Register to hide this ad
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
This is adjusted by varying the cue rod lift height. look at the lift rod, There are two flats at the top. You can turn the rod using these flats. Either a small wrench or, BIC made a wrench for this. There are usually some on eBay from Turntable Experts (Dualparts).
The point at which the brake pin contacts the cork is actually a constant. The height of the tonearm when the brake pin makes contact is what you adjust. Adjust it so the brake pin just releases from the cork as the stylus is passing the edge of the record on the way down. Use anti-skate to see when the brake pin releases.
This is explained in the service manual.
Doug
The point at which the brake pin contacts the cork is actually a constant. The height of the tonearm when the brake pin makes contact is what you adjust. Adjust it so the brake pin just releases from the cork as the stylus is passing the edge of the record on the way down. Use anti-skate to see when the brake pin releases.
This is explained in the service manual.
Doug
maga_man
New Member
Is the lift rod adjustment done from the top of the table or under?
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
Top, right on the rod itself for timing it with the brake pin. After that adjustment, readjust the absolute tonearm height with the regular height adjustment screw in the hole right in front of the cue rod housing. This adjusts the height without affecting the relationship between the tonearm and brake pin.
Doug
maga_man
New Member
I'll work on it. Thanks for responding. Jerry
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
You're welcome. You just have to remember that the brake pin always contacts the cork at the same time during the cycle so you aren't adjusting that. You adjust the tonearm so it is at the right height in relation to when the brake pin contacts or releases from the cork so the arm won't move horizontally while it is raised or won't won't be released too early when the arm is lowered, which would cause it to land in a different place on the record than when it was cued, or release too late which would cause the stylus to stick in the groove until the brake pin is released.
Doug
Doug
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
Is it skipping or sticking? If it's sticking (staying in the same groove and not progressing, you will have to find where the binding is - tonearm wires too tight, bearing friction, cue rod not totally lowering, or any other interference keeping the tonearm from pivoting freely.
The adjustment for the brake pin release and arm height at that time, might take a few tries to get it exactly right.
Doug
The adjustment for the brake pin release and arm height at that time, might take a few tries to get it exactly right.
Doug
Doug G.
Lunatic Member
During brake pin release and arm height agreement adjustment, you use the flats on the lift rod. After that, there is a hole right in front of the lift rod casting and a screw down in there to adjust the absolute arm height. Adjust it so the arm tube clears the rest post by 1/16" - 1/8" during a cycle or, put six records on the platter and adjust the arm height so the stylus clears the top record during a cycle
Doug
Doug
G Force
New Member
This post is making me feel like a crazy person. I just can't figure it out. I have disassembled several Garrard Lab 80's and have this BIC 960 all cleaned up and lubed, so I'm not a complete newb, but I am by no means as experienced as a lot of the people on this forum, so I'm assuming some of my problems are with understanding nomenclature and general mechanics of a turntable.
Let's start with: "The point at which the brake pin contacts the cork is actually a constant. The height of the tonearm when the brake pin makes contact is what you adjust. Adjust it so the brake pin just releases from the cork as the stylus is passing the edge of the record on the way down. Use anti-skate to see when the brake pin releases."
What is "the cork?" Is this an actual piece of cork, or the name of some component?
Next: "Set anti-skate to 2. Raise the arm and then lower it just outside the edge of the record. Adjust the lift rod so the arm gets pulled toward the rest post just as the stylus reaches the level of the record surface. This indicates the brake pin releasing."
My arm is behaving this way, but I'm still not sure what the brake pin refers to.
I am also wondering if my specific issue is different than the one being discussed here (even though I have the same main issue -the tone arm does not return at the end of play)
The arm will return to the rest post if I hit the "cycle" button at the end of play, and when I examine that mechanism I see that the button pushes a lever on top of the main red plastic gear. It looks like the tone arm lever (under the platter) should hit a small metal piece in that red plastic gear (approximately 135 degrees around the wheel from the aforementioned lever) that should activate the same mechanism. Another thread mentioned the tiny white donut in that chain being a friction device, and sometimes the donut becomes smooth and no longer triggers the event. This post only mentions the tonearm height, so I started going down that rabbit hole, but I'm wondering if I should be focused on the friction washer.
Can someone give me advice based on the information above (should I not be worried about the tone arm height and instead be examining what's going on with the "white donut")?
As always, thanks, everyone, for the help you post on this forum to keep these things alive.
Let's start with: "The point at which the brake pin contacts the cork is actually a constant. The height of the tonearm when the brake pin makes contact is what you adjust. Adjust it so the brake pin just releases from the cork as the stylus is passing the edge of the record on the way down. Use anti-skate to see when the brake pin releases."
What is "the cork?" Is this an actual piece of cork, or the name of some component?
Next: "Set anti-skate to 2. Raise the arm and then lower it just outside the edge of the record. Adjust the lift rod so the arm gets pulled toward the rest post just as the stylus reaches the level of the record surface. This indicates the brake pin releasing."
My arm is behaving this way, but I'm still not sure what the brake pin refers to.
I am also wondering if my specific issue is different than the one being discussed here (even though I have the same main issue -the tone arm does not return at the end of play)
The arm will return to the rest post if I hit the "cycle" button at the end of play, and when I examine that mechanism I see that the button pushes a lever on top of the main red plastic gear. It looks like the tone arm lever (under the platter) should hit a small metal piece in that red plastic gear (approximately 135 degrees around the wheel from the aforementioned lever) that should activate the same mechanism. Another thread mentioned the tiny white donut in that chain being a friction device, and sometimes the donut becomes smooth and no longer triggers the event. This post only mentions the tonearm height, so I started going down that rabbit hole, but I'm wondering if I should be focused on the friction washer.
Can someone give me advice based on the information above (should I not be worried about the tone arm height and instead be examining what's going on with the "white donut")?
As always, thanks, everyone, for the help you post on this forum to keep these things alive.
Bruno Primas
Super Member
If you put oil anywhere near the white friction washer, it will not work. That part and the adjacent parts needs to be clean and no lubrication whatsoever.
G Force
New Member
I didn't, but that doesn't mean a previous owner didn't or lubricant didn't "migrate" from elsewhere. I didn't want to remove the main gear again, so I removed the tiny retaining clip on that pin and just slid the parts apart as far as I could to get some alcohol on the rubber ring and metal levers to remove any potential contaminants. It now seems to be working sometimes. If there is a large gap at the end of a record, it will not trigger. If there is a very small lead out (music all the way to the label), it sometimes works. I guess I'll live with no auto-return until I'm willing to take everything apart again to replace that rubber washer with something that could function in a similar way (I'm assuming I won't be able to find that exact part).
Bruno Primas
Super Member
I find if you get the white washer off and "rough" it up on both sides with an old toothbrush or something like that, it will work much better.