My special copy says Yoko is dead

May 24, 2007 4:40 PM

I have an old record turntable (in excellent shape) that I would like to use, but I'm stumped regarding to power it.

Its power cable ends in a male DC jack, not a 110 or 220 volt AC plug. It was meant to be used with a companion amplifier, which had the AC/DC adapter and a female power jack on the backplane which supplied 15v 2.5w DC. I've got the turntable but not the amp.

Can anyone offer a suggestion for an alternative power source for this table? All the external power supplies and wall warts I've ever seen for audio-related equipment (or laptops) have male plugs on their DC cables and expect a female power jack on the equipment to be powered. Does anyone make sex-change adapters for DC jacks? I suppose at last resort I could cut off the plugs and solder the wires together. If I get the polarity wrong, will the table turn backwards? I'd rather not do that, heh. (I mean, you can only listen to "Paul is dead" so many times, right?) And where should I be looking for the supply itself? Googling lots of variations on "15 volt 2.5 watt DC adapter OR supply OR source hasn't located anything appropriate. Any info or tutoring from more knowledgeable folk will be greatly appreciated!

posted by jfuller to media & arts (6 comments total)

Radio Shack.
posted by ChasFile at 4:58 PM on May 24, 2007

Is it an older turntable? The only turntables I've seen that match your description are from the 60's or older (my experience with turntables, especially higher-end turntables, is pretty limited though). If it is an older turntable, you might try to locate an audiophile group in your area. My dad's a tube and turntable freak and would probably enjoy poking at it for an hour if it's something he's never played with or would know where to find what you're looking for.

If you give me a better description I'll try calling him and seeing if he has any suggestions of the top of his head.
posted by lekvar at 5:06 PM on May 24, 2007

I have seen gender changers for barrel connectors (what I think you mean by 'DC connector') but they're a bit hard to find. I doubt you'll be able to find them at RadioShack anymore, unless you have one around that hasn't become really crappy.

Probably your best bet, that wouldn't require you to modify the turntable's cable, would be to get a female barrel connector in a matching size, and then get a DC adapter in the right voltage and current rating, and then cut the plug off of the wall-wart, and install the female adapter there ... don't touch the cord attached to the turntable. (But leave a 6-8" pigtail on the plug you cut off, so you can reuse it somewhere else).

Before you get out the molten lead, I'd hook everything up with alligator clips, to get the polarity right, if there's no indication on the machine of which side should be + and -. (I would try center-positive first, since it's more common than center negative.)
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:48 PM on May 24, 2007

Curious -- What is the make & model of the record player?
posted by omnidrew at 8:49 PM on May 24, 2007

Ray D. O'Shak will have a power supply (brick) with multiple tips. You have to make sure the power supply is at least 2.5 watts, more is fine. It also has to be 15 volts. Then, look at the diagram where the plug goes into the turntable. It will usually have some symbols which tell you whether the inside connector is positive or negative, this is important. Either the tip, or the power supply itself, will need to match this. I am a little unsure on that last bit. I think you need to get it right on the power supply itself, but perhaps you can use a polarity changing tip. If you get the polarity wrong it might actually fry the table. These shoud be standard, but they are not. The easiest thing might be to just bring the table into Radio Shack and get some help matching up their stock with your table.
posted by caddis at 8:50 PM on May 24, 2007

> Is it an older turntable?

Oh yes. I would call it old or even very old (but of course now you get to say "vintage.") It's a Sansui, model DA-P550, intended to get its power from a Sansui DA-T550 amp. I do have an old sorry, a vintage Samsui amp , circa 1972 and still giving very good service, but it lacks the power take-off.
posted by jfuller at 4:24 AM on May 25, 2007