Anatomy of a WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ
SWITCHSTACK
From the top down........
The Xylophone Switch, 37 notes, with its cable coming from the relay.
Space where the Glockenspiel Spreader would be, connecting the cable to the Glock.
The Glockenspiel Switch, 30 notes, with its cable coming from the relay.
Space where the Chrysoglott Spreader would be, connecting the cable to the Chrys.
Four spaces where the Chrys Switches will go.
Visible in each of the Chrys Switch positions is the slot through which the arm connects the
switch with its pull wire behind. The slots are staggered to line up with the actions in the chest below.
There are groups of 5 brass strips running vertically to connect the Switches to the Spreader above.
The Glock is 30 notes so there are 6 groups of 5. The Xylo is 37 notes so it uses 8 groups with 3 positions
left over in the last group. The strips run in grooves cut into the wood.
When the switch is "ON" it tilts up to cause its row of contacts, one for each notes, to come into contact
with the vertical strips. Playing any relevant note when the switch is on will cause power to come from the
Relay contacts, through the Switch, up the common strip, to the Spreader and out through the cable to the
magnet for that pipe or percussion note. In this way the same Chrys note could be played through any of the
four swithches, when they are in place, from different posistions on different keyboards. This is called
UNIFICATION.
The area where the Chrys Switches will be used to be where the two keyboard cables came from the console
to spreaders which linked through short vertical strips to the spreaders with the cables going to the Relays.
That is why there are 61 note positions while the Chrys is only 49 notes. It was the most convenient position
to add the switches for the Chrys, and the keyboard cables can be connected with plugs elsewhere.
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