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Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

Yes, I've been following the Phoenix project

I'm a big fan of Phoenix Engineering's project. In fact, I was the one who jokingly suggested the name "Eagle" ;) It seems to have taken hold.

My Papst motor pulley is slightly large (or the circumference of the platter is slightly small) so my table runs slightly fast, based on a couple of downloaded smartphone apps for measuring speed. Interestingly, the thickness/width of different belts changes the measured speed significantly in this design (using a double-tapered motor pulley).

My VPI is dead-on 33.3rpm, but the DIY table runs at 34.1rpm. The speed problem is much easier to fix by varying incoming frequency, compared to machining the pulley. That's not to mention the Phoenix advantage of regenerated AC voltage as it improves stability and lack of noise.

I'm looking forward to the higher-power version. What I really *should* do is build a proper 3-phase supply that feeds each of the coils on my motor (it's a 3 phase synchronous eddy-current motor). But the feedback mechanism that Phoenix has developed looks like a superior solution.

Another factor from a motor noise standpoint is the voltage. I've found through experimentation that the Papst actually runs smoother/quieter at faster speeds. Using the Phoenix, I might be better off putting the belt on the 45rpm pulley and using the controller to drop the frequency so I can obtain 33.3rpm at the platter with a higher motor speed. The Papst seems unusual in this. Other motors I've used (Thorens) seem to be quieter with lower voltage. But it is (yet) another thing to focus on.

When designing my table, I broke it down into four areas and worked through each one. So I did development testing on motor mounting and motor noise. I worked on plinth design/layers/damping. I worked on the platter, which needed damping (rang like a bell!). And I worked on alternative tonearms. All told, it took me about a year to arrive at the final table, much of which was spent waiting to get parts out of the machine shop.

Fortunately, I'm very happy with the outcome. One of these days, I'll put my pics together and tell the story here. It was a very rewarding job!

Good luck with your project!







"Knowing what you don't know is, in a sense, omniscience"


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  • Yes, I've been following the Phoenix project - CometCKO 06:25:07 12/20/14 (0)

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