Short of seeing live music, there's no sound like that of vinyl. Not long after I bought my first record player I decided it would be a fun summer project to build my own using objects around the house, then compare the two. Throughout the project I only needed to purchase a stepper motor, a record needle and a few tools; the rest is build from the lid to a bucket, an old hard drive, thread, a sharpened pancil and a lot of wood from my shed. By the end of summer I had a second way to enjoy my vinyl. The result of the test was that Audio-Technica knows what they are doing with their "professional turntables", but mine still sounded better than any Ipod out there. Even after some time I still like to take it for a spin every once in a while.
The record player is spun by a string wrapped around the circular bucket lid, rotated by a stepper motor. The arm is supported by a pencil, which is sharpened to act as a fulcrum. The circuitry is housed within the base, which can be easily accessed by rotating the covering. The audio is output via RC ports. The balance and anti-skating of the tone arm are controlled by adjusting nuts along two screws, placed on the back and side of the counterweight. |