A Cunning Plan

It's been a time of slow reflection since the last post !

I've been into our local B&Q diy store because they have a 'hobbying' section. They sell metre long strips of steel, ally and brass tube, round and flats. Useful stuff. I will need some of this stuff for my cartridge to sit and pivot on. It's probably not the cheapest way of buying it, eg, a metre (yard) long round of 6mm (1/4") in mild steel, £2.00 (US$4.50), but is convenient.

I've not bought any yet, just thought I'd look. The very next thing I need to buy is a second hand record player, or to be more precise a music centre. That way I will get a turntable motor, amp, cartridge and electronics, the last piece of that list being the scary bit where I will some help!

There is a charity shop in Dover where I will look on Saturday.

First Sketch

Just a quick note - this is a scan of my first scribbling of a direct tracking system. The pivot will be a tube passed between the two mounts that the original reproducer arm pivoted on. Then I envisage two tubes along which a cartridge can track. This will be sprung-loaded to allow for up/down movement.

More soon !

The Bedplate Gets a 'Birthday' !

I took the bedplate to work today and gave it a much needed clean. In the motor business it's called giving it a birthday ! A dose of brake cleaner followed by a steam clean !

I did jot down a basic sketch of a direct tracking set-up. Has given me a few ideas. Will put it here when I remember to bring it home. The next major job it needs is the removal of some rusted in grub screws. That will have to be a weekend job; they will need some heat to free them off. Not too much as I know what can happen to cast-iron. I will have to be careful.

First Thoughts

After having read most of Christer Hamp's builders' page I think my favourite pick-up

style is Rob Lomas's Direct Tracking method.

Personally I think a long arm from a stereo record deck looks clumsy and while it may work well, makes the whole thing into a huge piece of kit. I like the compactness that comes with Direct Tracking. After all, Edison designed and marketed the most compact, useful and altogether 'friendly' machine that he could.

The bedplate has a date with the steam cleaner tomorrow ! I don't know how old this machine is (the serial number is 110338), but the Fireside Model B was produced from 1912 so there is potentially 95+ years of crud built up !

First Steps

Well, the thing has arrived from Canada. I am indebted to Rocco & Connie for sitting on it for so long. All I have to decide now is how to proceed. The very first thing I'm going to do, and indeed have begun is to read how everyone else made their machines on the phonograph makers' website. It's not a case of copying, more a case of taking the best, simplest and most efficient way of doing things with the available budget... what budget ?!

I've read half of the cases on there and have so far made the following list of things to consider and lines to follow. Some are just notes to remind me of things - it's not literature:

Strobe

Isolate/insulate bedplate from box

Isolate/insulate 'carriage' from bedplate

Isolate/insulate motor from bedplate

Isolate/insulate box from its resting surface

Spherical quartz stylus

Cartridge pressure of 3 grams

Drive belt tensioner

Don't use glass stylus on black cylinder

Expert Stylus make a 7mm diamond for Shure cartridges for 2 minute cylinder

Shield cables to reduce hiss

Original 4 minute cylinders use 3.5 mm stylus

Direction of rotation ?

Adjustable speed, 120 to 200 RPM

Flywheel for mandrel smoothness

Cartridges: Stanton 680, 681, 881 w/ Shure M75 cart'

Earth grounding to reduce hum

I think I'll take it to work and steam clean it tomorrow !

The list so far.

More soon.