Roadrunner reapearance
I saw on the latest edition of Analog Planet on MF’s video of the show he attended that at the SOTA booth, they had a working product of the Roadrunner w/motor/pulley as a drop in for a VPI. Anyone here have more info or even better, have one in use? It was reported it is now a product for sale @ $1k. No mention of it on SOTA’s website.
Showing 6 responses by phoenixengr
SOTA had inquired about producing the Eagle PSU that would be compatible with existing 120VAC synch motors and they are free to pursue that option if it makes sense. When I originally discussed this with Christian, we came to the conclusion that it made more sense to offer the 3 phase Condor PSU matched with a MUCH better motor for $725, than to offer a good PSU for $600 to drive a mediocre motor. The RR tach is offered as a stand-alone option for use on any table. Check with SOTA for details, but I believe the motor will be offered as an upgrade into existing plinths/SAMAs as well as with a SOTA SAMA (stand-alone motor assembly). Why go steerage when you can ride first class for $125 more? |
@rodman99999- You can download the motor spec sheet here: https://sotaturntables.com/products/eclipse-package/ The mounting holes are nearly identical to the Hurst 59 series motor (within 40 mils on center). The motor has a ¼" shaft, but comes with an aluminum pulley and uses a flat belt rather than multiple round belts. |
@slaw- The PBN tach is a bit of a misnomer. The tach counts pulses from a high speed clock (18.518kHz) so it will produce a reading of 33.333 when it takes 1.8S for one platter revolution. However, it is counting the period of rotation, not RPM, so as the platter slows down, the reading will increase and if it speeds up, the reading decreases. The only time the reading is correct is at exactly 1.8S/rev. There is a separate clock for 45 RPM, so the tach must be switched between 33/45. If you can live with those limitations, it is a fairly clever design. The RR does not need to be turned on or off; the tach comes alive automatically when the platter starts spinning and goes to sleep when there is no activity for 5 minutes. It also has an accumulated playing time counter that can be used to track stylus wear and can be reset when the cart/stylus is replaced. |
@mantistech- The 3 phase motor from SOTA is a low voltage motor (24V); the standard VPI motor is 115VAC. The Condor controller is powered by a 24VDC wall wart and produces 3 AC waveforms for the motor, the frequency, voltage and phase depends on the speed and load of the motor.I saw your pics on the VPI forum. The Eclipse motor has 3 flying leads that are normally soldered to a 3 pin male chassis mount plug. The Condor has a cable with a 3 min female connector. You will need to make up a short cable to replace the captive AC cord you have currently. One side of the new cable will connect to the 3 wires on the motor using small wire nuts inside the SAMA housing, and the other side will need a connector like this: https://vetco.net/products/3-pin-male-inline-mic-connector soldered to the 3 wires of the new cable and will mate with the 3 pin female connector of the Condor. The wire order is almost immaterial, the worst that can happen is the motor runs backwards. If that happens, swap any two of the three wires and the motor will turn correctly (you can also change the motor direction in user program mode on the Condor). The Condor/Eclipse motor cabling can be seen here: http://www.vpiforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10919&start=30#p52440 |