Bryan's Presto 8D mod's for Ortofon DSS stereo head!

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EpicenterBryan
Posts: 738
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:01 pm
Location: Eugene, OR USA

Bryan's Presto 8D mod's for Ortofon DSS stereo head!

Post: # 47433Unread post EpicenterBryan
Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:19 pm

I thought I would start a new thread since some of you guys spotted an accidental preview in a different post a while back.

Some may recall a fellow troll offering an Ortofon DSS 661 for sale some time back. Eventually, I became the new owner and the deal went down without a hitch. My conversation with the seller actually started several years ago, and came up again recently where it worked out for both of us to make it happen.

Yep, it's that one... You may recall some shots of internal corrosion on the underside of the bridge dating back multiple years, and much discussion had been posted about what to do. It's on my list to address as the new owner.
IMG_5490.JPG
I'm happy to report that the drive coils are fine, and the output response from the feedback coils is nearly textbook. I'll share some of that technical stuff in later posts. Having said that, I want to share a few things before I get too far ahead of myself for tonight.

Having done initial checks and satisfying myself as to it's functionality, I wanted to concentrate on some details like:
* How to attach it to my Presto 8D.
* How to inspect and replace the stylus.
* How to make and install a new "showercap" to keep stuff out of the head.
* What to change in my Caruso Massimo build to run the feedback.

These big questions will be answered over several posts, but "Let's get this Party Started!"

Tonight, I think I'm the only guy on that planet that has an Ortofon mounted on a Presto!

Bryan
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EpicenterBryan
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Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:01 pm
Location: Eugene, OR USA

Re: Bryan's Presto 8D mod's for Ortofon DSS stereo head!

Post: # 47439Unread post EpicenterBryan
Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:38 pm

The next step was to work on a mount.
I prototyped several versions in plastic until I was happy, and then handed the prototype to a machinist up the street.

Shown here on the left is my plastic version with the Angled mounting piece supplied with the head. The angled part attaches to the head and has two alignment pins. It has a mm scale on one side, and the thickness is 10mm.

On the right is the aluminum version the machinist made for me. Below that is the angled piece installed on the new bracket. The nice thing about this is that the angled part can slide up or down a bit if needed.
IMG_5639.JPG
IMG_5640.JPG
Attached to the head...
IMG_5641.JPG
And mounted on the lathe...
IMG_5651.JPG
The head is quite a bit heavier than a Presto 1D so something had to be done to counter balance it. I'll go into that in another post. Some people may remember that guitar string and counter weight setup from Groove Scribe. That has been abandoned in favor of another scheme.


More to come...
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