Jack and MMD members,

The power supply in the original version of the Violano book will fry
your machine.  As mentioned in this morning's MMD, the voltage will be
peak instead of RMS.  As the first person to build one from the book, I
can attest to this first hand.  Fortunately, I suspected a problem and
checked before I connected it.  Unfortunately, I missed out on the
patent for the first combination music machine, room heater and ozone
generator.

Also, the AC and DC circuits in the machine share a common ground so
you will eventually burn out one or the other and possible electrocute
yourself.  You might also want to check the magnets for shorts to
ground as this will also cause some interesting problems.

A friend of mine built a converter with a dimmer/electronic speed
control but it didn't work very long with all the sparking - try
watching the TV with the Mills going.

You need the following features:

    * A power switch
    * A fuse in the line.
    * a variable transformer - 5 Amp+ Variac - to adjust the output for
      114VDC
    * An isolation transformer (10 AMP)
    * A diode bridge - full wave (or 1/2 wave if the isolation
      transformer is center tapped)
    * a large capacitor - a couple hundred mfd(min) @ 350 volts(min)
      will do.
    * a DPDT switch to reverse polarity occasionally so the magnets
      don't get polarized
    * Don't forget the bleeder resistor unless you like surprises and
      your insurance is paid up.
    * Get an old DC voltmeter (in a wooden box!!) and wire it across
      the line in the bottom of the case so you can keep an eye on
      things.

None of this is expensive, especially in comparison to $29K.  $200 tops
new, less than $50 surplus.

Make sure that you get the addendum sheet for the book, there are
several errors.

I'd chemical strip the outside of the case.  The inside is usually OK.
DO NOT try to take out the wiring harness as the wires inside are
probably hard and will short out.  (Unless you are going the whole
route to do a like-new restoration with new wire).

BTW, make yourself a small relay box to operate the reversing contact.
It carries a lot of current (and arcs) which burns it off after a while.
Then the machine will rip the roll off the spool and drag it across the
contacts.

Call me if I can help.
Craig