Help Finding 220 Ac Record Turntable In Bkk

[jfchandler]

Any help in solving this problem is much appreciated.

I've got about 100 vinyl record albums that I want to convert to mp3s and/or CDs here in BKK, now that I have the leisure time to do so, both before the records get any older and so I don't have to keep lugging the big heavy box of them around with me.

I brought my 110 AC home turntable with me from the U.S. (along with a 220 AC power transformer). But whenever I've set it up and tried recording into my computer, I get a bad audio HUM coming thru the system. (And I never had that problem before when I did the same process in the states).

So, this has me looking for a 220 AC record turntable somewhere in BKK. But every electronics store I go to, the kids look at me with blank stares when I talk about records and turntables. (I don't think they know what a record is!!!)

Thus, anyone have any suggestion on where to find a 220 AC turntable here in BKK, so I can avoid the power conversion and electric hum in the record recording process.

Thanks, John.

[Guest Reimar]

You can find them at Ban Mor Area in Bangkoks China Town. Even Pioneer is there and I seen last time some in their window! But to first check in Old Siam Deparmentstore which is at Ban Mor!

Taxidrivers know Ban Mor very well.

[opalhort]

Try to ground the metallic parts of the turntable on the same ground line as the PC and transformer. This could help to get rid of the 'HUM' or use a line (RC) filter on the audio cable going into the PC.

opalhort

[Crossy]

Try reversing the power plug on the transformer.

Otherwise "The Analog Shop" in Fortune Town will likely have what you require

Don't forget you can't just plug your magnetic turntable cartridge into the PC, you will need a pre-amp with RIAA equalisation unless you have a software RIAA equaliser.

I've seen a USB box that does all the business, when my brain starts functioning I'll remember where

[Firefoxx]

There are several shops on the 2nd or 3rd floor of Fortune (towards the hotel side, not Lotus side) which sell LPs and related equipment. You can probably find a turntable there.

[sniffdog]

Perhaps if you wave a couple of those bills at them, they can do it for you ....

[bkk_mike]

If you've got a 110v one, why not just get a step down transformer?

[Crossy]

If you've got a 110v one, why not just get a step down transformer?

OP has hum problems using a Tx, he may also have 50/60Hz speed problems if the turntable has a synchronous motor.

[jfchandler]

Thanks very much to everyone for the advice and suggestions... I'll look further into Fortune Town, and some of the other tips passed along here.

So far, using my own Technics 110 AC turntable from the U.S., hooked up to a step down transformer that lowers the 220 current here, I get good sound and pitch for the music. The main problem is indeed the hum coming from either the turntable or the electric plug-in converter box that feeds the signal at an appropriate level for line-in input.

I've heard/read a bit before about switching the orientation of the electrical plug. I'll try that next to try to knock out the hum. But all this stuff (Core Duo laptop, analog turntable, converter box, & USB soundcard (since the laptop itself only has mic and headphone jacks)) is sitting atop my little used dining table/much used desk.

If anyone can offer specific suggestions of how to go about properly grounding all this stuff, it also might also help solve the problem. Unlike my desktop, the laptop doesn't have any external metal screws appropriate for attaching grounding wires. I'm not sure what else nearby I might attach them to.

Thanks, John.

If you've got a 110v one, why not just get a step down transformer?

OP has hum problems using a Tx, he may also have 50/60Hz speed problems if the turntable has a synchronous motor.

[elkangorito]

Thanks very much to everyone for the advice and suggestions... I'll look further into Fortune Town, and some of the other tips passed along here.

So far, using my own Technics 110 AC turntable from the U.S., hooked up to a step down transformer that lowers the 220 current here, I get good sound and pitch for the music. The main problem is indeed the hum coming from either the turntable or the electric plug-in converter box that feeds the signal at an appropriate level for line-in input.

I've heard/read a bit before about switching the orientation of the electrical plug. I'll try that next to try to knock out the hum. But all this stuff (Core Duo laptop, analog turntable, converter box, & USB soundcard (since the laptop itself only has mic and headphone jacks)) is sitting atop my little used dining table/much used desk.

If anyone can offer specific suggestions of how to go about properly grounding all this stuff, it also might also help solve the problem. Unlike my desktop, the laptop doesn't have any external metal screws appropriate for attaching grounding wires. I'm not sure what else nearby I might attach them to.

Thanks, John.

If you've got a 110v one, why not just get a step down transformer?

OP has hum problems using a Tx, he may also have 50/60Hz speed problems if the turntable has a synchronous motor.

Obviously you don't have a synchronous motor driving your turntable (unlike my old turntable, which did) otherwise you would suffer a speed difference. Although, if you're "tone deaf", you may not notice any difference.

About the 'hum'...well I'm sure the electrical "experts" will be able to "solve" that for you but I will not leave you hanging in the lurch. It's quite simple...all you need is a good "earth". This means that your whole electrical system must be earthed properly (unless you want to do a bad job). One "expert" here seems to think that all you need to do is to drill a hole in concrete, attach a wire to the hole (somehow) & you will have an earth. This is not only untrue, it's bloody dangerous. Also, "active/neutral polarity" must be observed for your situation to be resolved (not critical).

If you're using a "step down" transformer, it should have an "earth screen" (very safe), which is then connected to a "proper earth" (not connected to a metal lug that is drilled into concrete). Earth screened tranformers are used for 2 reasons;

1] Safety.

2] Electronics (reduced "noise").

Mind you, this transformer is only good at reducing noise if you have a "proper" earth to connect to.

Unfortunately, due to the wonderful American wiring system that Thailand has partially adopted, keeping correct "plug polarity" is virtually impossible due to the nature of the plugs & sockets (2 pin). I actually mark "active" & "neutral" on my "important" plugs & sockets. Again & unfortunately, it will take a reasonably knowledgeable person who knows how to use a multimeter & understands electrical systems OR an "electrician" (good luck finding a good electrician) to do this for you.

I'm sure that one of the other 2 knowledgeable people (Crossy or David96) may be able to help you with this. Do not trust any info from anybody else unless verified by Crossy or David96.

[opalhort]

Of course proper grounding is the way to go, but it is also advisable to keep the transformer physically as far away as possible from the turntable and PC/Laptop (>3mtr.) and make sure no audio cables get close to the power cables.

opalhort

[Crossy]

There are several issues with grounding audio systems which you need to consider.

1. Watch out for magnetic coupling between your VERY sensitive cartridge and the transformer (thanks opalhort)
   
2. The outer of your audio cables need to be grounded BUT only at a single point to avoid ground loops (your turntable may have a special connector for this purpose), keep the audio cables short.
   
3. You do have shielded cables don't you?
   
4. Have you got an RIAA equalised pre-amp, if so you should be using the AUX or LINE input to your PC (there may be a low-gain option on the mic input, look in volume control)
   
5. If you don't have a properly equalised pre-amp you will find your recordings suffer from lack of bass due to the way vinyl is recorded to limit excessive stylus travel, this can be fixed in software, never tried it myself.
   

[opalhort]

A RC filter for 50Hz may solve the problem even without grounding.

(do a google for RC filter 50 Hz)

They can probably be found at Bahn Mo (near China town) in BKK.

opalhort

[jfchandler]

See a related thread that's now surfaced on this same general subject...

PS... I still have the same box of records, not yet digitized... Life threw me a few loops in the intervening months that pushed down the records project to a lesser priority...

But meanwhile, I've replaced the older PC with a new dual core HP Media Center PC.... with integrated sound... Hmmm.... next stop.... new PCI-E sound card on the next trip back State-side...

Then back to the record player dilemma... Sorry guys... I know stereo and computer stuff... But I don't have a degree in electrical engineering...

Trying to figure out the upshot of all the prior advice on eliminating the hum from my prior turntable recording set-up was like trying to ski uphill...just going nowhere!!!!

[jfchandler]

Related thread.... sorry....

[jfchandler]

Just to update on this...I finally found some time to try once again setting up all the necessary parts and pieces to begin trying to digitize those darned records.... now with the abovementioned new dual core HP Pavilion desktop PC. And.... it WORKS!!!!!

In short, I'm doing the following: running a 110 AC direct drive turntable. RCA stereo jacks out into a 110 AC stereo pre-amp. RCA stereo jacks out with (on the other end) a single stereo mini-plug that goes into the stereo line-in jack on the back of my desktop PC. Using free Audiograbber 1.83 software to do the automatic line-in recording and track/file splitting.

There are a couple changes now from my original aborted/unsuccessful attempt...

1. The PC: The new PC certainly helps. But it has a RealTek HD onboard sound system, whereas my prior Pentium desktop had a separate Turtle Beach PCI sound card. So far, using the line-in jack, the quality of the recordings with the RealTek seems fine and good tone. I had considered looking for a new sound card to install, but the many reported problems with SoundBlaster cards and MS Vista put me off, for the time being.

2. The Grounding: Even though I didn't manage to get my degree in electrical engineering along the way ( ) like some of you guys, I did manage to take the grounding cable from the back of my Technics SL-D93 direct drive turntable and connect it to a metal screw on the back of my nearby desktop PC -- something I hadn't done in the original go.

3. The Pre-Amp: Because I didn't bring all my traditional 110 AC stereo gear and speakers from my past home in California, I don't have a traditional stereo with lines out in my home. Thus, to get pre-amp coming out of the turntable, I'm using a Recoton SP-2 stereo pre-amp purchased from back in the U.S. (a little small metal box with a pair of in and out RCA jacks, and an 110 AC power cord).

4. The Power Converter: Because the turntable and the pre-amp are both 110 AC, they are both plugged into a good quality 1500 watt 110/200 power converter/cleaner. It's nice because this model has 3 available plugs, 2 serving 220 and 1 serving 110... So the rest of my PC set-up is plugged into the 220, while the U.S. audio stuff is plugged into the 110.

5. Software: Using the free AudioGrabber 1.83 software, and downloaded and installed the separate (available on the Internet) LAME encoder for converting to MP3s.... The software works great, is very configurable to different quality settings using its line-in sampling function. It's particularly good for converting LPs, because it has adjustable track splitting with either hard or fade-out cuts... That means you can play an entire side of a record non-stop, and the software will automatically record it and cut the files into separate WAV/MP3s for each song as it goes...breaking them based on the silence typically found between tracks. The software also gives you the choice of recording as WAV files, duplicate WAV and MP3 files, or recording WAV files, converting to MP3s and then deleting the much larger original WAVs -- all automatically.

6. Cables: Yes, one thing I found that is helpful is to carefully physically separate all the different cables involved: the RCA sound cables, the power cord cables and the pre-amp cables, so they are not on top of each other and such. Right now, with all the power and units turned on (but not playing any sound from the turntable), I'm getting .10% to .15% "noise" (that's about one-tenth of one percent -- not 10 to 15%) on the line-in volume meter when I sample it. Even when I turn up my speakers full, there's nothing audible that comes thru from that.

Welcome any comments or feedback on all of this... Thanks to everyone above for your suggestions and guidance....

[JetsetBkk]

...Welcome any comments or feedback on all of this... Thanks to everyone above for your suggestions and guidance....

Phew! What a set-up! Can you say what LPs you have, as I have left a LOT in the UK and have spent many years slowly finding FLAC or MP3 equivalents of just about everything I have on vinyl.

Depending on your tastes, I can point you to a good '60s site.

[jfchandler]

JetSet, my tastes in music are pretty broad encompassing rock, pop, jazz, r 'n' b, and such....anything from the 60s onward.

Though in terms of the records I shipped/brought over here, all of those are pretty much early 70s through 80s stuff... mostly American and English rock n roll and fusion jazz.... Everything after that in time was CDs, of course, so all those were ripped to MP3s and I keep in that format before I ever moved here...

This is actually my third step in this long laborious process.... Before I ever moved, I ripped all my CDs to MP3s.... And then I ripped a smaller portion of old cassette tapes to digital files, also before I moved. But I couldn't quite get to all the LPs in time. So the LPs become a post-move project...the last step.

I think the LPs I'm currently working my way thru include (usually multiple different records by the same artists -- if I like them, I like them...) Stevie Wonder, Santana, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, The Moody Blues, The Crusaders, Art Garfunkel, Bob James and Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour, Manhattan Transfer, the Beach Boys, and some others.... not forgetting, last but not least... (wonder if anyone here in LOS knows them... Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes...

[JetsetBkk]

JetSet, my tastes in music are pretty broad encompassing rock, pop, jazz, r 'n' b, and such....anything from the 60s onward....

I've sent you a PM