5294.jpeg

VR
Andy
 
adnick said:
Jimmy:

Belts and/or belt tension can cause vibration with these. The motor shaft should have a pulley one the end for the belt to ride on, yours doesn’t have a pulley? Below is a photo of a motor with the belt pulley:
View attachment 2344292

VR
Andy
Click to expand...

Thanks, Andy. Mine does have a pulley, it’s in kind of a reverse hourglass shape. The cone shape I’m referencing is on the end of the motor’s shaft. Where I would expect the shaft to ride on a thrust bearing or maybe a copper disc at the base of the motor. On a dual motor it would be a smooth, hard, rounded end riding on a copper disc. In this fairchild it seems rough or sharp, maybe it’s meant to be a sharp needle point at the end of the shaft?

I’m ordering some belts, maybe that will make the motor less noisy. Are there any motor mounts available for the fairchild motors? Mine seem flexible, but maybe they should be moreso. Also these are the motor mounts for the square motor, not the blue ones i’ve seen for the Pabst motor hangar. Maybe I dhould start a different thread and leave this for the registry.

thanks!

jimmy
 
Made a discovery that requires sharing, during the build of a Russco Studio Pro @BillWojo made me new set screw for the platter well; the original was metal with a ball bearing encased in the end, Bill changed this to a brass screw with a Delrin pad.

This was at a point where I was already testing the table for noise with a test record silent track and oscilloscope. When the ball bearing screw was changed to the Delrin pad design WOW! The noise reduction could be detected immediately through the speakers—in other words the noise floor was greatly reduced.

What does the Russco have to do with the Fairchild 412? Well I replaced the Fairchild ball bearing with a Delrin ball bearing, and yes Hallelujah, noise floor reduced. It’s not as dramatic as with the Russco, but we’ll worth doing, making a great table a fantastic table!

Been over a month now, took the ball out of my Fairchild and couldn’t see any visible signs of damage. Hope others find this info useful….


462606BF-124B-4159-9B14-13874576B605.jpeg


VR
Andy
 
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