Optical Scan Results on the Smithsonian
Updated 12-Dec-2011
For access to new results posted April
23, 2013 go to this link: volta-release-2013.html
Some
general references
? This is the general website for the IRENE/3D optical scanning projects?? http://irene.lbl.gov/
? This is a report about 3D optical scanning 3D-Scanning.pdf
? This is a general report on the optical scanning development project Sound-Project-0311.pdf
The files posted here are provisional. Unless otherwise noted a low pass filter has been applied.? In some cases (noted) additional noise reduction has been applied as well.? The basic goal was clarity.
Some specific references
Smithsonian\Audio\Pages from Science 1888.pdf? This is a report in Science of a presentation made at the time concerning the Volta Lab research on sound recording.
This is a summary of the discs studied so far.? There is clearly a large variation in the physical characteristics of the discs and the methods employed at the Volta Lab.
|
Cat. No |
Description |
Pitch |
Depth |
Amplitude |
RPM |
|
287654 |
Variable density photo disc |
~2 mm |
NA |
NA |
~100 ? |
|
287686 |
Variable area photo disc |
~4 mm |
NA |
|
|
|
312119 |
Lateral cut plated reverse copy |
700 mm |
100 ?mm |
350 mm |
120 |
|
287920 |
Green wax vertical cut on brass |
1.7 mm |
135 mm |
~35 mm |
60 |
|
287700 |
Wax on composition board, vertical cut, cracked |
600 mm |
95 mm |
10 mm |
20 |
|
287701 |
Wax on composition board, vertical cut |
400 mm |
50 mm |
5 mm |
40 |
Cat. No. 287654-11
Large glass photo-disc with variable density stripe
Extracted sound file Smithsonian\Audio\Release\Example2-PD1-p93-44100.wav
Transcript based upon listening to audioSmithsonian\Audio\PD1-transcript-V1.pdf
Individual Segments
?H.G. Rogers?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287654-HGRogers.wav
?It?s the eleventh day of March, eighteen hundred and eighty five? ???????? Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287654-11th-day.wav\
?Trrrrr?.???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287654-1st trill.wav
? Mary had a little lamb?.? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Smithsonian\Audio\287654-1st-Mary.wav
?Trrrr? Mary had a little lamb?.? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287654-2nd-trill-Mary.wav
?How is this for high? Trrrr?? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Smithsonian\Audio\287654-how-is-3rd-trill.wav
Cat No:287686-2
Large glass photodisc, variable area recording with notes ?Barometer?, recorded at constant linear velocity
Extracted sound file Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287686_Barometer.wav
Cat No. 312119
Small electroplated lateral cut disc
Extracted sound file: Smithsonian\Audio\Release\312119_Lateral_Electroplated_Disc-120.wav
Speed set by ear to 120 rpm, low pass filter applied
Cat No. 287920
Green wax disc on brass
Pitch 1700 microns
Depth 135 microns
Amplitude 30-40 microns
60 rpm
Winds from the center out
Audio is ?To be or not to?.? From Hamlet
Extracted audio file: Smithsonian\Audio\Release\Example1-Green-p93.wav
i
Cat No: 287700
This is wax on composition board. ?The disc has 5 large radial cracks which probably render it mechanically unplayable.? The groove modulation is vertical and the groove? is very wide relative to the later commercial cylinders.
Image from 287700 near the intersection of two cracks
Pitch 600 microns
Depth 95 microns
Amplitude 10 microns
Partial audio extractions in chronological : order: Low pass filter applied to all.? Additional noise reduction applied to the last two files. Speed set to 20 rpm.
Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287700_part1.wav
Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287700_part2.wav
Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287700_part3.wav
Notes on content:
It appears to be a man describing some sort of business or other arrangements, most words cannot be identified yet.
At 32 seconds into the first file are the words ?in order to cover costs?.? This is repeated again in the third file which is from a different part of the disc.
Cat. No. 287701
This is wax on composition board, similar to 287700 but not cracked.
PRISM image from 287701, at the beginning of the audio.
Pitch 400 microns
Depth 50 microns
Amplitude 5 microns
Rpm = 40
The audio comes in two segments with a gap in between.
In the first segment it sounds like a man is reading a story.? At 51.8 seconds the voice suddenly changes to a high pitched ?child imitation?.
In the second segment a man is reading a detailed description of? cotton mill.
First segment::
Filtered + Noise reduction:
Smithsonian\Audio\Release\287701_1sthalf.wav
Second segment
Filtered + Noise reduction