Ugg10
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Over Lockdown #1 I bought a Pro-ject RPM1/3 Genie in need of some attention, sorted it out, enjoyed it for a bit and then sold on.
But........I have also been collecting parts for a custom turntable. Lockdown #2 has given me the opportunity to complete this (hopefully).
The parts are -
Lenco L75 heavy duty bearing, platter (3.5kg) and original rubber mat. I have upgraded the bearing to a ceramic ball bearing and PEM bottom plate. From 33rpm this now spins for over 4 minutes until standstill.
Pro-ject M303 300rpm 16v motor which I have replicated the electronics and mounted it in a heavy aluminium casing, the motor being on rubber mounts in the top plate. This is quiet and pretty much vibration free. The stock pulley and the Lenco platter see a stable 33.34rpm and less than 0.10% Wow Flutter (hoping to get this down more with a solid bearing mount and new belt, the old one was pretty stretched). Note this is around half the W&F of the Standard Genie and closing in on the Linn Axis, RPM5 and Planar 6 numbers.
Pro-ject Speedbox 2. I picked this up cheap so thought why not, this allows for 33/45 switching at the press of a button. The turntable will be wired so that it can be used with or without this box.
Rega RB303 tonearm, I picked this up in need of a bit of care. It needed the end of the tonearm re-painting which luckily I had some satin spray so tidied this up, then re-wired it (first and last time !) with Litz 30AWG Silver wire using a single wire from one end to the other. Finally made up a 3g cartridge weight as the AT VM95E I have on hand is a little light for the arm. I also had to sort out the antiskate system as the magnet had gone missing. But now all looks fine and ready to be wired into a Project connection box or a back plate (TBD).
I am waiting on an Audio Technica LS500 cartridge to be delivered (fingers crossed and praying to the great god Ebay) which according to the specs/limited writeups should be on a par with the VM540ML and seems to be a modified version of the AT14SA and has a Vivid/Linear Contact cut needle (between a ML and SH cut as far as I can tell).
The last bit of the jigsaw was to find a nice piece of Kiln Dried Walnut (approx. 1200x400x50mm) that I can cut a plinth and base from. These will be encapsulated in clear epoxy resin with the top of the plinth being raised to meet the lip on the platter. Only issue is that the epoxy needs 10+ deg C to cure well (otherwise it tend to go cloudy) so this bit may need to wait for a break in the weather. The plinth will be fairly large at 475x360mm but that includes the cutout for the motor.
All up weight should be around 8.5kg for the base, 9-10kg for the plinth/bearing/arm and 3.5kg for the platter so hopefully that should provide a stable platform to work from.
So, pictures below and will post progress as an when it happens.
But........I have also been collecting parts for a custom turntable. Lockdown #2 has given me the opportunity to complete this (hopefully).
The parts are -
Lenco L75 heavy duty bearing, platter (3.5kg) and original rubber mat. I have upgraded the bearing to a ceramic ball bearing and PEM bottom plate. From 33rpm this now spins for over 4 minutes until standstill.
Pro-ject M303 300rpm 16v motor which I have replicated the electronics and mounted it in a heavy aluminium casing, the motor being on rubber mounts in the top plate. This is quiet and pretty much vibration free. The stock pulley and the Lenco platter see a stable 33.34rpm and less than 0.10% Wow Flutter (hoping to get this down more with a solid bearing mount and new belt, the old one was pretty stretched). Note this is around half the W&F of the Standard Genie and closing in on the Linn Axis, RPM5 and Planar 6 numbers.
Pro-ject Speedbox 2. I picked this up cheap so thought why not, this allows for 33/45 switching at the press of a button. The turntable will be wired so that it can be used with or without this box.
Rega RB303 tonearm, I picked this up in need of a bit of care. It needed the end of the tonearm re-painting which luckily I had some satin spray so tidied this up, then re-wired it (first and last time !) with Litz 30AWG Silver wire using a single wire from one end to the other. Finally made up a 3g cartridge weight as the AT VM95E I have on hand is a little light for the arm. I also had to sort out the antiskate system as the magnet had gone missing. But now all looks fine and ready to be wired into a Project connection box or a back plate (TBD).
I am waiting on an Audio Technica LS500 cartridge to be delivered (fingers crossed and praying to the great god Ebay) which according to the specs/limited writeups should be on a par with the VM540ML and seems to be a modified version of the AT14SA and has a Vivid/Linear Contact cut needle (between a ML and SH cut as far as I can tell).
The last bit of the jigsaw was to find a nice piece of Kiln Dried Walnut (approx. 1200x400x50mm) that I can cut a plinth and base from. These will be encapsulated in clear epoxy resin with the top of the plinth being raised to meet the lip on the platter. Only issue is that the epoxy needs 10+ deg C to cure well (otherwise it tend to go cloudy) so this bit may need to wait for a break in the weather. The plinth will be fairly large at 475x360mm but that includes the cutout for the motor.
All up weight should be around 8.5kg for the base, 9-10kg for the plinth/bearing/arm and 3.5kg for the platter so hopefully that should provide a stable platform to work from.
So, pictures below and will post progress as an when it happens.
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