Interesting Turntable on fleabay

Pyre · 5th June 2008, 03:57 PM

VINTAGE TOSHIBA SR-50 OPTI TURNTABLE

Does it use a beam of light to read the groove or to read the signal off the stylus. Looks like its playing it with a led stuck to a golf ball. Can not say I have seen one before.

SY · 5th June 2008, 04:09 PM

It reads the deflection of the stylus. It's a curiosity for sure.

kevinkr · 6th June 2008, 04:36 PM

Pretty wild, doubt there are any spare parts for that animal..

Netlist · 6th June 2008, 05:22 PM

The size of the cartridge is that big because it serves as a heat sink for the build-in transistors. I read an interesting page with good info on vintage cartridges a couple of weeks ago but fail to find it ATM.
There is a datasheet somewhere too but in Japanese. That one is easy to find.

/Hugo

Steerpike · 6th June 2008, 05:57 PM

Actually, its not that big - the same size as a standard plug-in headshell. But it does get quite hot, since it has a 2V 300ma filament lamp inside it!
Big 'second-hand' problem is the stylus is non-replaceable - like a moving coil.
The turntable has a special pre-amp built in, because the optical cartridge doesn't interface at all with a conventional MM or MC or line lever input.

Someone gave me a new replacement cart for one of these, but until I create an amp for it, it remains silent. The specs look good though.

SY · 6th June 2008, 06:04 PM

I bet you could get this to work with an LED, and run cooler, too.

Netlist · 6th June 2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Netlist
but fail to find it ATM.

Here's the link:
http://www.badenhausen.com/VSR1Pickups.htm

/Hugo

Netlist · 6th June 2008, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Steerpike

Someone gave me a new replacement cart for one of these, but until I create an amp for it, it remains silent.

With such a high output voltage, you could plug it straight into any decent soundcard and do the equalization digitally.

/Hugo

Pyre · 6th June 2008, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SY
I bet you could get this to work with an LED, and run cooler, too.

I am surprised that with all the advancements in LED technology in the last few years that someone has not tried out this concept again. Looks to me as the photo transistors would have to be quite sensitive.

SY · 6th June 2008, 06:41 PM

I think it's a matter of linearity and noise. Very quiet, low distortion detectors with high dynamic range are bulky and expensive.

5th June 2008, 03:57 PM	#1
Pyre diyAudio Member Join Date: May 2006	Interesting Turntable on fleabay VINTAGE TOSHIBA SR-50 OPTI TURNTABLE Does it use a beam of light to read the groove or to read the signal off the stylus. Looks like its playing it with a led stuck to a golf ball. Can not say I have seen one before.

5th June 2008, 04:09 PM	#2
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	It reads the deflection of the stylus. It's a curiosity for sure. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

6th June 2008, 04:36 PM	#3
kevinkr diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Blog Entries: 6	Pretty wild, doubt there are any spare parts for that animal.. __________________ "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." - Carl Sagan

6th June 2008, 06:04 PM	#6
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	I bet you could get this to work with an LED, and run cooler, too. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?

6th June 2008, 06:41 PM	#10
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Chicagoland Blog Entries: 1	I think it's a matter of linearity and noise. Very quiet, low distortion detectors with high dynamic range are bulky and expensive. __________________ If there's a sucker born every minute, where do the rest of them come from?


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6th June 2008, 05:22 PM	#4
Netlist diyAudio Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2003	The size of the cartridge is that big because it serves as a heat sink for the build-in transistors. I read an interesting page with good info on vintage cartridges a couple of weeks ago but fail to find it ATM. There is a datasheet somewhere too but in Japanese. That one is easy to find. /Hugo

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