[Melodica-Me]

Daren, Questcher, the reed chamber is sealed. air goes into the chamber and then release once the pad is opened below the reed. unlike the Clavietta where the air enters the air chamber then released after the pad is opened then to the reed.

Path of air

Eolina = air to Chamber to Reed to key release to sound hole to sound chamber then out of the Eolina .

Clavietta = air to Chamber to key release to Reed/direct to sound chamber sound exits out of Clavietta through the top of the keys.
Melodica-Me

[Stephen]

The André Borel and Phillippe Seiler patent for the Clavietta shows some good pictures of the mechanism, and explains how the airflow is directed.

Wind actuated musical instrument
US 3034392 A
https://www.google.com/patents/US3034392?dq=ininventor:%22Andre+Borel%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sPpeVeqwBZTe7Ab43oDABw&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ

[Ofir]

Stephen, Melodica-Me,
By reading your posts and looking at the patent, figure 4 is very interesting to me (the air flow).
As far as I understand, the air goes inside the sealed box at the bottom, and then released through the valve to the reeds.
What I find challenging is marker 19 in this figure: the connection to the keyboard must use a moving part inside the reeds area, which must be sealed.
How is it sealed AND move AND won’t break the sealing very fast?
It is very much related to a discussion I had with Lowboy recently.

[Lowboy]

If expense was not an object, sealing an air chamber that had 32 plungers (key linkages) going into it could be done easily, particularly at the air pressures generated but the human lungs, which I believe is about 1.5 to 3 psi at most. The technology exists and several methods could be used. Manufacturing costs, maintenance, and the pressure to depress a key might go up, but with some thought, these liabilities could be minimized. The first thing that comes to mind is a simple o-ring seal about the linkages. The second idea, as I mentioned a few days ago, is to transfer the movement of the key through a rubber diaphragm.

Lowboy

[Stephen]

Ofir,
I would have to take out my printed paper versions of the Clavietta and Accordina patents by Borel, to compare the figures. In one of the designs of the accordina (there were some adaptations to the patent), Borel explains in the accordina patent (it is in one of the figures, as numbers 13 (= wind chamber) and 14 (= baffle) ) he made a partition or division in the wind chamber with a sort of baffle (an extra plate inside the wind chamber). His purpose was to keep as much moisture as possible away form the valves and reeds. Most of the water stays in the 1ste compartment of the wind chamber, and is blown out using the air release button. The says very few “spittle” is reaching the valves or reeds, the opposite as a mouth harmonica or melodica where all the moisture and condensation is aimed more directly on the reeds and valves. He tried to avoid this.
I have to say in my accordina, this succeeded very well, and there is no negative effect on reed response. Even with the faintest air pressure, I have good reed response in my accordina.

I never had a Clavietta, and it is possible the Clavietta never had this “partition” in the wind chamber, or maybe some models did have it.

[Jerry Ballard]

Any thoughts on why http://www.balloneburini.com/ seems to be down?

In addition, I’ve tried phoning them during business hours repeatedly over the past few weeks, and always get a “we’re closed” message.
Something seems asmiss.

[Melodica-Me]

There are no recent post on their face book page as well. I hope all is well because it would sad to loose the last link to a great instrument.

Melodica-Me

[Author]

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