To bad the sony Vfet is defective after one year use due a bias drift. It can be the nos Vfet from china aren't reliable I got new ones I still have to repair the amp. The sound of the sony Vfet was refined in the high frequencies had a nice tube like bas and a bit blurred midrange. Had a nice tone.
I made my own design hybrid tube amplifier after that. And that one is a lot better then the vintage sony Vfet.
The sony has to long wiring en switches high resistance volume control all these things will lack top performance. But I like it as a iconic old-timer. On the horns the bas of the vfet helps, midrange and high frequency it got to much electrolyte capacitors in it for top performance on a HF-horn. Then better have a nice simple tube amplifier design with only couple one capacitor.
Here a film of myself doing a demo with monitor-xl on a hypex class-D amplifier with build in 24bit dac PCM1793.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO1Slm-LKS8
I am attracted by the simple construction of your 219 tone arm. What I would like is a tangential tonearm, this DIY one looks nice to.
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Hi Helmuth,
That's a very simple looking arm!
Do you happen to know how the main bearing works ?
Jay
That's a very simple looking arm!
Do you happen to know how the main bearing works ?
Jay
hopefully a picture shows up...
a picture should show up...
Ok here's the link. This picture shows what I think will be what is offered (except the counterweight) on Kickstarter. A version of the string hung counter-weight will be offered instead of the one pictured. The mount and the tonearm lift (not in the picture) are the most expensive items, and will have to be made, as will the headshell. If I raise the total amount I will get the funding, and thus the machining capability required to do almost all of it myself.
a picture should show up...
Ok here's the link. This picture shows what I think will be what is offered (except the counterweight) on Kickstarter. A version of the string hung counter-weight will be offered instead of the one pictured. The mount and the tonearm lift (not in the picture) are the most expensive items, and will have to be made, as will the headshell. If I raise the total amount I will get the funding, and thus the machining capability required to do almost all of it myself.
Linear Bushing "LM4L" of THK.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Why do it your self why not send a drawing to a machine shop. You only need enough costumers.
Why not design and have the mounts, lifts made?
Helmuth,
Really a matter of finding someone to do it at a low enough price. Perhaps should take Siddley up on his offer.
Helmuth,
Really a matter of finding someone to do it at a low enough price. Perhaps should take Siddley up on his offer.
If you can consider outsourcing some of the fabrication, I can you find many very highly skilled shops in Lebanon to do the machining and their prices are usually an order of magnitude lower than in NA, all the while retaining the same quality.
Let me know if you're interested.
Let me know if you're interested.
Having read through the thread from the beginning and wanting a new project I decided to have a go at a pivot arm and see if I could put something together for even less than Nanooks $2.19.
Well here's my attempt and a brief run down of the costs. It's 19" long from the pivot to the stylus!
It is currently a work in progress and I will be tidying up the wiring etc to make it look a little bit more presentable.
The costs:
1 carbon fiber arrow shaft - free (found buried when I used to do field archery and saved for a rainy day)
1 metal arrow shaft - free (ditto)
1 block of wood for the base - free from the wood scrap pile
1 block of wood for the body - free from the wood scrap pile
wiring - free from an old mouse (he'd passed it and had to go) and an older dead turntable
pivot - free (an old pen refill and a screw)
4 counterweights - free from an old computer (they used to be on the front holding the facia on and when the comp died I always thought how cool they looked and might be useful for something)
Fishing line and rubber holding bands for the counterweights - free from the fishing box
Rear weight - free from the old turntable
rubber gromits for the rear weight - free out of the box of bits and bobs
Headshell - free from the old turntable (it was a plastic fantastic and therefore isn't the best but it is light and has the cartridge positioning holes already in place.
Cartridge - free as already in a box of spares, it's an Ortofon OM again nice and light.
Oh and the last piece would be the chrome metal body. Whilst technically this was free in monetary terms, it was most definately not in terms of retribution from the lovely Sarah, my long suffering wife. Until a few days ago it was haning in our bathroom waiting to be pulled to turn the light on 🙂 It didn't help when I 'forgot' to let her know it wasn't there anymore and in desperate need for a squirt she could not find the cord to turn the light on in the dark and almost had an accident, Ooops 🙂
Anyhoo having put it all together as a dry fit I brought my testing kit from the shed into the livingroom and gave it a trial run. Firstly very happy with the sound coming through my homemade single folded horn speaker connected up.
Then connected it up to the Saturn and wow! the sound is amazing and it's rock solid. I cannot believe the quality coming through from a free, totally and utterly free, tonearm made from odds and sods in me shed.
Hope you like.
Well here's my attempt and a brief run down of the costs. It's 19" long from the pivot to the stylus!
It is currently a work in progress and I will be tidying up the wiring etc to make it look a little bit more presentable.
The costs:
1 carbon fiber arrow shaft - free (found buried when I used to do field archery and saved for a rainy day)
1 metal arrow shaft - free (ditto)
1 block of wood for the base - free from the wood scrap pile
1 block of wood for the body - free from the wood scrap pile
wiring - free from an old mouse (he'd passed it and had to go) and an older dead turntable
pivot - free (an old pen refill and a screw)
4 counterweights - free from an old computer (they used to be on the front holding the facia on and when the comp died I always thought how cool they looked and might be useful for something)
Fishing line and rubber holding bands for the counterweights - free from the fishing box
Rear weight - free from the old turntable
rubber gromits for the rear weight - free out of the box of bits and bobs
Headshell - free from the old turntable (it was a plastic fantastic and therefore isn't the best but it is light and has the cartridge positioning holes already in place.
Cartridge - free as already in a box of spares, it's an Ortofon OM again nice and light.
Oh and the last piece would be the chrome metal body. Whilst technically this was free in monetary terms, it was most definately not in terms of retribution from the lovely Sarah, my long suffering wife. Until a few days ago it was haning in our bathroom waiting to be pulled to turn the light on 🙂 It didn't help when I 'forgot' to let her know it wasn't there anymore and in desperate need for a squirt she could not find the cord to turn the light on in the dark and almost had an accident, Ooops 🙂
Anyhoo having put it all together as a dry fit I brought my testing kit from the shed into the livingroom and gave it a trial run. Firstly very happy with the sound coming through my homemade single folded horn speaker connected up.
Then connected it up to the Saturn and wow! the sound is amazing and it's rock solid. I cannot believe the quality coming through from a free, totally and utterly free, tonearm made from odds and sods in me shed.
Hope you like.
Impressive. and it fits the essence of the Nanook 219 tonearm too
I always wanted to test how long is too long for a DIY unipivot tonearm and based on your experiment, it seems that 19" is feasible.
I'm also interested in your turntable setup, DIY too? what kind of motor are you using?
Thanks.
I always wanted to test how long is too long for a DIY unipivot tonearm and based on your experiment, it seems that 19" is feasible.
I'm also interested in your turntable setup, DIY too? what kind of motor are you using?
Thanks.
Hi Hejj, the carbon fibre arrow shaft is so stiff there is no bend whatsoever and its so light. Because the tube is thin threading the wire was a real pita as I wanted it to exit below and before the headshell. Try and thread an eye or a needle from over a foot away. The problem I had was I hadn't decided to exit there before I'd made the connections at the base end Doh. I was lucky that I had a diameter of shaft that perfectly fitted a second wider piece which in turn was a perfect fit for a standard headshell fitting. I sometimes wonder why these engineer types are paid so much I mean its a breeze to make these things 😉.
The pivot isn't perfect and could be improved upon but it now stays true and balances the arm very well. The top screw allows for the arm to be shortened if required and the rear weight can be moved accordingly with the rubber gromits fixing it in place. I've a day off work and have been playing it all morning and its performing faultlessly. And that's still in a dry fit form! Apart from the few screws and the soldering of the wiring at the body end everything else is still loose including the wiring to the headshell.
I've knicked the other pull thread out of the bathroom which I intend to use for an armrest (that's stolen for the Americans looking in, I haven't cut it with a knife or anything 🙂 )
The turntable is the 'T' referred to in my intro thread. It is diy and again cost me nothing. The arm, motor, bearing and power switch all came from a dead turntable. The wood from my wood box and the platter from a further dead one. Nothing high end but with a little imagination you can get something sounding nice and looking ok. Much to my wife's despair I don't throw too much away if I think it can be useful and I have one of those minds that sees something and thinks that would make a good ????? This tonearm all stemmed from me sitting on the loo contemplating the light pull and thinking hmmmm tonearm 🙂
The pivot isn't perfect and could be improved upon but it now stays true and balances the arm very well. The top screw allows for the arm to be shortened if required and the rear weight can be moved accordingly with the rubber gromits fixing it in place. I've a day off work and have been playing it all morning and its performing faultlessly. And that's still in a dry fit form! Apart from the few screws and the soldering of the wiring at the body end everything else is still loose including the wiring to the headshell.
I've knicked the other pull thread out of the bathroom which I intend to use for an armrest (that's stolen for the Americans looking in, I haven't cut it with a knife or anything 🙂 )
The turntable is the 'T' referred to in my intro thread. It is diy and again cost me nothing. The arm, motor, bearing and power switch all came from a dead turntable. The wood from my wood box and the platter from a further dead one. Nothing high end but with a little imagination you can get something sounding nice and looking ok. Much to my wife's despair I don't throw too much away if I think it can be useful and I have one of those minds that sees something and thinks that would make a good ????? This tonearm all stemmed from me sitting on the loo contemplating the light pull and thinking hmmmm tonearm 🙂
Wow guys!
hajj: thanks for the offer. I may have to take Siddley or you up on it (I do have something somewhat related and very interresting to PM you about though). I have no problems with supporting folks to make a living elsewhere in the world, and if the pieces can be done for a reasonable cost with good fit and finnish, why not? (I'm not pandering for partners in this venture, so I hope I don't get a deluge of "I can het that done.." type emails or PMs).
Squiffythin: Hmmmm...., 19" effective length? I think a little ridiculously long, but if you have a patient wife and the space, why not? I must agree with hajj that it is in absolutely the same spirit as the 219 (and of course Altmann's original arm). It's just a little long to be practical. What alignment and how much over-hang do you use? Oh, and really the 219 cost is something I just made up, I'm sure the first arm cost me even less, but whose keeping track? 😉
hajj: thanks for the offer. I may have to take Siddley or you up on it (I do have something somewhat related and very interresting to PM you about though). I have no problems with supporting folks to make a living elsewhere in the world, and if the pieces can be done for a reasonable cost with good fit and finnish, why not? (I'm not pandering for partners in this venture, so I hope I don't get a deluge of "I can het that done.." type emails or PMs).
Squiffythin: Hmmmm...., 19" effective length? I think a little ridiculously long, but if you have a patient wife and the space, why not? I must agree with hajj that it is in absolutely the same spirit as the 219 (and of course Altmann's original arm). It's just a little long to be practical. What alignment and how much over-hang do you use? Oh, and really the 219 cost is something I just made up, I'm sure the first arm cost me even less, but whose keeping track? 😉
Squiffythin - luv your creativity
Nice looking arm
Thanks for sharing source of materials -neat story
Stew - good luck with new job !
Tim
Nice looking arm
Thanks for sharing source of materials -neat story
Stew - good luck with new job !
Tim
What you need on that beasty is a little Man holding the out riggers !
The most expensive parts of mine were that I did buy some decent wire but as iv'e used the rest in my RB300 you could say it was free. but £ 5.00 for the pen insert was extortionate just couldn't find one ! now there popping up all over the place lol
Jay
The most expensive parts of mine were that I did buy some decent wire but as iv'e used the rest in my RB300 you could say it was free. but £ 5.00 for the pen insert was extortionate just couldn't find one ! now there popping up all over the place lol
Jay
Stew the cost thing was to give the post a little side interest and humour, the post itself might have been a little bland otherwise. Certainly not in anyway trying to compete. I was inspired by your arm and the cheap cost of your build. As you said to put something that sounds as good as it does for so little is amazing.
The length is, I agree, totally impractical in a standard living room setting however I decided that I would give it a try before cutting down the shaft into a more practical length. I am truly stunned at just how good it plays and the detail that is coming through. I do not have loads of funds and my best arm is the transcriptors arm on the Saturn or the Linn Basic that I used on the beast. This is, to my ears, matching those with ease.
Having a fairly wide range of music tastes I can throw on a varied selection to give it a good run through and that's what I have been doing today. Some highlights have been the original Decca release of The Stones - Let it Bleed. Very bluesy and the guitar styles are very distinct. An old poor copy of Carole Kings - Tapestry sounds just lovely with her voice as good as ever. Phil Collins - Face Value had In the Air blasting out the drums as if the Gorilla was in the room in front of me and currently Vivaldi's greatest hits are filling the room with all of his seasons High pinpoint strings and the underlying bass booming out.
The length is, I agree, totally impractical in a standard living room setting however I decided that I would give it a try before cutting down the shaft into a more practical length. I am truly stunned at just how good it plays and the detail that is coming through. I do not have loads of funds and my best arm is the transcriptors arm on the Saturn or the Linn Basic that I used on the beast. This is, to my ears, matching those with ease.
Having a fairly wide range of music tastes I can throw on a varied selection to give it a good run through and that's what I have been doing today. Some highlights have been the original Decca release of The Stones - Let it Bleed. Very bluesy and the guitar styles are very distinct. An old poor copy of Carole Kings - Tapestry sounds just lovely with her voice as good as ever. Phil Collins - Face Value had In the Air blasting out the drums as if the Gorilla was in the room in front of me and currently Vivaldi's greatest hits are filling the room with all of his seasons High pinpoint strings and the underlying bass booming out.
Is it just Me? Even with Litz Wire and a Carbon Arrow Shaft Arm..I still got a Buzz from just touching the ToneArm, and even not touching it...So, I ran a wire from the Phono Ground to under the ToneArm Rest. and now it's Quiet. Any One else have a Buzzing Issue?
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Hi Sled, I do have a slight buzz at the moment but its so low at my normal listening level I hadn't noticed it. When I turn the volume up on the amp it can be heard when the arm is on my make do rest. As soon as the stylus hits the vinyl it stops! The arm sits on the rest on its plastic hook so no metal contact. Hmmmm very strange.
Ha ha Houston we have a problem. I have just stuck on my test record to see how well it does. Ok as mentioned before I'm no science bloke so the technical aspect is above and beyond me but one obvious and glaring error has revealed itself. Whilst perfectly aligned left is coming out of right and right is coming out of left Doh 🙂 ok a switch around on the final fit is in order. In my defence, your honour, mouse wires are not the same colour as arm wires.
Ha ha Houston we have a problem. I have just stuck on my test record to see how well it does. Ok as mentioned before I'm no science bloke so the technical aspect is above and beyond me but one obvious and glaring error has revealed itself. Whilst perfectly aligned left is coming out of right and right is coming out of left Doh 🙂 ok a switch around on the final fit is in order. In my defence, your honour, mouse wires are not the same colour as arm wires.
back again....
...to any that feel I might have been insulting, please know that is never my intent, however I tend to take things slightly too seriously. Sorry again if I have offended any.
Regarding any buzzing that is apparent: Yes, just running a ground wire from the arm tube to any system ground (preferably to a ground on any component that uses a typical 3 prong plug in NA works best). Even grounded, my choice of wire picks up quite a bit of noise. If I hold my tongue exactly the right way it goes away...., but usually I just reorientate the wires until no hum is present.
Squiffythin: Ok, I can buy into that. Someplace on the Interweb I saw a 24" arm on a TW Acustic Raven turntable and thought that a ways out there...but the premise of reduced tracking error can be demonstrated to one's self quite easily. I might suggest to those using aluminium shafts (again depending on the source and weight of the aluminium tube used) that really long arms can get a little heavy. Obviously less so with carbon fibre. Mouse wires are very good.... 🙂
I can only reinforce my comments regarding any outcome based using a different recipe than mine, YMMV.
...to any that feel I might have been insulting, please know that is never my intent, however I tend to take things slightly too seriously. Sorry again if I have offended any.
Regarding any buzzing that is apparent: Yes, just running a ground wire from the arm tube to any system ground (preferably to a ground on any component that uses a typical 3 prong plug in NA works best). Even grounded, my choice of wire picks up quite a bit of noise. If I hold my tongue exactly the right way it goes away...., but usually I just reorientate the wires until no hum is present.
Squiffythin: Ok, I can buy into that. Someplace on the Interweb I saw a 24" arm on a TW Acustic Raven turntable and thought that a ways out there...but the premise of reduced tracking error can be demonstrated to one's self quite easily. I might suggest to those using aluminium shafts (again depending on the source and weight of the aluminium tube used) that really long arms can get a little heavy. Obviously less so with carbon fibre. Mouse wires are very good.... 🙂
I can only reinforce my comments regarding any outcome based using a different recipe than mine, YMMV.
Stew nothing said was taken as an insult, either re the length or the cost. I was a little concerned that my post may have offended because of the way you replied and it was in no way meant to have. I just wanted to use the theme of the low cost to show what can be done with bits and bobs and, following your lead, produce an arm that has exceeded expectations on just how good it performs. As I mentioned in an earlier post your work is inspiring and this whole thread and the amount of guys who have had a go at their versions of the arm is testament to that. Keep up the good work, throw in your views and comments (these are important as you have been there, done that and designed the T-shirt)
Having produced a full cover base and made the final fit the hum is now present at an annoying level 🙁 so I have to find out what is producing this as opposed to the pre-fitted version. I've looked at grounding which has reduced it but not completely removed it but I need to check that I haven't missed a single strand somewhere in the soldering. Sometimes this hobby can give rise to levels of frustration that are so damned annoying and keep you awake till stupid o clock on a Sunday morning.
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