Tour of the Tinfoil.com cylinder transfer process


Tone arm - long view   [Large version]   (Alternate image   [Large version])

Tonearm plus counterweight are 4.5 feet long. Tonearm is composed of a 3' long section made of semi-rigid carbon tubing, and a 1.5' counterweight portion made of semi-flexible nylon tubing. Counterweight arm absorbs motion induced by imperfect, out-of-round, cylinders. Tonearm output interfaces directly with host computer analog-to-digital converter hardware.


Glenn Sage operating a cylinder transfer   [Large version]   (Alternate image   [Large version])

Detached motor (right), via belt and pulley, drives (antique) phonograph.


Cylinder transfer - front view   [Large version]

Long tonearm traverses cylinders in a near-linear arc. An optical tachometer (visible at the extreme right) provides speed calibration.


Cylinder transfer - side view close-up   [Large version]

A wide variety of stylii are easily mounted in the old-style clip-in cartridge mount. Typical tracking weights are 1-2 grams for brown wax, 2-4 grams for black wax. If cylinder is badly out-of-round, it can be transferred with light tracking by lowering the transfer RPM.


Cylinder transfer software   [Large version]

Software used includes CoolEdit (to capture the transfers), RunMotor (to drive the motor), and Nutshell database.


Motor drive system - enclosure

8" x 6" x 3" motor drive system. Hardware and RunMotor software custom designed and built at Tinfoil.com by Glenn Sage.


Motor drive system - opened   [Large version]

The motor drive system is controlled by an imbedded microprocessor driving a high-precision microstepping motor. The system also supports an optical tachometer speed calibration system.


RunMotor software - main screen

RunMotor main screen uses a straightforward interface for motor control and RPM settings (accurate to 0.05 RPM or better). The program communicates via a low-bandwidth serial interface between host computer & motor drive system, and uses little host computer time; the motor drive system's imbedded microprocessor does all the heavy computing.


RunMotor software - configuration screen

RunMotor configuration screen. The system drives a microstepping motor with resolution up to 51200 micro-steps per revolution (1.8-degree step motor, 200 steps per revolution, with 256 micro-stepping resolution per step), delivering smooth motion in speeds from less than 1 to over 300 RPM. Includes support for automatic speed calibration via non-invasive precision optical tachometer.
See also the Note to Collectors of Early Sound Recordings


Home Early recorded sounds & wax cylinders Cylinder music shop An Edison commemorative
2nd page Note to early recordings collectors Cylinder of the month Links to related topics
What's new Tinfoil resource center Cylinders of the month archive Donate to Tinfoil.com

Copyright (C) (P) 1996-2024 Glenn Sage, Portland, Oregon.  All Rights Reserved.  Contacting Tinfoil.com.