DIY Rotary Speaker Motor

[Mark Hammer]

I'm on my second unit (I had to sell the first one in 1980), using an assembly taken from one of the "free-to-a-good-home" dual-keyboard organs one sees advertised on an almost daily basis, as the people for whom those were the quintessentially hip acquisition move into nursing homes and their adult children pack up the house.

The units typically come with a 20W 8" speaker and a 2-speed motor. The rotor is a piece of styrofoam that I affectionately refer to as a "cheese wheel". It is rotated by a belt-drive mechanism, that does all the ramp-up/ramp-down stuff. The assembly can be rehoused in a standalone cabinet and powered by the external speaker jack of an amp. They sound fabulous.

There are several caveats, however:
1) an 8" 20W speaker is not exactly gigging level loudness
2) it is a single rotor system, like a Vibratone, rather than dual rotor
3) by virtue of their design and intended application, they only work on the vertical plane (up/down) and will not work on the horizontal plane; this means that whenever the rotor points downward, you will lose a bit of sound, unless you have a very clever cabinet

But as has been pointed out, the price is whatever it costs you to go to the location and cart it away. It sounds great on guitar once set up.

[olddawg]

When I was a kid we would repurpose an old record player to spin the styrofoam (or even cheap wall paneling) disc. Some ac motors could be controlled with a triac light dimmer... some not. Depending on the TT used you could implement different designs. Some belt driven.. some not. Fender made a similar production one.. I think it was belt driven.

[Boy Howdy]

Go to a thrift store. All kinds of motors can be found there for cheap.

What about a window fan motor? Already has a three speed option.

[J M Fahey]

Funny... All the ads on the bottom of this page (on my display anyway) are electric motors at e*bay. I looked at a few this morning when I posted here.

Wonder why all of my ads are for buxom Ladies clad in leather, with stiletto high heels and velvet whips.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Pretty much moot anyways, this poster seems to start a thread with a single post and never a second post in the same thread.
nosaj

I'm enjoying the thread, though your observation is 100% correct. Note our rarely seen junior member Magic Smoke is now rated as a "twobie." Wonder if he ever reads the results of his enquiries.

[Justin Thomas]

Wonder why all of my ads are for buxom Ladies clad in leather, with stiletto high heels and velvet whips.

Mine are for mattresses... I guess it sees my irregular hours here & thinks I can't sleep because my bed sucks...

Jusrin