Expert: Thomas Britanyak - 11/14/2005

Question
Hi, Thomas,

I live and teach in Mexico, just south of the border, and cross over to the US to get mail, do shopping, etc.  I don't know if you are the right person to ask this question, but here goes:

The local convent, in a spurt of housecleaning, has given me one of their Thomas organs, model 821CA1. It was playing fine at the chapel--until somebody stole the little motor out of it. I haven't been able to locate anybody that has a replacement. We can probably rig up something down here, but we would have to know the voltage, watts, etc., so we don't burn out the organ. Can you help? It's not the greatest organ in the world, but would at least give me something to practice my pedal work on, so I hate to throw it out.

Thanks,

Evona York
College of Languages
UABC, Mexicali

Answer
Hello Evona!  Thank you for the question.  The motor you refer to is probably the Leslie drive motor which spins a box or speaker assembly around inside the console to create a tremulant effect.  The missing motor should not prevent the organ from playing unless there was damage to the speaker wires during the theft.  

There are two basic types of drive motors.  One is a single speed motor and the other is a dual speed motor.  I suspect the latter is the style your instrument uses, particularly if you have a “Chorus” stop on the organ.  If the Leslie speaker assembly is intact (box, speaker, drive belt, wires, etc.) minus the motor, it would be a relatively simple matter to install another motor.  However, my concern is you suggest the organ does not play now.  If only the motor was taken, the rest of the organ should still operate.  

Before replacing the motor, the rest of the instrument should be operational.  If not, simply replacing a motor will not help the situation.  Try depressing the “Main” stop which switches the speaker output to stationary speakers.  If no sound comes out of the organ, then there is more than likely additional issues which will need to be addressed.

I have motors in stock but am hesitant to recommend one without knowing more about the organ's overall condition.  If you can send some digital photos of the area surrounding the missing motor, this would be very helpful.

Please feel free to contact me at BritsonOrgan@aol.com.  I will be happy to help you further.

Kind regards,

Thomas Britanyak

ps: are you anywhere near Tehuacan,Puebla, Mexico?