How to connect UK Rega Planar 2 in the U.S.?! HELP!!

Hello, so I bought a Rega Planar 2 through Amazon U.K. because it was cheaper than here in the U.S. now I feel stupid because I did not think about the power supply. Can yall please help me figure out a way to be able to connect it here in the U.S.? Do I just need to get a U.S. power supply that meets the power requiremnets? Or is there something else I need to do? I dont want to do something that will damage the electronics inside the the turntable. Thank you for your help.

 

240v/50hz step down transformer required to work on 110/120v 60hz
50hz motor / pulley could affect speed if used on 60hz mains supplies

 

Can you return this? You are not saving any money since you will be replacing the motor and I don't think you have a warranty now since you didn't purchase from a US Rega dealer.

 

send it back.

 

If the current Planar 2 motor is like the older ones, it runs on any voltage from 24V on up. The power mains frequency would be the issue. If you run a UK Rega turntable with a US power supply (assuming the plug fits) you increase the speed by 60Hz/50Hz. The turntable would run at 40 RPM instead of 33 1/3 RPM. If you could replace the US pulley with a UK pulley, it would in theory drop back to 33 1/3 RPM. There’s a seller named Michael Lim who has pulleys for Rega.

Enjoy life with LP's and Turntables: Michael Lim turntable accessories compatible with DIY & Rega TT's

Rega motors might be different now, but it’s easy enough to look underneath and see if it’s a Premotec AC Synchronous motor, like this one -

https://premotec.home.xs4all.nl/pdf/synchronous/SY31.pdf

This is just discussion of the question, not advice. There might be some risk.

 

I'm surprised to learn that serious turntables are sync'd to the AC frequency, which tends to vary, not least because of periodic adjustments made by the utility companies. Utility frequency - Wikipedia .

 

In the US, the practice of daily clock error adjustment has been discontinued.

 

Which would make sync-ing it with the AC frequency even more problematic, wouldn't it?

@Edwin Figueroa Many, many people have moved from the UK to the US, or vice versa. There is plenty of experience out there with just stepping up or down the voltage through the kind of regular transformer you can purchase to make your gadgets work overseas. I would try it with that and see if it really plays your LPs at 40 rpm. And perhaps just email Riga to ask what issues you are likely to have if you were to relocate one of their turntables from the UK to the US.

 

No, easier. Let’s say the grid averages 60.01 Hz for an hour and the 60.00 Hz the rest of the day. The time error correction would cause the grid to run slow for a while at the end of the day to make up for the hour when it ran fast. They quit doing that, other than for special circumstances.

 

And when the grid runs consistently fast or slow? Your turntable speed will be consistently off. I have to be honest - I’m pretty skeptical that a serious piece of kit wouldn’t incorporate the kind of circuitry to help with accuracy that even a $2 digital watch includes. I’m also very skeptical that people who move from the UK to the US find their LPs playing at 40rpm and have to buy new turntables. Convince me!

 

I certainly don’t have any motivation to convince you. I’m just discussing the technology of a Planar 2 in the interest of helping find a solution.

 

Send it back and buy one that's for the US. I can't imagine the savings were worth the headache you're going to have trying to get this to work.

 

I’d ignore anyone in this thread who pontificates without any supporting evidence.

Does power grid frequency fluctuation affect TT speeds?

 

That thread linked to an article that exactly explained what I'm talking about. You can even see my response in that thread. It is about suspending the practice of time error correction. It is a practice of introducing an error to balance out previous errors. I don't know why you have an issue with what I've said here.

 

No issue with what you are saying, Bob. I think the best thing the OP can do is seek advice from Rega customer support.

 

No, the best thing is to return the table and buy one made for the US market.

 

He should return it even before he determines there is a problem with it?

 

The problem is it's made to run on 220/240v 50Hz. We don't have that in the US.

 

That's not necessarily a problem nowadays, plenty of devices include circuitry to cope with AC power differences. The OP should contact Rega before going through all the hassle of returning it, as it may not be necessary,

 

The Planar 2 manual indicates that there are different PS2 (i.e., wall wart power supply) for different countries, but they all output 24V AC. http://www.rega.co.uk/uploads/planar-2-manual-2019.pdf

So it is possible that the OP only needs to get a US version PS2, which is $59.95 at Turntable Labs Rega: PS2 Replacement Power Supply For Planar Turntables

I would follow @Veni Vidi Vici and ask a US dealer or Distributor to confirm before sending back the unit.

 

Here's a page where Michael Lim addresses the 50Hz/60Hz issue, noting that it requires changing the pulley. Another difference is a presence of an extra resistor in the UK model, shown in the diagram of the motor connection. I don't know how current that diagram is. Maybe it pre-dates the Rega change to 24v motors. He says the motor is the same in both models.

Enjoy life with LP's and Turntables: Another headache of Rega turntable speed .... 50Hz/60Hz problem...