[vortrex]

has anyone else noticed as the needle gets closer to the inner grooves the azimuth gets way out of whack?  without even looking at the cart, I set the nubs on the golf ball level with the top of the cup.  the distance between the string and the silver mounting point of the ball are then symmetrical.  when the needle is at the beginning of the record, everything is still good.  as it moves towards the inner grooves the nubs are no longer level with the top of the cup, the "triangle" formed with the string is no longer symmetrical, and you can visually see the cart is not riding parallel to the record surface.  am I crazy or is something wrong here?

[vortrex]

Figured it out, was because the collar wasn't centered well over the cup.

[threadkiller]

One should adjust azimuth by watching the cartridge reflection from the front of the cartridge, while one rotates the wheel.  The cartridge and the reflection should be perfectly matched.  That's the only way.

[vortrex]

I have a fozgometer and using the nubs as a visual guide at the top of the cup gets the azimuth perfect, as confirmed by the meter.  People should note though that if your collar is not perfectly centered above the cup your azimuth will be off as you reach the end of the record.

[mick wolfe]

Good observation. When the golf ball is clearly centered up all the way around in the "silicon jacuzzi", life is good.....not to mention the full sonic
potential of the arm.

[ohnofiasco]

That was a big learning curve for me when first getting this table.

[SteevA]

I have found that, on the Versales at least, the ball does not have to be centered in the cup to maintain the azimuth.  You must, however, ensure that it does not touch the side of the cup at any point as the arm tracks across the record.

Having read this thread I went to the machine and checked this out to be correct.

Steve

[vortrex]

that's correct, but the collar needs to be perfectly centered over the ball, wherever in the cup you place the ball.  I keep mine in the center, which is why I mentioned the collar over the center of the cup.

[SteevA]

I have had a closer look at this and found that, even without anything touching the cup there is a very slight (1-2°) change in azimuth as the arm crosses the record.  Probably not enough to worry about and appears to be caused by string geometry and the fact that the two strings do not slide past each other perfectly as they increase in twist.

Steve