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.