hey everyone.. ive decided i needed a turntable, as im buying all my music in vinyl form, and i believe i can actually get most of it, including the really new stuff on vinyl... and i was looking for an analog source
so... im the type that likes to build everything themselves, so i have advanced knowledge in fabricating many things, not so much in the electronics aspect yet though
my idea was to make a wooden tone arm that is mounted with ball bearings... ill try to describe this idea...
there will be a block of wood cut to a squared off U shape.. a bottom and two sides, in the bottom will be an abec-7 or abec-8 ball bearing.. and in the sides will be two of the same bearings.. the bottom bearing will be bolted to the table and the entire block will pivot around this bearing (i will probably use some means of mounting it to absorb vibration)... the arm will fit through the middle of the block with a shaft going through it and fixed to the side bearings allowing it to pivot up and down... tone arm will be cut from wood with a groove hollowed out on the bottom side for the wires to fit into, and that groove size will either be covered with a thin piece of trim wood, or just filled in with wood putty.. or if the wires fit in snug enough, i could just leave it open
i would fab a cartridge if i knew enough about that, but ill probably just buy one with an elliptical stereo stylus and mount that to the arm which will be counterbalanced
since im just listening to music, not doing any DJ or mixing stuff, i will probably go with a belt drive, platter i would probably make out of wood as well and line the top with a soft cork mat....
my questions are specifications i would need for a motor... i already have a 12v DC adapter, so a 12v DC motor would work, but what specs of a basic, run of the mill motor should i look for, and what will i need for electronics to switch between 33 1/3 and 45rpms on the platter?.. obviously im going to need a motor, basic electronics, and a specific set of pullys, and thats what im stuck on at this point... i could use a large rubber o-ring for the belt.. and im looking for low cost, but good quality sound for listening purposes...
thanks in advance for any help i recieve.
so... im the type that likes to build everything themselves, so i have advanced knowledge in fabricating many things, not so much in the electronics aspect yet though
my idea was to make a wooden tone arm that is mounted with ball bearings... ill try to describe this idea...
there will be a block of wood cut to a squared off U shape.. a bottom and two sides, in the bottom will be an abec-7 or abec-8 ball bearing.. and in the sides will be two of the same bearings.. the bottom bearing will be bolted to the table and the entire block will pivot around this bearing (i will probably use some means of mounting it to absorb vibration)... the arm will fit through the middle of the block with a shaft going through it and fixed to the side bearings allowing it to pivot up and down... tone arm will be cut from wood with a groove hollowed out on the bottom side for the wires to fit into, and that groove size will either be covered with a thin piece of trim wood, or just filled in with wood putty.. or if the wires fit in snug enough, i could just leave it open
i would fab a cartridge if i knew enough about that, but ill probably just buy one with an elliptical stereo stylus and mount that to the arm which will be counterbalanced
since im just listening to music, not doing any DJ or mixing stuff, i will probably go with a belt drive, platter i would probably make out of wood as well and line the top with a soft cork mat....
my questions are specifications i would need for a motor... i already have a 12v DC adapter, so a 12v DC motor would work, but what specs of a basic, run of the mill motor should i look for, and what will i need for electronics to switch between 33 1/3 and 45rpms on the platter?.. obviously im going to need a motor, basic electronics, and a specific set of pullys, and thats what im stuck on at this point... i could use a large rubber o-ring for the belt.. and im looking for low cost, but good quality sound for listening purposes...
thanks in advance for any help i recieve.
Mr. Divinus,
I would recommend doing a search here on diyAudio for diy turntables and arms to see what others have used or adapted. FWIW: a fair number of people on this, and other forums, have done Turntables that have turned out very nice.
Best Regards,
TerryO
hmm.. golf club shaft sounds interesting.. what about a section of a graphite fishing rod?.. those tend to be hollow too for the wiring... or maybe a carbon-fiber arrow shaft?.. or maybe even just a bulk length of carbon fiber tubing? i can buy carbon fiber tubing on amazon in 2 foot lengths for about $3-5 for various diameters.. i could epoxy glue a piece on the end to hold the cartridge... but if i did use a carbon or graphite shaft.. im not sure how that would work with the wooden materials in the rest of it.. i would probably have to replace all of it... but i guess that wouldnt be too hard either... i could probably get a carbon fiber block
also, wood is pretty rigid, but allows shock absorbtion, seems like it might be a nice material, and its easy to work with.. thats one reason i was considering that
actually.. im a bit of a minimalist, and enjoy building things with unconventional materials, or just really, really inexpensive, off the shelf materials... im kind of curious as to what a PVC-pipe tonearm would sound like.. i would just have a 4-way fitting of PVC pipe.. a 1/4 or 1/2 inch outter diameter pipe coming out of each end.. two sides go through the inside of the bearings which might be aluminum pillow blocks, and the front side would be the arm, back side would be an extention to hold a counterweight... maybe by simply filling the tail section with lead weights or sand..... i dunno, its still in brainstorming phases anyway
also, wood is pretty rigid, but allows shock absorbtion, seems like it might be a nice material, and its easy to work with.. thats one reason i was considering that
actually.. im a bit of a minimalist, and enjoy building things with unconventional materials, or just really, really inexpensive, off the shelf materials... im kind of curious as to what a PVC-pipe tonearm would sound like.. i would just have a 4-way fitting of PVC pipe.. a 1/4 or 1/2 inch outter diameter pipe coming out of each end.. two sides go through the inside of the bearings which might be aluminum pillow blocks, and the front side would be the arm, back side would be an extention to hold a counterweight... maybe by simply filling the tail section with lead weights or sand..... i dunno, its still in brainstorming phases anyway
i still have a lot of thinking to do about this.. but that aside my plan for the platter was to make a wooden platter with a cork mat on top.. suspended by an abec bearing to the rest of the table with a pully on the underside of it to match with the pully of the motor... simple, i already have an excess of abec-7 bearings, with the wooden arm im looking at a sub $20 project for the entire player with what i would believe to be quality sound... ive noticed wood always achieves good results with music and acoustics, which is why its still used for musical instruments
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My tonearm is made from MDF and friend who made it,did a lot of tests of different materials,but not the carbon-fibre.At the moment he is testing his new tangential design and again he used the MDF,but he will do a test with graphite shaft too.My tonearm overkill the REGA RB300,HELIUS ORION,MYWARE F4,etc.You can saw the pics on the THREE MOTOR TURNTABLE thread
question... what if someone made a record player that was sorta C shaped from the side.. the tips would hold the record.. and along the piece across the top would be a rail that slides back and forth carrying the cartridge?.. instead of an arm youd have a rail that held the cartridge, free to move inwards and outwards as the music progresses?... would be really simple, with a hinge on the top section to remove records
New? none
Used? The sky's the limit as there are real deals out there and sometimes even free. My last three turntables were "very inexpensive" even by the standards of The World's Foremost Cheap-O-Phile (or anyone else).
One of those "SOTA" turntables was passed on to a friend for the same amount that it had cost me (far less than sending a postcard across town).
You should compile a list of desirable TT's and then have it with you at all times. Many excellent TT's are not well known outside of experienced Vinyl enthusiasts, but would serve you well for many years to come.
Good Luck on your quest!
Best Regards,
TerryO
Check out Vinylengine here: Vinyl Engine | The Home of the Turntable - a huge resource for turntable and analog related stuff in general.
I'd look for old AR-XA, AR-XB, and later EB.
Some of the Technics 1200 series DD tables are quite good as well.
Thorens TD-125, 125, 160, 166 are all tables to keep any eye out for..
Kenwood made some nice direct drives..
I'd look for old AR-XA, AR-XB, and later EB.
Some of the Technics 1200 series DD tables are quite good as well.
Thorens TD-125, 125, 160, 166 are all tables to keep any eye out for..
Kenwood made some nice direct drives..
I agree with Kevin , but with vinyl resurgence lately, all of the mentioned models will cost you more than $100 I'm afraid. Even Craigslist and garage sales folks caught up with the frenzy ;0). Around $200 you could buy Rega P2 also I have a nice memories of Dual table which actualy got me hooked on LP's Don'tget too concerned with DIY-everything only for sake of doing it yourself.
Don'tget too concerned with DIY-everything only for sake of doing it yourself.
You might want look at this for ideas. The Altmann DIY Turntable. Carbon fiber arrow shafts have been used in some DIY tonearms I have seen posted on the web. Fishing poles are made to be flexible,. you want a tonearm to be rigid.
Also you might want to look at finding a old classic turntable for your motor,bearing, and platter. Often people take the guts of a classic turntable and build a new plinth for it. A well built DIY plinth can vastly improve the sound of these classics. Then with that new plinth you have the option of mounting almost any tonearm you want, whether it be manufactured or DIY.
This web site gives good example of how people have modded Lenco turntables into there own custom table. Lenco's are hard to come by, but a lot of what they are doing with plinth building can be done to almost any decent classic table. http://www.lencoheaven.net/
Also you might want to look at finding a old classic turntable for your motor,bearing, and platter. Often people take the guts of a classic turntable and build a new plinth for it. A well built DIY plinth can vastly improve the sound of these classics. Then with that new plinth you have the option of mounting almost any tonearm you want, whether it be manufactured or DIY.
This web site gives good example of how people have modded Lenco turntables into there own custom table. Lenco's are hard to come by, but a lot of what they are doing with plinth building can be done to almost any decent classic table. http://www.lencoheaven.net/
would it be at all possible to make a laser turntable that used a laser to read the music in the grooves of the record rather than a stylus?... i know some companies charge a lot for players like that.. but im sure theres a diy way to do it somewhere, i made a laser guitar pickup before... and your records would never wear from being played
Great Idea!
I'd say go for it. I'm sure many will be closely following your progress, as I will.
Best Regards,
TerryO
reading about some diy laser projects.. it appears records can be played with a laser stylus using a laser pointed at an angle into the groove of the record, and received by a photodiode.. the reflection modulates with the groove which causes the diode to give off a given electrical signal based on it... this works EXACTLY like my laser guitar pickup.... hmm, im going to toy with this idea more.. buy a cheap garage sale or thrift store record player and build my own tonearm with a laser cartridge in it for playing my music via a laser... this should be fun to play with
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