[SteveFord]

I picked up an older WT with the square motor and wired inline with the power cord is a 10W 6000K resistor which is getting warm.
Is this something the factory did?
Also, the platter is really odd - it's a black platter and when you place the shiny side up there's a lip to seat the depth but it leaves a hole (spindle sized) about 3/4" of an inch deep.  Anybody seen this before? 
If you flip the platter over so the shiny side is down and it seats better (without that hole) there's too much resistance.

I found out what the deal is with the azimuth issue on the older WTs - you want to adjust the paddle so the holes are at the same angle as is shown in the owner's manual AND you need to remove the cup, remove the arm assembly from the pillar and spray both the top and the underside of the azimuth adjustment knob and the fishing line really well with contact cleaner.
That silicone is really tenacious stuff and any trace of it will make the whole arm flop over.
 

[Vic]

These are pictures of early player (top) and classic (bottom) tonearms. The both have the same paddle assembly. Do either of these match what you've got? Is the tone arm spinning within the pillar?

Does the square motor have a two or three prong plug?

Steve, when you lift the black plater does the spindle come with it out of the cup?
When you say resistance is the plater rubbing on the plinth or is the resistance coming from the spindle in the cup?

 

[SteveFord]

The tone arm is the lower one (same as on my Classic) and I've got the azimuth squared away so that's no issue.
The square motor is two prong and has this on the cord:



Here's the bearing cup and spindle:







What's weird is when you put the smooth face down it seats better but the platter drags on the plinth (rough face shown here):




but when you put the smooth surface facing up you end up with it looking like this:



the hole is more like 3/8" deep, not 3/4" as I stated earlier.

Maybe everything is as it should be.  I only have a WT Classic to go by, this is the first square motor one I've seen up close.

[Æ]

is a 10W 6000K resistor which is getting warm.

Too many zeros.
Your picture of the resistor shows it to be 600 Ω (six hundred ohms)!
"K" is the Mil designation for the tolerance, which is +/- 10 percent.
Warm is OK, hot is not.

[SteveFord]

Okay, good - I'm a motorcycle guy so K=1000 as in 100K, ridden hard, put away wet!
I guess the platter is how they made it back then or maybe it was an upgraded platter with an older spindle?  My Classic has a big monster hole in the center as the spindle is totally different.
It has REALLY low output from the cheap-o Audio Technica cartridge which is going to get replaced in the near future. 
I could get the gain way up with my Jolida phono amp but I don't know if I wish to trust my albums with this cartridge despite the previous owner's claim of it being almost wonderful.

[Vic]

The WTL plater should be slightly concave on the side you put the record on. Use a straight edge to check. If the correct side is up and it's rubbing then you'll need to check the pointed bearing at the bottom of the cup. If its worn down (never heard of that happening) you'll either try and locate a replacement cup (they come in two sizes, I think) or somehow shim the plater up.




 

[Vic]

My plater is a tight fit with the spindle so lifting the plater brings the spindle with it. Looking at your plater photos the third photo down with the four inch relief in the center looks like the record surface side to me. The last photo looks like the plater is upside down on the spindle.

[SteveFord]

Vic,
I agree about having the smooth side down even though that's how the table was shown in the ad.
A Moto Guzzi O-ring on the spindle fit right inside of the platter and that's all it needed to raise it up enough to keep the platter from dragging on the plinth.
Either Well Tempered screwed up a batch of them or someone was doing some mix and matching and didn't know that something had changed: either the spindle or the bottom nylon Allen. 
That drawing must be the later cup and spindle that's on my Classic.  This square motored one has the bottom Allen dead center so I suppose orientation doesn't matter but I put the punch mark in line with the pulley just in case.
AVNerdguy was good enough to explain the in-line resistor so I'll just cover it up with some shrink wrap and look for another Ortofon 2M Black in a month or so.
Thanks for your help, everyone.  This was a real pain in the butt as it came with everything disassembled and in seperate boxes - good for shipping but not so much fun for me.

[Vic]

The cup: If you're looking down at the cup and the motor is on your left the upper two bearing points need to be on the motor side in the plinth at 8:00 and 10:00 o'clock. If you look at the, 'looking down view,' of the cup the motor pulley would be at nine o'clock.

Is that plater concave? 


Enjoy

[SteveFord]

Yes, everything is set up right.
The allens are in the correct position and the concave side is up.
With a Jolida JD9 to up the gain a bit it sounds almost wonderful.
The cartridge is holding it back but I think I ran the winning lottery ticket through the wash.  One thing at a time.

[SteveFord]

It's really nice to have a turntable downstairs again!

[code4246]

Looks good !

Those old power cords with the blob do get warm when in use, nothing to worry about.

Is that a genuine factory black platter ?

Motor switch should be lower left, when looking down at the motor block from the front of the turntable.

 

[SteveFord]

Thanks - it'll look even more handsome with a black Ortofon hanging off of the front, I think!
I can't swing it this month but next month I hope to have the extra dough.
Vic's photos got me to flip the motor around which is how I have it now.
The previous owner had two WTs (the other one a Classic, I believe) and he swapped the platters around - it originally had the clear/frosted one.
He did offer to swap platters but I think that the black one is an improvement so I declined.  Nice guy, eBay seller by the name of (get this) smellyarmpit.
With a name like smellyarmpit it's gotta be good!
This black platter (and clamp) is different than the one on my Classic so I gather there's three versions of this platter: clear/frosted small spindle, small spindle black one and then large diameter spindle black one.
Are there any other variants?

[code4246]

Hi,
I believe the large diameter ones came out first, courtesy of the model revamp when Transparent took over manufacturing and the small diameter black platter was in response to owners of older tables wanting to upgrade.

[threadkiller]

See if that guy still has the clear platter!  Don't let it get away...
Otherwise looks great!

[SteveFord]

It didn't get away, it's right here.
It just took a little while. 

[threadkiller]

Excellent... Have you listened to and compared both platters? 
Wow, a fingerlift!!!  Haven't seen one of those in ages... Lol

[SteveFord]

No, I haven't compared the two.  I'd imagine that the black one would sound better but the clear on is what it came with and I liked the idea of keeping it original.

[threadkiller]

Ah, the assumptions... The black one damps the music down... In other words, it sucks... Try it...

[SteveFord]

The upstairs system has a WT Classic with the black platter, same phono stage and same cartridge which I've used for the past few years. 
It actually sounds really good which is why I bought another one.