Setting speed

[Chivas]

I appreciate to some this may be a numpty question...but...:

I grew up with a Techie 1210 and have always had the luxury of the built in strobe light to check the speed. I have now finally bought a belt drive (the OL Resolution) and am expecting it on Wednesday and cannot wait!!

So, apart from listening for "what sounds right", is there a cheap alternative to check that the deck is running at the correct speed? I would prefer not to spend £160 on a Clearaudio strobe light and disc.

Many thanks!

Chivas

 

[ridley]

Hi,

You can print a strobe disc off vinyl engine & use a mains lamp to test, not as good as a flashing LED test light but does the job.

Simon.

 

[bmtell]

Count how many revolutions it does in ten minutes. It's free, but slightly boring.

 

[SergeAuckland]

As Simon said above, print yourself a strobe disc, of which there are many on-line. Then, use a mains incandescent light bulb which flashes 100 or 120 times a second due to the mains. The accuracy of mains frequency is very good indeed, so there's no need for a strobe light.

S

 

[vacdac]

You can get apps for this using smartphones/tablets....I'm looking at one right now on the Android market place. Its called "Strobily Free-Strobe Light" the Apps author is Penguin77. The only H/W requirement would be for a Tablet/Phone equipped with an LED flash I'd have thought....this one seems to have generally good reviews & it is possible to adjust the strobing frequency from 0 to 100hz in 0.5hz steps.

 

[SergeAuckland]

If you have an Android 'phone or tablet and a test LP with a wow&flutter track on it, I can heartily recommend Platterspeed. I will measure the speed and also do some nice wow&flutter analysis.

S

 

[John (big)]

Take a look at my theadon the subject of laser tachometer (inexpensive)

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?80228-Digital-Laser-Photo-Tachometer&highlight=digital+strobe

 

[Chivas]

Very useful advice guys! Many thanks. I will look into the suggested solutions and let you know how I get on

 

[meninblack]

I use a strobe disc downloaded from Vinyl Engine and an old desk lamp. Does the trick, cost nowt. :^

 

[johnniebaby]

I use a strobe disc downloaded from Vinyl Engine and an old desk lamp. Does the trick, cost nowt. :^

Me too.

 

[lazycat]

i've used strobily with the VE srobe disc. works well.

 

[Jagged24]

See this thread for a method to set speed using a strobe app on an Android phone

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?79491-Adjust-turntable-speed-using-an-Android-phone

 

[Frizzy brizzy]

I use a card strobe disc I luckily got with a second hand turntable buy from definitive, the old incandescent bulbs work better than led's or the new saver bulbs for setting speed.

There seems to be a decent variety of apps to use, I really must make more use of my iPad.

 

[Chivas]

Ok, so I've tried a desk lamp with a strobe disc from VE and it did a good enough job. I used one of the energy saver bulbs and it was quite faint and sometimes hard to see the lines, perhaps I should rather use one of the old incandescent bulbs as in post 13 above.

The ilights iphone app did not do the job at all, so I am still looking for an iphone alternative for the Strobily app where you can set the desired frequency.

I also bought the laser tachometer as suggested in post 7 and should receive it in the next day or two.

Will keep you posted on my findings

Chivas

 

[meninblack]

Energy-saving bulbs are not much use for this. You need to find an incandescent.

 

[Ed Howarth]

I hope after all this you have the facility to alter the speed of your deck.

 

[Chivas]

Yeah good point, I hope so too!! ;-)

I hope after all this you have the facility to alter the speed of your deck.