My first Frankentable - Sansui SR-717 and custom Rabco SL-8E

[gonzothegreat]

As the good doctor would say - Its ALIVE! Quite appropriate given the season.

Last year I found a strange Thorens TD-125 with a heavily modified Rabco SL-8E that nobody could recognize. Pics here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=348766

As discovered in the thread, the arm length wasn't adjustable and the previous owner installed the arm incorrectly (although he probably never noticed). I really don't care for belt drive turntables and the pic of the high end Technics with an SL-8E on the Rabco site had me drooling. While my stash of tables doesn't include a beautiful studio grade Technics, I had a few candidates. One of them was an armless Sansui SR-717 that was going to be thrown away at my favorite thrift - thread here http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=204958.

My brain chewed on the problem of relocating the controls for the speed and power controls and finally settled on a design that used a pair of switches from a Goodwill hairdryer and a wiring harness from a car alarm. I subbed a string of resistors for the pots since I didn't have the right values in the junkbox. The design is very spartan and works well with the Sansui plinth. At some point I'd like to upgrade to a metal armboard but that's not a priority. The Rabco arm didn't need much work. There was a broken wire in the right channel that was a PITA to fix but she's working after a quick and dirty strip and solder job. The neon strobe seldom works so I'll have to replace it with one I scrounged from a griddle controller (found at the same thrift) since newer neons are smaller than the original. Haven't figured out how to get at the neon to replace it but that will happen eventually. The VTA isn't even close thanks to the Sansui's wickedly thick platter and the limited adjustment range of the Rabco. I have to fab a thicker shim than the one I reused from the Thorens/Rabco combo.

Youtube video of the table with mildly amusing attempts at humor- http://youtu.be/IBWMstQ56-I

 

[Ghost Fish]

That is some impressive Macguyvering.

Kudos sir, kudos

 

[kotofei]

I have a Sansui XR-Q9 with the broken arm movement mechanism so it doesn't play even in manual mode. The drive and suspension on these Sansui's XRs are great but the tonearm movement gear are too complicated and spare parts nearly impossible to manufacture...

Someday I hope I'll have time amd money (and skills) to install an air-bearing linear tracking arm on it. People put them on SOTAs so why not?

 

[gonzothegreat]

Thanks for the compliments. Yesterday I found some 10k pots I had ordered from Jameco years ago and replaced the resistor strings. Now she's playing at the correct speed thanks to a beer inspired strobe replacement (http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=407915&highlight=strobe). The VTA has been adjusted and the arm is now parallel to the platter and I didn't have to cut a new shim. Yay!

I ordered the "Definititve Rabco SL-8E manual" from an ebay seller a while back. It boasted it had material not found anywhere else so I dropped the $30. The service manual and adjustment info will come in handy for tweaking the sensors when I get brave enough to rip it open but the rest of the info is of little value. The reviews of the Thorens/Rabco combo aren't particularly interesting and there are numerous blank pages.

I was also smitten with all the air bearing arms and would someday like to build a DIY version. Seeing as how my project "schedule" appears to be completely full until sometime in the next century, this will have to do for the moment.