[Wayner]

What's wrong with lead? Your not going to eat it are you? I have a lead in line sinker on my Empire.....

 

Wayner

[rcag_ils]

Here's the anti-skate hanger for the arm.

Nothing's wrong with lead at all as far as it's functionality, and of course no one would eat it in my household, although I have small kids in the house but it's not really a concern. I just don't think that a lead sinker would look scientific enough to be an anti-skate weight for a tonearm. Lead sinker would be more appropriate to be on a fishing pole. Since tonearm is a precision instrument, all it's parts should be symmetrical, and statically pleasing. So cosmetic is the issue for me.

[neobop]

Maybe it's a good idea to try it first with the nuts. That would give you the flexibility to experiment with the weight. It looks like you're limited with the number of positions to anchor the string. You might want to consider having the amount of weight flexible. I found nylon fishing line difficult to work with when I had a similar task. I wound up using heavy duty sewing thread. It works just fine.

That 1877 connector at Parts Express is high quality. It has a teflon insulator and gold plated copper contacts. I doubt if your giving up anything compared to Cardas. The tonearm wire at the top of the page is also good. I'm using that in a Sonus arm. It's a low mass arm and Cardas wire is said to be stiff.
Regards,
neo

[Mikeinsacramento]

You could melt a lead washer and cast it in any shape you want.  You could have Mickey Mouse dangling from your tonearm if you wanted.

[andyr]

My magnepan Unitrac had a little plastic bucket filled with tiny shot for the antiskate! (it even came with a sheet of sticky 'tops' to cover the bucket with)

Lizzie - the "Planar Asylum" Lizzie?    Well, hi. 

So you have a UniTrac - which one of your TTs do you have this on (the Kuzma?)?  I had been looking for one for quite a few years and last year scored one on eBay.  Well, actually, I scored one from Italy and had I been able to read Eyetalian, I probably wouldn't have bid!    The seller said it was lacking the azimuth weights and the headshell - but it was NOS (still in its box) - so I got it for about USD250.  A couple of weeks later up popped those very same items in a spare parts auction on eBay - so I made sure I won them too.    That cost about USD350.

So for USD600, I assembled a complete, unused UniTrac.   Subsequently, though, I have decided it is extremely unlikely it would sound better than my Graham 2.2 ... so I am going to sell it.

Regards,

Andy

[Wayner]

I have a problem with a free hanging weight, like the ones used on Music Hall tables. When you start a record, the weight will swing until it looses inertia. If you put the arm down before movement stops, the stylus will ride from side to side along with the weight movement.

That is why I have an "E" string from an electric guitar going thru the hole in the weight. The head of the string is in a pile of goob on the Empire platter, then goes thru the weight and then thru the same loop as the fishing line. The lead weight sits on a very small washer, that the fishing line is tied to, so the lead weight hangs straight. It is very effective and the weight looks "industrial".

Wayner 

[Wayner]

You can also use magnets, but I'll keep that a secret for now.

Wayner 

[neobop]

Wayner, you're funny with your secrets. Since a magnet doesn't work with lead, lets see who can guess the mystery of Wayner's magnet guide.

Here's a pic of my Alphason. It has a guide built in.



Most hanging weights have a plastic guide like the big wheel an Rcag's arm (above). The weight is moving up as the arm is moving toward the record. The wheel keeps it from swinging much, if at all. It should be pretty much stabilized as your cueing the record.

Wayner, now that you mention it, an anti-skate weight anchored to the front of the arm should be pulling toward the outside. Yours looks like it's set up opposite. There are so many strings though, it's hard to tell.
Regards,
neo

Edit: OK, I see it now. The string is routed around the bearings and goes behind the arm. Whatever works. I think you could learn a thing or two about turntable aesthetics, from Rcag_ils.   

[rcag_ils]

Wayner, the anti-skate and the VTF adjustment on the Empire is extreme accurate, I initially use the existing marking on the arm to set it up, then checked them with instrument, they were almost dead on, so there's really no need to mess it with this arm.

[Wayner]

On my Empire, the anti-skate is non-functional. I suspect the spring is sprung. Perhaps this is a common problem with the 990 tonearm after 35 years???

Wayner 

[Wayner]

The Rega R200 uses magnets to control anti-skating. They are attracting magnets concentric to the pivot body and the anti-skating control knob positions the magnets closer or farther apart to instill attraction between them. The more attraction, the more anti-skating effect.

The same can be done with magnets on the top side of a tonearm if the pivot assembly is fully encloses the arm, like many arms today (not a Technics arm).

Unfortunately, in the case of the Rega R200, the magnet structures still work, but the timing belt assembly running from the magnet spacing control mechanism to the control knob is almost always broken. In other words, don't buy this arm used. It will have this problem.

The new Clearaudio "Concept" turntable has a tonearm that floats, suspended by attracting magnets at the top, and an embilical cord on the bottom, maintaining the distance. Pretty cleaver. More then one way to skin a cat.

Wayner