Infinity Black Widow - Questions

[misterfox]

Estate Sale score - I know it's a Black Widow, but it is not like anything I could find.
Aluminum arm, ADC XLT-1 cartridge, no DIN to RCA lineset.
The arm is free to move in all axes - it seems to be on a gimbal. There is a ground? wire from the top of the plastic fitting to the counterbalance assembly that appears to be user installed......

The pictures explain it better than I can.

And yah, I know it is filthy - I've got my work cut out for me to clean it up. And the anti skate line is not connected....

I'm asking the brain trust here if you have any information... And thanks in advance!



I'm asking the brain trust here if you have any information... And thanks in advance!

 

[ToasterBin]

Pictures aren't showing...would love to see it.

 

[4-2-7]

Pictures aren't showing...would love to see it.

+2

 

[misterfox]

Pictures should be there.... My first time posting pictures....

 

[Balifly]

Looks like some Mayware, other brand, and home brew added on.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/mayware/formula-iv.shtml

 

[sfrost]

Looks 50% Infinity and 50% Mayware, probably works but not worth much as an arm, more as parts.

 

[Blue Shadow]

If put together properly, the Mayware unipivot and the ∞BW arm would make an effective low mass unipivot tonearm good for all kinds of very high compliance cartridges, just like the mayware and infinity arms. That VE link will get you in the library and with your library card you can dl the info on the Infinity and any of the Mayware-type arms, the Polk, Sonus and JKReproducers are some that made a very similar arm to the Mayware if that name doesn't have ALL the info you need.

 

[nkorah]

Please help me...

this is an early model Infinity Black Widow wand, inserted to a Mayware Formula IV bearings, and mounted on the BW pole.
I can't see the Anti-skate mechanism - the BW one will not work on the Formula IV bearings, and the Formula IV's is missing...

The BW has Knife-edge bearings and the Formula IV is Uni-pivot - I can't even imagin how it was put together and works...

Both arms are great (I'm personaly using a Black Widow, and VERY happy with it.) the cartridge looks to ve an ADC QLM or VLM which is a good fit (needle dependent).

If it's inexpensive - I'd buy it just to have a look inside

 

[Nat]

Looks like a Black Widow arm wand and stub/counterweight attached to a Mayware Formula IV unipivot set into the Black Widow/SME arm base. Not sure why the antiskating mechanism for the Mayware got dumped (and the Black Widow's mechanism will have no effect on the unipivot), and the ground wire will have some effect (not positive)on the function of the unipivot. Weird, but kind of cool, also. In a nutty way.

 

[misterfox]

You guys are amazing!
I had not heard of Mayware, before. And didn't know there were unipivot arms.
Now - after I clean it up, I don't know what to do with it....

And it makes sense, now, that this was modified. There were a lot of other components that had been opened, but it wasn't obvious what, if anything, was done to them. I think this guy took some of this stuff apart just to void the warranty.

An example: Yahama M-50 power amp. The case screw heads were drilled out, leaving the threaded shaft in the chassis, which came out very easily. Drilling out a screw that isn't stuck - makes no sense.

Anyway - I'm open to suggestions on this. Thanks.