Dyna-lift
Anyone think about making something like the Dyna-lift device, as on some of the Empire turntables? The end-of-the-record lift-off devices that I've seen I don't really care for. One of several problems for me is that I have to remember to reset it each time. With the Dynalift, I don't. Seems like Nanook's tonearm would be a great arm to try it on.
Apparently the Empire Dyna-lift takes a lot of fussing with to dial it in. Maybe a DIY version could be made that is easier to set up.
Some Empire Turntable History - Page 11 - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
Anyone think about making something like the Dyna-lift device, as on some of the Empire turntables? The end-of-the-record lift-off devices that I've seen I don't really care for. One of several problems for me is that I have to remember to reset it each time. With the Dynalift, I don't. Seems like Nanook's tonearm would be a great arm to try it on.
Apparently the Empire Dyna-lift takes a lot of fussing with to dial it in. Maybe a DIY version could be made that is easier to set up.
Some Empire Turntable History - Page 11 - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
magnetic lifting
I bought the use of some small rare earth magnets would be a great way to lift an arm at the end of a record. They key is to adjust so that the magnet doesn't have too much pull. That is , it would be best if the magnet only allowed a pull when the arm is precisely aligned with the magnet. A manner of focussing the magnetic field cold be the use of some sort of small ferrous needle or similar with the magnet holding it.
I bought the use of some small rare earth magnets would be a great way to lift an arm at the end of a record. They key is to adjust so that the magnet doesn't have too much pull. That is , it would be best if the magnet only allowed a pull when the arm is precisely aligned with the magnet. A manner of focussing the magnetic field cold be the use of some sort of small ferrous needle or similar with the magnet holding it.
Thanks for the reply. All diy projects are on hold while I'm getting ready to move, but that doesn't keep me from planning for when I finally have breathing space, and this arm REALLY appeals to me.
I think that a unipivot arm may work with the Dyna-lift even better than the fixed pivot. The slight tilt the lift would give to the arm at the end I think would put less stress on the cantilever than a fixed arm does by keeping it rigidly perpendicular to the record.
If the field could be more focused, better still. Maybe something using Mu metal? Also I was thinking of some sort of short soft spring that would let the magnet pull towards the arm as it got near. Don't know whether that would offer any real advantage, though.
One more thing: instead of a finger-lift on the side of the headshell, what about a loop of fine stiff wire or monofilament directly above the headshell?
That way the arm wouldn't tilt when you lift or lower it.
I think that a unipivot arm may work with the Dyna-lift even better than the fixed pivot. The slight tilt the lift would give to the arm at the end I think would put less stress on the cantilever than a fixed arm does by keeping it rigidly perpendicular to the record.
If the field could be more focused, better still. Maybe something using Mu metal? Also I was thinking of some sort of short soft spring that would let the magnet pull towards the arm as it got near. Don't know whether that would offer any real advantage, though.
One more thing: instead of a finger-lift on the side of the headshell, what about a loop of fine stiff wire or monofilament directly above the headshell?
That way the arm wouldn't tilt when you lift or lower it.
alternate finger-lift
Well it is dumb-simple. It also allows for some inexpensive experimentation. As I haven't bothered improving or changing it much, I can only recommend using the arrow shafts as the arm tube.
I thing this all depends on the strength of the B field.
Mu metal would definitely help, just play with the amount of the magnet that is covered. Or easier still use a spike intended for speaker stands to use as the "lens".
I recently built an arm for a friend (who has been very generous to me) and made a nice finger lift out of brass. It is a simple loop and is easy to lift the arm up with.
I continue to be impressed with my arm(s), and more directly in this thread, the implementations of the arm as exemplified in the many well built arms in the thread.
Well it is dumb-simple. It also allows for some inexpensive experimentation. As I haven't bothered improving or changing it much, I can only recommend using the arrow shafts as the arm tube.
I thing this all depends on the strength of the B field.
Mu metal would definitely help, just play with the amount of the magnet that is covered. Or easier still use a spike intended for speaker stands to use as the "lens".
I recently built an arm for a friend (who has been very generous to me) and made a nice finger lift out of brass. It is a simple loop and is easy to lift the arm up with.
I continue to be impressed with my arm(s), and more directly in this thread, the implementations of the arm as exemplified in the many well built arms in the thread.
Reporting on progress with the DIYed arm lifter:
Finally got 500000 grade silicone oil. Applied it on the surfaces that need friction, and retuned the repelling spring. It is now dropping smoothly, though not as slowly as some arms I've seen, that I now dare to drop my Decca London Super Gold cartridge onto records. I will probably retune the spring rate for a more gentle drop.
Also, having lived with the Nanook tonearm for many months now, I can unequivocally state that it is the best sounding arm I've ever used, better than a 9 inch SME and a couple of Origin Lives (also nine inchers). I think it also edges past another DIYed arm (a Schroeder clone). But to be fair to both, I've been using these two DIYed arms on two different turntables with different cartridges and different phono stages. It's a bit involving to mount them on the same turntable and use the same cartridge and phono stage. Anyway, this isn't really a problem as I like both presentations. But they're quite similar and their differences boil down to a difference of degrees.
Finally got 500000 grade silicone oil. Applied it on the surfaces that need friction, and retuned the repelling spring. It is now dropping smoothly, though not as slowly as some arms I've seen, that I now dare to drop my Decca London Super Gold cartridge onto records. I will probably retune the spring rate for a more gentle drop.
Also, having lived with the Nanook tonearm for many months now, I can unequivocally state that it is the best sounding arm I've ever used, better than a 9 inch SME and a couple of Origin Lives (also nine inchers). I think it also edges past another DIYed arm (a Schroeder clone). But to be fair to both, I've been using these two DIYed arms on two different turntables with different cartridges and different phono stages. It's a bit involving to mount them on the same turntable and use the same cartridge and phono stage. Anyway, this isn't really a problem as I like both presentations. But they're quite similar and their differences boil down to a difference of degrees.
Glad that you are enjoying both arms...
I am very happy for you. An arm-lift/cueing device is one of the crux of this design.
My experiences were comparing it to a modified RB-250 (tecno-weight, upgraded wiring) and my SME 309. My original thoughts concerning the comparisons still hold true: the nanook 219 has a different presentation, but I feel is more refined than the SME. The very deepest bass bass is somewhat "lighter" but the arm seems much more nimble and tracks beautifully without any anti-skate device what so ever.
Which is always the case in any audio component of competent design and execution, given that the designer's criterion are the same in both cases. Oranges or apples? You choose.
Easton XX75 Gamestoppers
Jensworld:
Hi. I use the XX75 2214 Gamegetter in aluminium. I buy the longest versions (30" +) so that I can get 2 arm shafts out of one arrow. The first number indicates the OD of the arrow shaft in 1/64". So in the 2214 Gamegetter, the OD of the arrow is 22/64" or about 8.75 mm. The wall thickness is in 1/1000 " so the wall thickness is 14/1000" or 0.3556 mm. The numbers you are referring to are the spline deflection numbers and are not a concern here at all.
gus 3049:
Love the counter-weight on the arm. A Garrard one from a Lab60 or Lab80? For a fixed counter-weight, one of my favourites. And relatively easy to make should you want to reproduce it. It allows easy adjustment of TF and azimuth (as long as the azimuth is not so far off that the tonearm flops off the bearing tip).
Jensworld:
Hi. I use the XX75 2214 Gamegetter in aluminium. I buy the longest versions (30" +) so that I can get 2 arm shafts out of one arrow. The first number indicates the OD of the arrow shaft in 1/64". So in the 2214 Gamegetter, the OD of the arrow is 22/64" or about 8.75 mm. The wall thickness is in 1/1000 " so the wall thickness is 14/1000" or 0.3556 mm. The numbers you are referring to are the spline deflection numbers and are not a concern here at all.
gus 3049:
Love the counter-weight on the arm. A Garrard one from a Lab60 or Lab80? For a fixed counter-weight, one of my favourites. And relatively easy to make should you want to reproduce it. It allows easy adjustment of TF and azimuth (as long as the azimuth is not so far off that the tonearm flops off the bearing tip).
Some more experiment with tonearm wire: I had been using a thin and flexible coaxial wire cannibalised from an old headphone that came with an old mobile phone. It worked well, but I thought why not try a single run from headshell to phono pre instead of having a break at the tonearm base. So I twisted the thinnest wires I have at hand as two separate twisted pairs, about 1.5m long and replaced the existing arm tube wiring + arm base to phono pre cables (Belden 1855A, 75 ohm coax). Unfortunately, this arrangement picked up lots of noise despite careful routing, as far away as possible from electronics devices.
Someone told me that using litz braiding will improve noise rejection. So I did the tedious job of removing the twisted pairs and converting it into 4-wire litz braid. It helped but the noise rejection wasn't nearly enough. I could still hear noise (it wasn't power supply hum) at my regular listening volume and it was quite intrusive if I went a notch higher.
So I had to revert to the old arrangement, but changed the wiring within the tube to another one, also from an old headphone. The difference is this one is not coax but individual strands withTeflon insulation. It's a bit hard for my liking, but works without exerting undue skating force. For good measure, I stripped a thin RG 174 coax wire and used the braid as a shield within the arm tube. I ran an extra wire and soldered it to the braided shield at the headshell end, and terminate the other end at the earthing jack of the phono pre. With this the noise pickup is controlled. None audible at regular listening volume even with the ear to the speaker, but audible when volume is jacked up to levels I'll never listen at.
So at least in my audio environment I need shielded cabling from tonearm to phono pre.
I would highly recommend thin headphone wire as tonearm wire. I think even the cheapest of headphones use very good quality copper, and they're thin and flexible enough for this application.
Someone told me that using litz braiding will improve noise rejection. So I did the tedious job of removing the twisted pairs and converting it into 4-wire litz braid. It helped but the noise rejection wasn't nearly enough. I could still hear noise (it wasn't power supply hum) at my regular listening volume and it was quite intrusive if I went a notch higher.
So I had to revert to the old arrangement, but changed the wiring within the tube to another one, also from an old headphone. The difference is this one is not coax but individual strands withTeflon insulation. It's a bit hard for my liking, but works without exerting undue skating force. For good measure, I stripped a thin RG 174 coax wire and used the braid as a shield within the arm tube. I ran an extra wire and soldered it to the braided shield at the headshell end, and terminate the other end at the earthing jack of the phono pre. With this the noise pickup is controlled. None audible at regular listening volume even with the ear to the speaker, but audible when volume is jacked up to levels I'll never listen at.
So at least in my audio environment I need shielded cabling from tonearm to phono pre.
I would highly recommend thin headphone wire as tonearm wire. I think even the cheapest of headphones use very good quality copper, and they're thin and flexible enough for this application.
Hi,
It features a larger ODiameter than usual of ~9.8mm and a thin wall thickness of <0.4mm.
The Spine value is a low 0.250" and indeed does the shaft flex much less than typical arrow shafts.
It´s a extremely stiff yet very lightweight tube with quite good internal damping already.
I think that having the stiffest tube at hand is positive in our application, if You can control the resonance behaviour.
Three thin slices of PU-foam weighing less than 1gr, cut from earplugs, pushed into the tube, dampen the tube to a very high degree internally.
Such the weight/inertia even of a 12" arm can be kept low enough to accommodate for highly compliant MM-pickups.
Apart from the costs, the difference between the XCutter and its Pro brother is just manufacturing tolerances, which are already better than for common carbon tubes.
Prices are about 10-15$ per shaft.
Just wanted to let You know about a maybe alternative arm tube.
As Arm wire I used silk spun copper HF-litz wire, 7x0.05mm² of which I twist two together for a single strand.
Two of the strands I twist together for one stereo channel.
The two stereo channels are then fixed by the foam plug slices to the left and right of the inner wall of the arm tube.
jauu
Calvin
In my TheKiller Tonearm -which is a classical 12" gimbal design- I use the Goldtip XCutter or XCutter Pro arrow shaft, which is made from (pultruded) carbon.
It features a larger ODiameter than usual of ~9.8mm and a thin wall thickness of <0.4mm.
The Spine value is a low 0.250" and indeed does the shaft flex much less than typical arrow shafts.
It´s a extremely stiff yet very lightweight tube with quite good internal damping already.
I think that having the stiffest tube at hand is positive in our application, if You can control the resonance behaviour.
Three thin slices of PU-foam weighing less than 1gr, cut from earplugs, pushed into the tube, dampen the tube to a very high degree internally.
Such the weight/inertia even of a 12" arm can be kept low enough to accommodate for highly compliant MM-pickups.
Apart from the costs, the difference between the XCutter and its Pro brother is just manufacturing tolerances, which are already better than for common carbon tubes.
Prices are about 10-15$ per shaft.
Just wanted to let You know about a maybe alternative arm tube.
As Arm wire I used silk spun copper HF-litz wire, 7x0.05mm² of which I twist two together for a single strand.
Two of the strands I twist together for one stereo channel.
The two stereo channels are then fixed by the foam plug slices to the left and right of the inner wall of the arm tube.
jauu
Calvin
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of shafts and anti-skate
Not necessary, but nicely done. It really does depend on how accurate your headshell allows for adjustment.
Again I must state that I have no experience with ant carbon fibre and do not endorse the use of it. If not an aluminium arrow shaft, then wood is my preference.
All true. I've tried headphone wire as well as mouse wire (remember when all mice had wires?) to good effect. Did you strap the arm tube to ground? That can have a profound effect on noise issues. Also know that very sensitive speakers will often have background "white noise" because of their sensitivity and the "noisy" output from an amplifier. A friend who has a very excellent tube-based system has a low level white noise issue, but his speakers (AER full-rangers) are very efficient.
Not necessary, but nicely done. It really does depend on how accurate your headshell allows for adjustment.
Again I must state that I have no experience with ant carbon fibre and do not endorse the use of it. If not an aluminium arrow shaft, then wood is my preference.
All true. I've tried headphone wire as well as mouse wire (remember when all mice had wires?) to good effect. Did you strap the arm tube to ground? That can have a profound effect on noise issues. Also know that very sensitive speakers will often have background "white noise" because of their sensitivity and the "noisy" output from an amplifier. A friend who has a very excellent tube-based system has a low level white noise issue, but his speakers (AER full-rangers) are very efficient.
Chris...
...thanks for the input. I've never made a carbon fibre one as I've never felt the need, nor do I like the idea of carbon fibre anything, unless done in a clean room with proper air handling capabilities and of course an autoclave if making from scratch (none of which I have). I suppose you could cut carbon fibre arrows, but the dust created can be very toxic. As a minimum a good particulate mask, better if a full face shield.
Most folks think I'm "anti" carbon fibre, which I am not other than it should be covered with paint to provide good UV protection to negate any breakdown due to exposure to UV.
...thanks for the input. I've never made a carbon fibre one as I've never felt the need, nor do I like the idea of carbon fibre anything, unless done in a clean room with proper air handling capabilities and of course an autoclave if making from scratch (none of which I have). I suppose you could cut carbon fibre arrows, but the dust created can be very toxic. As a minimum a good particulate mask, better if a full face shield.
Most folks think I'm "anti" carbon fibre, which I am not other than it should be covered with paint to provide good UV protection to negate any breakdown due to exposure to UV.
using a drumstick...
Dan,
I had thought about using a drumstick as well. Actually the Easton drumsticks are pretty cool, but a little on the heavy side IIRC. The wooden drumsticks can get fairly heavy as well. Mass is important . If you could groove out the underside of the stick to lighten it and to have someplace to route the arm wiring, I think it could be okay.
I've also thought of using good quality handmade paper and creating a tapered tube with that and build it up from an initial form. Unsure of the feasibility though. Also have thought about hemp (something those in the US of A simply cannot get or have...cause y'all might smoke it). Use the string and wind around a form, add some resin , build up another layer, add some resin, etc. It would depend on the thickness of the thread or string available.
Dan,
I had thought about using a drumstick as well. Actually the Easton drumsticks are pretty cool, but a little on the heavy side IIRC. The wooden drumsticks can get fairly heavy as well. Mass is important
. If you could groove out the underside of the stick to lighten it and to have someplace to route the arm wiring, I think it could be okay. I've also thought of using good quality handmade paper and creating a tapered tube with that and build it up from an initial form. Unsure of the feasibility though. Also have thought about hemp (something those in the US of A simply cannot get or have...cause y'all might smoke it). Use the string and wind around a form, add some resin , build up another layer, add some resin, etc. It would depend on the thickness of the thread or string available.
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