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Rewiring Rega RB250 Tonearm

MisterDK

MisterDK

Addicted Member
Hey boys and girls, have any of you had experience rewiring the RB-250 arm? I’ve picked up an NAD version RB-250 that’s had the plastic plug pulled out of the bottom, pulling the fine wires off. I’ll first try to resolder ‘em but if that fails, may want to rewire the arm..
I understand the the RB-250 is one that I may not want to pull the bearings out of and have a thought..
Aside from aesthetic reasons, would it hurt anything to drill a tiny hole in the arm tube and run new wires right out the top or side, near the bearings? While this may sound nuts, why wouldn’t that work well?
If that just sounds foolish - please help me out.. :)

IMG_5660.jpeg IMG_5661.jpeg
 
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I have soldered new wires to the old ones and pulled them trough on other tonearms. Just did a project carbon that way.
Just make sure the diameter of the solder connection is as narrow as possible. Id pull one wire
at a time.
I can't see the front end of the arm is but you could try pulling from either end depending on which seems easier. Id think pulling from the bottom and soldering at the tops would be best.

Athanasios
 
Nashou66 said:
I have soldered new wires to the old ones and pulled them trough on other tonearms. Just did a project carbon that way.
Just make sure the diameter of the solder connection is as narrow as possible. Id pull one wire
at a time.
I can't see the front end of the arm is but you could try pulling from either end depending on which seems easier. Id think pulling from the bottom and soldering at the tops would be best.

Athanasios
Click to expand...

Thanks, Athanasios.

I may have been lucky… Looks like there was just (barely) enough wire for me to strip a tiny bit of insulation and tin the ends.. And I resoldered them! Think I got them all in the correct spots and they seem to be soldered cleanly enough. Everything checks out with my meter - no opens, no shorts.. I put the plug back in place, tightened the setscrew and added a tiny bit of epoxy fillet between the plug and arm edge so hopefully, it won’t pull out again…

I’ll test it with a cartridge when I get the chance. This arm (with wires pulled out) was thrown in with a table I recently bought. Hoping to use it on something. :)

Duane
 
Instead of drilling holes, just remove the bearings that are on the side of the tonearm pipe.

This will allow you to remove the tonearm pipe and you'll see the hole that is already there.

On reassembly you'll have to recalibrate the bearing tightness, of course.
 
flavio81 said:
Instead of drilling holes, just remove the bearings that are on the side of the tonearm pipe.

This will allow you to remove the tonearm pipe and you'll see the hole that is already there.

On reassembly you'll have to recalibrate the bearing tightness, of course.
Click to expand...
I’ve read that I shouldn’t remove bearings on the RB250 arm but it’s OK on the RB300. Is that not the case?
 
Be careful removing the brass screws holding the vertical bearings if you choose to do so. Been there, done that.
 
No need to mess with the bearings, but upon completion it's a good idea to swing the arm back and forth to loosen and position the wires that pass through the pivot hole for maximum free movement, otherwise, binding might occur that will impede free movement leading to tracking issues.

Also, if it's within budget, consider a continuous loom Incognito style as it offers a worthwhile upgrade over the very mediocre jointed wires that Rega installs.
 
ripblade said:
No need to mess with the bearings, but upon completion it's a good idea to swing the arm back and forth to loosen and position the wires that pass through the pivot hole for maximum free movement, otherwise, binding might occur that will impede free movement leading to tracking issues.

Also, if it's within budget, consider a continuous loom Incognito style as it offers a worthwhile upgrade over the very mediocre jointed wires that Rega installs.
Click to expand...
Good advice, a continuous loom is the way to go.
 
Another Rega arm question.. This one’s a NAD RB-250 which I’m guessing had been “ugraded” with a stainless steel counterweight stub and larger, underslung weight. The stub easily unscrews and I’m wondering if I should use a tiny drop of Loctite or maybe just some Teflon thread tape to keep it in place..(?). Also, it has knurled aluminum nuts for changing VTA and tightening by hand. Assuming these are aftermarket parts, anyone know who made / sold ‘em and how the VTA nuts position?

Thanks for the help. :)

IMG_5665.jpeg
 
ripblade said:
No need to mess with the bearings,.
Click to expand...

Which rewiring method are you suggesting? solder new wires to the old wires and pull them through?

Genuine question, because I had found a PDF where this procedure (or something similar) is described and it looked far more difficult than disassembling the arm (bearings etc)
 
flavio81 said:
Which rewiring method are you suggesting? solder new wires to the old wires and pull them through?

Genuine question, because I had found a PDF where this procedure (or something similar) is described and it looked far more difficult than disassembling the arm (bearings etc)
Click to expand...
Yes, solder and pull through. Disassembling the bearing means reassembling with great precision. How many can do that, or would if it can be avoided?
 
MisterDK said:
Another Rega arm question.. This one’s a NAD RB-250 which I’m guessing had been “ugraded” with a stainless steel counterweight stub and larger, underslung weight. The stub easily unscrews and I’m wondering if I should use a tiny drop of Loctite or maybe just some Teflon thread tape to keep it in place..(?). Also, it has knurled aluminum nuts for changing VTA and tightening by hand. Assuming these are aftermarket parts, anyone know who made / sold ‘em and how the VTA nuts position?

Thanks for the help. :)

View attachment 2907015
Click to expand...
The CW and stub are maybe Espressimo, the adjuster maybe Michell....
 
ripblade said:
The CW and stub are maybe Espressimo, the adjuster maybe Michell....
Click to expand...
Looking at their products - counterweight may be an Expressimo Audio “heavyweight”. The VTA adjuster and locking nut do look like current products from Michell..
Thanks!
 
ripblade said:
Yes, solder and pull through. Disassembling the bearing means reassembling with great precision. How many can do that, or would if it can be avoided?
Click to expand...

I can do it. Now, it's a tedious process to be completely happy with the calibration, but on the other hand it would make the recabling FAR easier.

Note: On RB250 or RB101/110, dismounting the bearings is not so difficult because there is no VTF adjuster/VTF spring; on RB3xx (and better) tonearms then it would be more involved.

It's a tradeoff, i think.
 
MisterDK said:
And to prevent it from loosening?
Click to expand...
Good question! Strong thumbs? It's why I subscribe to the threaded bolt and insert means of attaching the end stub. Arm grounding has to be done a little differently but that's not hard to do.
 
flavio81 said:
I can do it. Now, it's a tedious process to be completely happy with the calibration, but on the other hand it would make the recabling FAR easier.

Note: On RB250 or RB101/110, dismounting the bearings is not so difficult because there is no VTF adjuster/VTF spring; on RB3xx (and better) tonearms then it would be more involved.

It's a tradeoff, i think.
Click to expand...
If you can make the precision bearing adjustments I congratulate you. However easier it may be to perform the rewire with the arm in pieces it is still no trivial task, and adding a precision bearing adjustment to the workload, without skills or experience, to the uninitiated, is not what I would advise.
 
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