DIY sota armboard

[Gabrielshorn]

Hi all,

I just got hold of an older Sota Star turntable. The only problem is that it came with an SME armboard. I need a Rega. Any ideas on making my own, or is this a case where I shouldn't be cheapskate and should shell out the $200 for an OEM composite armboard?

Thanks,

Greg Grimes

 

[Holger Barske]

That shouldn't be too much of a problem. Rega RB 250 - RB900 just need a round hole of 23 mm diameter with a center distance of 222 mm to the platter axis. That's all. You should not have any problems of doing a board on your own.

 

[Gabrielshorn]

Thanks for your reply. I also found another armboard that is pre-drilled for a Sumiko arm. Would that be Rega compatible as well? In any regard, I think I'll experiment with making my own.

 

[GaryB]

Why not just make your own?
I owned a SOTA a few years back and made my own armboards out of 3/4 inch MDF (19mm for metric fans). The stock armboard is thinner at about 10mm, so something like 1/2" material would be a bit better. To tune the sound you can even experiment with different hardwoods.
I just traced the original armboard on the new piece of wood and cut with a jigsaw. A bit of sanding and drilling for the mounting holes was all that was needed to be read to go.
I still have an extra homebuilt 3/4" armboard sitting around someplace if it would be of any interest
---Gary

 

[Gabrielshorn]

Thanks, Gary. One thing I'm a bit worried about is that the Rega doesn't have a VTA adjustment. Raising the arm higher is no big deal, but lowering it is. Are all SOTA armboards 19 mm thick, or just the MDF ones?

Thanks,

Greg

 

[GaryB]

Gabriel,
The standard SOTA armboard is 10mm thick.
The DIY armboard that I built using MDF was 19mm thick. At the time, I was using a Grado tonearm that had lots of room for VTA adjustment, so the extra 9mm height was not an issue. I've never used a Rega tonearm, so I don't know if the extra height would be a problem but your message seems to imply it would be.
---Gary