Topic starter
29/08/2006 3:21 am
Hi all,
While looking through some DQ pics, I notice a picture showing a dual keyboard on the DQ (like in a pipe organ console). When was this & what was it about?
Thanks!
S'
David D.
6mos. 20 Days to our cruise!
29/08/2006 4:45 am
In the 70s and 80s they had a uniphone on there too. It probably resides in the Rockies now.
31/08/2006 12:03 am
David,
The una-phone was a rather unique instrument. It came from the circus and was usually mounted on the roof top of a one of the housing wagons to fill a spot in the parade. Played by a keyboard it was little more than tuned door bells played with a single tap of the electrically operated mallet, or it could be set to reiterate. In reiteration mode it sounded like tuned doorbells.
Una-phones were made by the Deegan company of Cincinnati, OH. and primarily sold to circuses. I have seen only one in a Theatre Organ manufactured by WurliTzer company. It would seem they were the perfect place for the strange instrument. However, the marriage never seemed to take off.
The idea to put one on the DELTA QUEEN was that of Cmdr. E.J. Quinby. The thing was added to the DELTA QUEEN calliope in the winter of 1970-71. Most unusual sound, as they couldn't tune the steam calliope to the metal bells. When played in unison the effect was nothing short of cacophony! I have never seen any other riverboat installation of a Una-Phone other than the DQ.
Because the wiring was done to interior standards the instrument rarely worked and later was taken off the boat in 1984. I played it once while it was working and it was fun to play. However, the sound with the calliope was awful.
I hear it is out west enjoying a reprieve from the elements of the Mississippi River.
The only working Una-phone that I am aware of is in the collection of Myron Duffield and is on a reproduction circus wagon he hauls around south-east Ohio to fairs and festivals. Strangly enough, it is coupled to a Tangley Calliaphone. In this application, it almost fits!
~Travis~
Topic starter
31/08/2006 4:49 am
Thanks all, That makes sense & explains the "Calliope" label on the keyboard. A Tangley air calliope would be more stable, so it might be easier to find it in tune with the bells. Steam heats the whistles, changing the pitch--theoretically the entire calliope with itself, but nothing accompanying it!
S'
David D.
31/08/2006 1:07 pm
River Organ
E.J. Quinby rises again!
The problem is that whistles blown on steam are much more difficult to keep in tune than whistles blown on air. Yes, you could regulate the pressure, but that would not address the entire problem. I believe I see a pressure regulator on the video of the Belle of Louisville's calliope and it is possibly the most well tuned steam calliope I have ever heard. The regulator would explain that.
The speed of sound in air is approximately 1130 feet per second, while the speed of sound in steam is approximately 1330 feet per second. Before the whistles are blown, their "bells" are full of air, and the pitch will continue to rise as the medium changes between air and steam. That's why whistles blown on steam will always be out of tune with the bells. It's also the reason why the calliopist has to "warm up" the whistles of a steam calliope prior to actually playing it.
With the whistles blown on a regulated air supply, Quinby's concept would actually work! You could also add a tuned set of air horns as a "reed" stop. Rather than use a second keyboard or manual, I would have used stops as on a pipe organ. Read my research page at http://rjweisen.50megs.com
Travis Vasconcelos;1162 wrote: David,
The una-phone was a rather unique instrument. It came from the circus and was usually mounted on the roof top of a one of the housing wagons to fill a spot in the parade. Played by a keyboard it was little more than tuned door bells played with a single tap of the electrically operated mallet, or it could be set to reiterate. In reiteration mode it sounded like tuned doorbells.
Una-phones were made by the Deegan company of Cincinnati, OH. and primarily sold to circuses. I have seen only one in a Theatre Organ manufactured by WurliTzer company. It would seem they were the perfect place for the strange instrument. However, the marriage never seemed to take off.
The idea to put one on the DELTA QUEEN was that of Cmdr. E.J. Quinby. The thing was added to the DELTA QUEEN calliope in the winter of 1970-71. Most unusual sound, as they couldn't tune the steam calliope to the metal bells. When played in unison the effect was nothing short of cacophony! I have never seen any other riverboat installation of a Una-Phone other than the DQ.
Because the wiring was done to interior standards the instrument rarely worked and later was taken off the boat in 1984. I played it once while it was working and it was fun to play. However, the sound with the calliope was awful.
I hear it is out west enjoying a reprieve from the elements of the Mississippi River.
The only working Una-phone that I am aware of is in the collection of Myron Duffield and is on a reproduction circus wagon he hauls around south-east Ohio to fairs and festivals. Strangly enough, it is coupled to a Tangley Calliaphone. In this application, it almost fits!
~Travis~