Any Atom A101 owners? Need a belt

[snoutmeat]

Hello! I imported an Atom A-101 (which is similar to the Vanrock) from Japan. I'm writing up the whole story, and will post it here soon, but I've hit a little hiccup.

It came with an odd needle (from a Victrola, I think), which is sorted now, but it also came with a missing belt -- the belt that goes just under the platter, which drives the worm gear that makes the platform advance (moving the record under the needle so the needle cuts a spiral instead of just cutting one circular groove).

I quickly figured out that the belt was missing (when the needle didn't move on our first test cut), but I am having a tough time figuring out what the belt should be like. I temporarily used a doubled-over rubber band, which worked for long enough to make a fresh test cut (and figure out that we had absolutely the wrong needle), but then I ordered a big bag of flat rubber belts in various sizes. These are working worse than the rubber band was!

The belt is "walking off" the flanged pulleys, but sometimes it walks up and sometimes it walks down, so I don't think it's an alignment issue. I've tried various belt sizes in hopes of a better result, but it's always the same. One pulley had traces of thread, almost like floss, so I'm wondering if perhaps the original belt was fabric and not elastic. Hoping someone on here has a working A-101 and can shed some light on the issue. The belt in question is just below the platter -- pop off the rubber mat, pop off the platter, and there it is. I have attached a photo. You can see that the mechanism includes an "idler", and that the idler is on a lever that adjusts the tension on the belt depending how far the recording has advanced. It's a clever mechanical arrangement, but I think the elasticity of a rubber belt is defeating the intended functionality.

Side note: I am optimistic about this machine. It does not look cheaply made, and (once I get the belt issue squared away), I think we'll be able to make some decent cuts with it. This one looks like it's hardly been used -- the moving pieces are still lubed, no signs of wear.

[mrd]

Yep, it's a weird belt alright. I couldn't find a replacement - the trick in the end for me was to use a rubber o ring from some plumbing connection (I'll check the diameter but likely to be either 32 or 40mm approz) https://www.instagram.com/p/BjHeK56BRoR/

[discosdecorte]

Yep, that weird fabric flat band... I wasn't able to find it anywhere! A 35mm square rubber will work: https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8429

[snoutmeat]

Oh dear! I'm "THAT GUY" -- the guy who knows how important it is (before creating a new post) to SEARCH on a topic to ensure nobody else has asked it before. Argh! Mea culpa! How awkward. I'd figured I was asking an obscure enough question that nobody else could possibly have asked it before. How wrong I was! Apologies for clogging up the forum with redundant posts, and thank you to those who've already been through this. One step closer!