I have the 90' TT Kit from walthers. Yeah, I know that a lot of people on this forum will tell me that is my first mistake. But I don't have the resources to buy the y stuff I am not yet ready to scratchbuild my first turntable, maybe the next one.
So, given that I am determined to use this kit, I am looking for any tips or friendly advice to make the best of what I am working with. I haven't decided whether to go manual or power it up. I don't mind the idea of manually operating it, but if so, then I wouldlike to be able to do it by some system of belts or pulley under the layout connected to some sort of control on the front panel of the layout. Anyone have any experience with that idea?
Also considering going with a motor instead of manual if I can get enough guidance and encouragement on this forum to think that this is worth the effort and won't just become a royal pain in the butt. Any advice would be appreciated.
I could force myself to place this TT real close to the front of the layout so that I could more easily turn it by hand to the exact position every time I use it, but I would rather have the flexibilty of placing it further back and either using the motor or the pulley/belt system.
I am currently painting/weathering and assembling this kit.
Thanks in advance for any help offered. And please don't tell me to throw it away. That is not an option for me.
Thanks
wdcrvr
The two big deals with this kit are:
Make darned sure the bridge pivots smoothly, without rocking or snagging, for one full rotation. This means trial fitting and fiddling/smoothing/shaping the bottom main bearing. If you get that to work well, reliably, you are 70% of the way there.
Secondly, figure out how to keep the copper wipers up against the brass rings. They will want to slip over time, to sag, and they may slip off contact eventually. Maybe Locktite? Be careful, but make them work. Think about using a smear of Dextron III Mercon ATF as a safe lube. Maybe add a gentle kink or bend into the length so that there is a bit more pressure on the brass rings.
Once you have those two solved, you must find a way to reverse polarity for 180 deg turns, and then how to manipulate the bridge's motion. Maybe the guts of a direct drive phonograph turntable, or find simple gears and shafts, plus a small crank and bushing for the fascia area.
The motorizing kit for this TT isn't cheap.
Crandell
I also have the same turntable. If you take the care that Selector outlined for you, it will come
out just fine. I use the motor Walthers offers for spinning it. and an AR1 for reversing. An old
MRC 2400 power pack supplies power. I hooked up the track power feeders to it and use the reostat
to turn it. It has given me flawless performance for the last 2 years. You might get the motor and AR1
for about 50.00$, and powerpacks are pretty cheap. It's probably the most expensive way. But it is
a very simple two wire hookup. Have fun
Phil, CEO, Eastern Sierra Pacific Railroad. We know where you are going, before you do!
Although this topic is a year old, I just finished re-engineering this kit to get it to work for me. As mentioned, the bridge will want to tip from end to end. At first I though this could be solved by replacing the awful mis-shapen bogies that come with the kit. I cut an N-scale freight car axle in half, drilled out the bearing on the pit side to accept the axle, and inserted the wheel needle point facing the pit center, with the flange riding on the outside of the pit rail. While this rsulted in smoother operation, it didn't solve the tipping issue. After some headscratching and some alone time with my digital caliper I came up with a simple solution - a 1 mm bit of sheet styrene sandwiched between the end of the bridge and the bogey subassembly. With this installed the bridge is level and the wheels ride on the rail - no tipping!
With the big drive gear snugged up, the bridge turned a bit too hard for my liking. I sanded the bearing surfaces of both the bridge and the plastic bearing. The is a bit of flash on both. After I was happy that they were smooth I added a puff of dry graphite powder to help lube things up.
As others have mentioned, the pit is out of round and this will cause binding. I spent a fair amount of time sanding the end of the bridge, as well as the circumference of the pit. I think the most important advice for this kit is - DON'T GLUE THE BIG DRIVE GEAR on until you have test fit everything and have it working properly. Once that glue has set there is no going back to fix the issues with the bridge.
Another drawback to the design of the drive mechanism, if you are using the add-on Walthers motor, is that the motor is mounted to the shroud that covers the inner workings. This means you are flying blind when installing the motor and trying to get it to mesh well with the drive ring. I finally drilled out a 1' hole in the shroud, right above the where the gears need to mesh. This allowed a measure of control when installing the shroud and aligning the gears,
The copper wipers were the next problem, Instead of relying on the supplied nuts and bolts to secure the wire I soldered the wire to the wiper. I also wrapped about 3/4 of the lower wiper in electrical tape - to avoid the possibility of a short between the two. The plastic washer that separates the two brass rings is not wide enough and the upper wiper tends to ride up and over the washer. To remedy this I added a homemade 3/4" washer cut from a styrene "For Sale" sign.
With these modifications I can happily say that I have been able to get the TT to run reliably in both directions with no dipping, chattering or binding. I hope that someone out there finds my experience useful.
Cheers