has anyone tried to use cassette motor?

[Dj-IceLava]

I got this idea of using cassette player motors in laser show, you can reverse, slow forward, fast forward. Has anyone tried this?

 

[SenKat]

THAT is a great idea !!!

 

[Lazergirl]

My bedroom already looks like a disco! lol ;D ;D ;D

Sounds like a good idea tho!

 

[AJ_Dual]

Oh time-traveler from the 20th century, please do tell us more of this (what did you call it again? Ahh, yes...) "cassette player" of which you speak so fondly.

Is it similar to Edison's wax-tube gramophone, or perhaps it's from the early days of the MP3 era? The curator AI's from the Lunar wing of the Smithsonian Virtual Institute would pay many new-Yen for a working example of such technology!

And this er..."rewind" function? Was listening to music backwards a popular cultural activity in the 20th? Were the folk-dance steps of the day reversed as well?

 

[rog8811]

It is a verrrrrrrrrry long time since I took one of those apart, you may find that the speed change is done with belt drive for play/record and a wheel on the capstan for FF/RW, in other words the motor runs at the same speed all the time.

The motor itself will be DC and speed variable with a pot though

Regards rog8811

 

[Hemlock_Mike]

Rog8811 is right about any old cassette players I've played with. The new ones may have electronic speed controls but the old ones used the old "flyball governor" on the brushes to maintain constant speed as the batteries slowly died.
They will probably work at the speeds you want them to run at lower voltages.

Mike

 

[Grn_n_TX]

Maybe you could find one of those old light bulb w the colored clear plastic discs that would spin slow in front of Christmas trees... those motors were slooooooooow.
Maybe a garage sale? Junk shop? Thrift shop-Goodwill...who knows...
Just a thought.

 

[Things]

AC synchoronous motors? i think that's what they are called? they rotate very very slowly, but you kinda want fast for a laser show!

 

[Lagoramus]

Well if it isnt too hard couldn't you just use a normal DC Syncronous motor wired up to a couple of Bridge drivers with a PWM and just have it go hell fast? Im pretty sure i've got something similar to that back in my old Project shed, My application was a Conveyor belt. Im sure if i took that apart it would make a nice scanner type effect.

 

[Rhith]

I've actually got an old old old cassette motor sitting here. It has a variable pot in the casing of the motor it self. I currently have it hooked up to an old PS1 power supply (7.5V) and it keeps me entertained. I haven't attached a mirror to it yet but using some tin foil on it for fun it's working so far! Just my 2 cents.

 

[Rhith]

And that's what happens when you put a mirror on it! ;D ;D