motor replacement dilema

You can look for a turntable motor as a repair or upgrade part sold by some turntable manufacturers. For example, VPI sells a stand-alone motor assembly called the SAMA. I don't know if it will have enough torque to spin up your huge platter in a reasonable amount of time. Your patience/willingness-to-wait-for-spinup will determine this. (I remember years ago, some turntables came with low torque motors, and you had to give the platter a shove with your finger to help it get started. Otherwise, you would have a looong wait.) Also, do check with the table makers for belts that are long enough for your set up.

If you can find a motor with enough torque to satisfy you, a number of power line conditioners for turntables offer fine speed adjustability.

I am using a VPI SDS power line conditioner. It allows fine tuning of the frequency of the power wave that is supplied to the turntable motor. This works for hysteresis synchronous motors (including the VPI SAMA), which are most of what is used today. VPI's web site lists their product line: www.vpiindustries.com.

If you come up with an induction motor, you need to get a power line conditioner that allows you to adjust the voltage supplied to the motor rather than the frequency. However, induction motors are considered not as good for turntable applications due to their lesser speed stability. Good luck.

Hello Jameswei. Thank you kindly for your reply. The tourque issue is not really the problem here. Because the platter on the Melco is a larger diameter than standard....I don't think I would be able to get the correct platter speed with a vpi motor regardless of conditioning.

Hi

You may want to contact some of the boys from Teres, Galiber or Redpoint. They sell battery powered outboard motors that you can dial in to the correct speed.
All those table have high mass platters and use similiar motors.

Paul

Don't ignore having the existing motor rebuilt.

Hey gang, thanks for the post's.Much appreciated here, I will certainly look in to the recommendations

Ecclectique,
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Time to return a favor - thanks for all of your Tube advice in the past for my Supratek Cortese - it was great help.
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Check out the reference motor from Teres - http://www.teresaudio.com/ref-motor.html
www.teresaudio.com -
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It is a stand alone outboard that should be able to handle your 75 lb platter - It is a bit pricey but well worth it. The battery option (well worth the sonic improvement) will cost you between $ 90.00 -120.00 -
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Call / email Chris Brady - great guy to deal with.
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good luck.
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Rgds, Larry
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Hey Larry. Thank you for the direction, it's very much appreciated. I did check their site and it certainly looks like a no-brainer to me.Got your email and I will call you. cheers David

The Teres motor controller will only work if you can:
- affix the strobe disk to the underside of your platter
- place the strobe sensor directly beneath the disc, with 1-2mm clearance, and run the sensor wire out to the motor unit

This typically requires a 1/4" hole through the plinth, to pass the sensor wire. I have no idea if a Melco will easily accomodate such modifications. If it can, then I heartily concur with the recommendation.

Last year you posted on my "TT Drive Belt comparison" that 1/4" tape also made a big improvement for you, but that yours didn't last very long. The Teres motor now uses 1/2" mylar, slightly heavier duty than mag tape. Unless you do something clumsy it should last. I'm still using a tape I made last February with no problems and no sign of wear or seperating.

Hello Doug. Thanks for your post. I don't see a problem with a hole in the plinth. The plinth on my melco is a 5 inch piece of solid birch. I am very interested in the Teres motor after reading Cello's post[thanks again Larry] I know the Melco is not very well known on these shores, however...In Japan, the original Melco table has long been considered to be "the Reference" for more than a couple of decades. The original outboard motor that the melco employed was actually a DC powered motor from a professional studer tape recorder. I love the concept of the terese dc motor and controller.I have already ordered one and want to thank you guys for your input here. 2 weeks of listening to digital is more than enough and the anxiety is killing me.

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Dave,
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Glad to hear that you will be getting a Teres motor. Do let us all know how the sonics compare to your previous motor once you get it all set up.
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Did you end up getting the Reference or the Series II motor ?
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Tell Chris hello from Doug and me.
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