MIKIPHONE 1924-1927

Designed by Hungarian brothers Miklós and Étienne Vadász, it was manufactured in Switzerland by Maison Paillard.

The MIKIPHONE was the very first "pocket" gramophone player, a precursor to the Walkman. Designed to resemble a large pocket watch, it was marketed as small enough to fit into a pocket; though you'd need large pockets, as it measured 11.5 cm in diameter and 4.7 cm in thickness.

The Mikiphone was marketed in both Europe and the USA, with up to 180,000 units sold throughout its production. However, it was discontinued in 1927 due to its cumbersome production and unreliable performance. The tiny spring motor would tire easily, and it could barely play a small 7" record before grinding to a halt.

It was marketed in the UK for 55/- which is ~ £220 today.

This particular Mikiphone comes with an intriguing WWII story, passed down from the previous owner:

“I purchased this 1925 Mikiphone a few years ago from the grandson of F. Sternke. His grandfather, F. Sternke, fought in WWII, and during a gun battle, he killed a Japanese soldier. This Mikiphone was found on the soldier, who no doubt carried it into the foxholes, where it likely saw some action itself.”

“In the old days, when records would skip on the record player, we used to tape a penny, nickel, or dime to the tone arm to prevent the needle from jumping. This Japanese soldier ingeniously fashioned a small adjustable device that could be slid onto the Mikiphone’s tone arm, adding the necessary downward pressure to play his damaged records. The fact that this Mikiphone, with its original war-torn leather case and mangled carrying strap, survived for 80 years—along with this wartime weight device—is unbelievable.”

“The name of the Japanese soldier is engraved on the leather case and the soundbox. Mr. Sternke then added his own name on the opposite side of the gramophone case, clearly proud of his wartime memento.”

The "Japanese" inscription on the Mikiphone’s case doesn't appear to be a name but translates to "The husband is able to resist the new." The inscription is in an old script, which could be either Japanese or Chinese. It's possible that this was a message from the soldier’s wife, reminding him to remain faithful. LOL . A photo of Fred J. Sternke, who seems to be the genuine owner, came with the Mikiphone.

The counterweight is quite ingenious. The picture shows it in position for adding weight to the reproducer. It can also be reversed and turn into a counter balance to reduce the weight. It can be moved up and down the shaft to fine tune it.

Mikiphones are notorious for not being able to play a whole record. This is mainly due to the tiny spring that drives the motor. After a 100 years it's either tired or broken.

Here are a few tips to improve performance:

Different size needles will behave differently on different records. I tend to use fine needles as I find the wider loud needles create more drag.

Pre-1925 acoustic records play better because of the wider grooves creating less drag.

I revived the tired spring by re-tempering it. I found a friend with a pottery kiln. After removing and cleaning the spring, I heating it in the kiln to 870°C and let it air cool. I then heated it to 290°C and quenched it in transmission oil to temper it.