Expressimo, that's the teeter-totter design I was thinking of but couldn't recall the name. Very elegant simple mechanism, you could built it yourself. The trick is its balanced on a lever arm such that the very small sideways force of the arm is enough to tip the balance weight over and send it falling, where then the lower arm comes up and lifts the tone arm. Its a bit sudden and jarring in action but with a little felt in the right places..... also just looking at the pictures you could DIY one pretty easy. With wood for the upright and arm and a bolt screwed into the end turning the bolt would adjust the balance tipping point. It would take a bit of trial and error but nowhere near waiting a week, and cost next to nothing.
The spring loaded hydraulic lifts are smooth but spendy, and as Mike points out the beauty of the Expressimo is it works on gravity, something that seldom if ever fails to work.
The spring loaded hydraulic lifts are smooth but spendy, and as Mike points out the beauty of the Expressimo is it works on gravity, something that seldom if ever fails to work.