Sansui FR-1080 missing weight (Tone Arm)

[johnny_fever]

Last week I bought a Sansui FR-1080 TT. When loading It Into the car I noticed It was missing the little chrome weight on the tone arm. The seller said she has no idea what happened to It. How do I go about finding one?
Are there different sizes? Thanks Rick

 

[hakaplan]

Well, you can contact Sansui and see if they still have any. It's doubtful after 30 years, but you never know. You can check with partstore.com and see if they have it. Check ebay. It's called a counterweight, but also search by "turntable weight" and "tonearm weight." It's also probable that other Sansui models used the same weight.

Now, if you cannot find it, you can still use any weight that fits, but the dial will not be accurate. You can even glue a bunch of large washers together and make your own. Line the inside with foam or rubber so it slides, but will stay in place. Then simply set the tracking force with a TF gauge or a digital pocket scale.

 

[johnny_fever]

Thanks for the info. But I'm talking about the little weight with the string attached. kinda like a small sinker fish weight. I think It's called a bias weight. Thanks Rick

 

[hakaplan]

Rick, bias is correct, but it will be also be identifiable as the the anti-skate weight. If you can't find one from Sansui or a parts place, post a new thread asking other owners to weigh theirs. Then find a fishing weight that weighs the same--or--grind away and add to it as needed--or--use a bunch of smaller washers--and use some nylon thread to suspend it. I still recommend getting a cheap digital pocket scale (ebay and elsewhere online) as it will come in handy for this and for assuring that your tracking force is accurate.

 

[johnny_fever]

Thanks for your time. I will look into the scale also. Later Rick

 

[Tattoosleeve]

sorry about resurrecting an ancient thread but I ran into this problem today as well.

Bought the Sansui FR1080 off a guy for $10 today. When I picked it up it did have the weight on there but it managed to squeak through the dust cover and fall in 4" of snow somewhere.....so frustrating!

Anyway if you managed to find an authentic part I'd appreciate knowing where you found it.

 

[ETI_5000]

There is a seller of Sansui parts that were originally from the Dutch Sansui distributor, who has plenty of Sansui tonearm counterweights. While some are known to be off specific turntables (not yours, unfortunately), they have quite a few which are “model unknown”, but are off Sansui models, and the weights (from 56g to 126g) are given.

So if you can find out what the original counterweight weighed, you may find a suitable one there. Some have part numbers, so you may be able to find one which matches the part number for your turntable, perhaps from the service manual. See http://www.sansui-parts-shop.com/ .