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Favorite inexpensive protractor ?

crazy eights

crazy eights

Bad Moon Bopster
I'd like to re align the cartridge on my dual a little better than with the overhang guage only

please recommend an inexpensive to medium priced protractor

do you have a favorite?

(yes i know about the online ones but my printer ain't printing)

thank you!
 
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GEO-DISC from Mobile Fidelity. Dead-simple to use. Some people hate it — I hope they join the thread to remind me why.

It's not free online. It's about $50 at Amazon. I only paid $10 at an audio shop, but that was luck. The page on Amazon shows some other very good protractors for 10 bucks and up. They may even be better (a tad more accurate) but not as quick and easy to use — and if you use the Geo-Disc right, it's dead-accurate.
 
I also like the GEO-DISC. My Linn dealer recommended it, and it's been an easy, effective tool for me for 35 years.

I don't know what the overhang gauge is like with your SL3300, but I happily used the gauges that came with the BIC, Garrard, and Thorens turntables I had had previously. I bought the GEO-DISC because Linn didn't provide a gauge for me.

The GEO-DISC gives Baerwald alignment. I don't know what alignment scheme Technics recommends, but the alignment recommended for my Well Tempered and Rega 'tables called for less overhang and less offset angle. I still used the GEO-DISC on both and loved the results (Stanalog said they liked Baerwald, too, and it's also preferred by my Rega dealer). Some arms might not have enough adjustment room in the headshell slots to get the cartridge as far forward as it's supposed to be for Baerwald; I had to print off a Stevenson protractor for my dad's turntable.
 
crazy eights said:
I'd like to re align the cartridge on my dual a little better than with the overhang guage only

please recommend an inexpensive to medium priced protractor

do you have a favorite?

(yes i know about the online ones but my printer ain't printing)

thank you!
Click to expand...

E9346997-7316-40D2-B258-7DBD2434B602.jpeg


This ^^

Made in the US, real gold on PCB fiberglass. The black and gold contrast makes it really easy to see the cantilever for accurate adjustments.

It’s a 2 point protractor, and the white edge on the LP is exactly 9/16ths on center. (Overhang gauge). Not all tables have the 9/16th overhang but a lot do. (Forgot what that is in MM maybe 13 or 14...)

$10

Just search Turntable protractor on eBay. Very well made.
 
jobrewer1983 said:
View attachment 1939698


This ^^

Made in the US, real gold on PCB fiberglass. The black and gold contrast makes it really easy to see the cantilever for accurate adjustments.

It’s a 2 point protractor, and the white edge on the LP is exactly 9/16ths on center. (Overhang gauge). Not all tables have the 9/16th overhang but a lot do. (Forgot what that is in MM maybe 13 or 14...)

$10

Just search Turntable protractor on eBay. Very well made.
Click to expand...

About 14.3mm
 
Single point protractors do not address both overhang and offset angle. You need 2 points. If the black and gold one shown on this thread had an arrow at the spindle, pointing towards the center of the tonearm, it would be acceptable to me, but a 2 pointer is way better. ConradH's printed out alignment has 2 points plus an arc. Points are on the null points, arc is for overhang check. You do need to know the tonearm pivot to spindle (center to center) distance.

----probably OK for conical stylus.
 
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WaynerN said:
Single point protractors do not address both overhang and offset angle. You need 2 points.
Click to expand...
Single point protractors work fine provided you can place that single point in exactly the right spot. The Dennesen Soundtracktor used by my Rega dealer accomplishes this using a physical trammel with a pointer that is placed directly over the pivot point of the tone arm bearing; the GEO-DISC uses a raised ridge that you align with the pivot point. In either case, as the Dennesen manual expresses it, "With the Trammel Pointer now directly over the tonearm pivot point, the Geometric Soundtracktor has been automatically rotated so that the Geopoint "F" is in the proper position."

The protractor that came with my Rega is also single-point, but it depends on keeping the cartridge body exactly square in the headshell, and then the headshell exactly square with the grid lines, to get the overhang and offset angle they recommend. This works because if the cartridge, square in the headshell and with stylus on the cross-point printed on the protractor, is either too far forward or too far backward in the slots, the headshell will not align with the grid; only the proper overhang will make everything square up right. That said, I prefer both the operation and the results of using the GEO-DISC and the Baerwald alignment it gives.

Edit: After posting, I saw that you had modified your original response. Oh well, I'll just leave it as is but add that the black and gold protractor mentioned by Jobrewer1983 is said to be a two-point protractor; I presume we're just not seeing the whole thing in the picture. Second edit: the ebay link given by crazy eights shows it to be a two-point protractor.
 
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Get to know the Conrad Hoffman custom arc template generator, available for free here: http://www.conradhoffman.com/chsw.htm. It's a little tedious to get the print scaling right, but once you do, you can use this along with tonearm pivot-to spindle distance data at Vinyl Engine to make a really nice and easy to use protractor. I print mine on card stock.

Here's a VE thread about it: https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=16849.
According to this VE thread, the 1219 pivot to spindle distance is 203.2mm: https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?t=52646.
 
JoeESP9 said:
I've been using a DB Systems protractor since the early 1980's.
Click to expand...
So have many others, it has a great reputations. All DB System products do, with great Value for Money.

Clearly there are many good protractors available, from Free to hundreds of Dollars. After all, it's simple Geometry, as taught in first year of High School.

OP wanted to know which one to get — any of them. The difference is ease of use, aka "user friendly". As for precision, that's up to us devoting the time and concentration needed to get it right.
 
Here are the best and easiest to follow directions I've ever found for cartridge alignment using any two point protractor.

With a 2-point protractor:
Square the cartridge with the inner grid, making sure that the stylus is on the correct point.
Move to the outer grid, and set the stylus on the correct point.
If the cartridge points to the outside of the record, move the cartridge forward in the slots, and start over.
If the cartridge points to the inside of the record, move the cartridge back, and start over.
When the cartridge is square in both grids, tighten the mounting screws, rebalance the arm, and set tracking force.

The directions are courtesy of Ralph124C on Vinyl Engine
 
WaynerN said:
but a 2 pointer is way better. ConradH's printed out alignment has 2 points plus an arc. Points are on the null points, arc is for overhang check. You do need to know the tonearm pivot to spindle (center to center) distance.
Click to expand...

I use Conrad Hoffman's arc protractor too. I printed mine on glossy photo paper then mounted them (Lofgren A & B and Stevenson A) to flat junk records. Very easy to use.

IMG_2420.jpeg

IMG_2422.jpeg
 
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