The Secret Society of Lathe Trolls

I've got a couple of large turntable mats for sale.
$20 USD each + shipping.

1) 14.75" diameter x 4mm thick - silicone

2) 15.25" diameter, 1/8" thick - rubber/Buna-N

Hey Mike, this is exactly what I was looking for - thanks so much for sharing this!

They're probably referring to Harry Olson, Director of Acoustic Research at RCA. My first thought was that this is the "Olson" that the head was named after, but I have yet to come across anything out there that supports this.

Thanks for the share!

Hey grooveguy, This is great information - thanks so much for sharing. Very interesting about the joint production with Fairchild and Lipps, and makes sense why we see these heads with different "looks". Mine is the typical Olson black, but without the 'OLSON' lettering on the front. I love yours wi...

boop.

There's not much info about these heads online, and what little there is comes in bits on this forum. Does anyone know the history behind these? Who made them, years produced, etc.? It seems like Fairchild used (copied? bought? stole??) the design for some of their mono heads at one point, which add...

I don't know about value, but I do know the tables themselves are pretty rare. Next to nothing about them on the internet, very little documentation or even mention of them in audio forums outside of this one. As far as I can tell, they were designed to be "Recording Turntables" with their 16" overh...

what you're describing sounds a little different than mine (the M5 'Master Pro' overhead for 16" discs) so I attached some photos of the part next to a ruler. I hope this helps!

If you need the dimensions, I can measure mine and send them to you

2 amps is exactly what I was thinking as well. Thank you!

Hi, Yes, you don't want to introduce very much extra resistance between the amp and the head. Its also possible that if the meter uses a rectifier to convert the AC to DC that it might cause some unwanted effects on the signal. It may be hard to find analog current meter that fits the bill. Mark Th...

Hi, I would not lose the fuse. That is still your protection (as limited as it is). Adding current monitoring is a nice thing depending on the meter type and if you understand how to interpret the readings. If you decide to make a current reading you can do it by breaking one of the leads to the he...

so here's another question... rather than a fuse, if I wanted to put a milliamps meter to just monitor the current between the amp and the cutterhead, would I get a meter that measures AC or DC? I know the amp outputs an AC signal (+ & -), but I'm wondering if DC would work if I just attached it on ...

Thanks for this info! Good question on the RekOKut model this came from, that I do not know. I've seen ad's for standalone VU meters that they sold, and this very well could be one of those. I've never seen one installed in any of their amps, and the meters that are in their amps look different than...

That's what that looks like. Seems like 500ohm was also a common cutterhead impedance back then.
Dumb question - does adjusting the input level of the signal have an impact on the output amperage from the amplifier?

Hi Mark, thanks for your reply. By hooking it up "across" the head, do you mean in parallel, as in the photo (if I am using 8ohm)?
This is helpful information, thank you!

Hi all - I found a really cool Rek-O-Kut VU meter off of 'the auction site' a little while back and I'm wondering if any trolls might have installation documentation for it, or have any idea how I might go about installing this in my signal chain. If I can install it like any other VU meter, I know ...

I'd be all over that if I were anywhere near Michigan...

Hi Tasos, I'll take one if that's still possible - thanks!!

Here are some photos of the crank pieces from my M5. It's a clever design. The metal sleeve has a set screw that tightens to the flat spot on the gear rod. Inside of the metal sleeve is a metal coil with a hook on the end that catches on the slot on the crank itself.