After an extraordinarily stressful holiday season (thanks in part to COVID and other existential crises), I'm finally back in the shop on my next project! Unfortunately, I've had to shelve Project Llama before I really get started in earnest because my long-time laser collaborator is downsizing and I don't readily have the ability to get my plastics cut right now. I'll likely pick that one back up in a few months. Meanwhile, I've started work on Project Califone, an intensive renovation of a classic piece of audio equipment from my youth for element14 Presents. Califone, for the uninitiated, is a manufacturer of audio equipment primarily for educational use--classroom audio players, headphones, and PA equipment, mostly. If you're of a certain age, you probably remember setting the needle down on a 14-series record player, a leather-veneered wood-and-steel box that didn't deliver the best quality playback, but was adequate enough to drive a school dance or a "Fun Friday" listening session of The Letter People. In this project, I'll take the venerable 1430K down to bits, rebuilding it into a decent-quality suitcase player with upgraded components, amplifier, and modern output options.
At present, I've completed the teardown, and I've sourced an upgraded stylus cartridge. My next step is to clean and lubricate the drive system, then test the new cartridge before working on replacing the amplifier circuit. Stay tuned for more updates as they come!
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