@Coolhandjjl
Good to know the Ortofon guage will work as well.
Good to know the Ortofon guage will work as well.
Well Tempered tracking issues.
- Thread starter Scott Burton
- Start date
Sgt Shultz
Addicted Member
Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
What I like about the Ortofon gauge is it gives you prompts on whether to increase or decrease overhang based on how ‘off’ the cart/cantilever angle is at the second point. Once you get it right, the final overhang will be pretty darn close to that circle on the WT gauge. And the Ortofon gauge has finer lines printed on it.
Thanks to @Sgt Shultz for recommending that gauge to me a while back!
Thanks to @Sgt Shultz for recommending that gauge to me a while back!
I'm always open to new ideas, and good to know the Ortofon Protractor is an option, it certainly does look like better accuracy would be easier to acheive.
In any event, a protractor is certainly an intregal part of the setup procedure.
In any event, a protractor is certainly an intregal part of the setup procedure.
Last edited:
Scott Burton
New Member
So much great info. I haven’t had a chance to put this TT on my bench and extract the goo to get working just yet. I will go through all of these suggestions and make a list. I have a couple of protractors I use for alignment. I don’t have the Ortofon one.
Scott Burton
New Member
Sgt Schultz is the best. He is why I own this table. It’s performed great. I just noticed on some albums it doesn’t track well. So hopefully with all of this info I will be closer to closing that gap. I am going to also run those Cardas wires inside the arm.
Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
I used a bunch of single sheets of paper towels to get the silicone out of the reservoir. Lay some paper towel down on the deck under the tone arm mast to protect it from drips. Take the top of the gantry off, lift the paddle out carefully so you don’t break the monofilament lines. Lay that on some sheets of paper towel off to the side. Then just scoop out the reservoir with single sheets of paper towels. Not as bad as you might think.
When you empty the tube, make note of the order of things. Mine had three pieces of wool separating two sections of sand. Keep everything separate and consider using a thin dowel as a depth gauge to get measurements of where the wool pieces sit. Use something like a piece of very stiff wire with a barb bent on the end to snare and extract the pieces of wool. I also recommend using two tiny teacups, espresso cups or similar to have something to dump the sand into. When done, you can make a paper funnel and pour the sand back in from the teacups. You can also use that same dowel to pack the wool back down to the same depths you first measured.
I strongly recommend the Cardas Clear 34ga cloth wrapped wire from Sonic Craft. You can buy a 2’- four conductor braid. (Unfortunately, they do not sell a five conductor braid.) The ground wire has to be purchased as a single 2’ strand of any color. Since it won’t be part of the main braid, it will be easy to keep it identified as the ground. Sonic Craft had a video on how to properly solder those thin wires.
When you empty the tube, make note of the order of things. Mine had three pieces of wool separating two sections of sand. Keep everything separate and consider using a thin dowel as a depth gauge to get measurements of where the wool pieces sit. Use something like a piece of very stiff wire with a barb bent on the end to snare and extract the pieces of wool. I also recommend using two tiny teacups, espresso cups or similar to have something to dump the sand into. When done, you can make a paper funnel and pour the sand back in from the teacups. You can also use that same dowel to pack the wool back down to the same depths you first measured.
I strongly recommend the Cardas Clear 34ga cloth wrapped wire from Sonic Craft. You can buy a 2’- four conductor braid. (Unfortunately, they do not sell a five conductor braid.) The ground wire has to be purchased as a single 2’ strand of any color. Since it won’t be part of the main braid, it will be easy to keep it identified as the ground. Sonic Craft had a video on how to properly solder those thin wires.
Last edited:
Sgt Shultz
Addicted Member
If you use a syringe of some sort you can re-use the silicone, also much less messy. Can also be used to raise and lower the damping level during setup.
twiiii
Lunatic Member
Its obvious you need a much better tone arm. Maybe a newer SME. I didn't say current model, but something recent. I wasn't fond of the very early 3009 or 3012's. They didn't get along with early SPU or SPE Ortofons. I went to a linear arm to solve the tracking issues with the Ortofons in the 70's. Still have it and it works well with my Dynavectors.
Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
I’ve been reading tons of Well Tempered posts here and on other forums for quite some time. Never once came across one with a WT tonearm that tracking issues. This is indeed a first.
whtspider26
New Member
While everyone is entitled to their opinions on a Well Tempered Arm, I don’t think it’s helpful to suggest a new arm for solving a tracking error problem that’s most definitely correctable on this arm. None of the various versions of the Well Tempered Arm have tracking issues if properly set up; this is true on the versions that date back to 1985 and to the simplified version of the arm under discussion from the early 2000’s.
Just for clarification, the silver arm being discussed is the first version of a simplified version of a Well Tempered Tonearm. This silver version uses an aluminum tube, not a stainless steel tube, and was made for the Well Tempered Record Player (WTRP). This tonearm does not have an anti-skate dial like the more expensive versions. A later black version of this tonearm was made with a more conventional looking cartridge platform and thicker walled fluid cup. The amount of anti-shaking is changed by the position of the paddle relative to the overhead arm where the nylon line pass through.
As I mentioned in my earlier posting, it looks like your arm is tilted and is not sitting in the center of the fluid cup. When you play your record and the cartridge is correctly set for azimuth, the arm at the back which is attached to the paddle could be tilted which can cause the mistracking. The paddle is not rotating through the fluid evenly and concentrically.
Just for clarification, the silver arm being discussed is the first version of a simplified version of a Well Tempered Tonearm. This silver version uses an aluminum tube, not a stainless steel tube, and was made for the Well Tempered Record Player (WTRP). This tonearm does not have an anti-skate dial like the more expensive versions. A later black version of this tonearm was made with a more conventional looking cartridge platform and thicker walled fluid cup. The amount of anti-shaking is changed by the position of the paddle relative to the overhead arm where the nylon line pass through.
As I mentioned in my earlier posting, it looks like your arm is tilted and is not sitting in the center of the fluid cup. When you play your record and the cartridge is correctly set for azimuth, the arm at the back which is attached to the paddle could be tilted which can cause the mistracking. The paddle is not rotating through the fluid evenly and concentrically.
Sgt Shultz
Addicted Member
Even this basic WTL arm is sonically superior to any SME anyway, I agree changing the arm would be a non starter.
I have a WTRP and I think my cartridge suspension has been damaged from age or abuse during a few relocations over the past twenty years. I approach changing the cartridge with fear as I recall working with the thread like wires and tiny pins as very tricky. I'm not sure I can do it without pulling loose a pin or two and facing trying to solder beyond my skill level. Also, the silk like insulation appears frayed and I can really discern the wire colors anymore. I was wondering if anyone had experience rewiring the arm externally with something easier to work with.
Attachments
Sgt Shultz
Addicted Member
I used a multimeter to determine wire colors and colored them after with permanent Sharpies. I've resoldered more than one when changing cartridges on mine, usually at 2:00AM lol, you can do it.
I have a Grace G-707 tonearm on another table, it's fixed headshell and thin wires pose the same problems and I've had to resolder those also.
Coolhandjjl
Embiggened Pompatus
Gee, if you look about nine posts up, you will find my very thorough explanation of how I re-wired mine.
Orvita -
Agree with Sgt Shultz -use a multimeter to determine which wire is what --
Your wire doesn't look very bad in the photo... As far as being worn through....
While you are using the multimeter to determine which wire goes where, you can also meter to see if any of the wires are touching .. a bit of forethought and a wiring diagram of the way your cart (nice Benz ?) is wired and the way the junction box is wired ...
I am currently rewiring my WT arm- with Cardas Clear -- I would not do an outside wire job-- on this arm -- but thats just me. you will need 5 wires (one extra for groundingthe armtube. -- I have a post in Turntables about my WT Journey -- and am right now getting ready to dump the sand out of the arm and get -- ready to do some "fishing" through the armtube -- just added some pics.
Best of luck in your endeavor -- and welcome, lots of folks here, very helpful and knowlegeable AK is THE BEST.
1877 Phono Zavfino makes a 5 wire braid that uses the insulation as a flux-- but I think that particular wire is to large of diameter for inside the armtube ... maybe not.
Let me know if you need further help...
Off to dump the sand in a shotglass -- and to think, just down the road is more sand than you can ever imagine -- The Pacific Ocean...
Celadon
Agree with Sgt Shultz -use a multimeter to determine which wire is what --
Your wire doesn't look very bad in the photo... As far as being worn through....
While you are using the multimeter to determine which wire goes where, you can also meter to see if any of the wires are touching .. a bit of forethought and a wiring diagram of the way your cart (nice Benz ?) is wired and the way the junction box is wired ...
I am currently rewiring my WT arm- with Cardas Clear -- I would not do an outside wire job-- on this arm -- but thats just me. you will need 5 wires (one extra for groundingthe armtube. -- I have a post in Turntables about my WT Journey -- and am right now getting ready to dump the sand out of the arm and get -- ready to do some "fishing" through the armtube -- just added some pics.
Best of luck in your endeavor -- and welcome, lots of folks here, very helpful and knowlegeable AK is THE BEST.
1877 Phono Zavfino makes a 5 wire braid that uses the insulation as a flux-- but I think that particular wire is to large of diameter for inside the armtube ... maybe not.
Let me know if you need further help...
Off to dump the sand in a shotglass -- and to think, just down the road is more sand than you can ever imagine -- The Pacific Ocean...
Celadon
I don't think you need to re-wire the arm. Mine looked like yours. Much better now and less noise.
Cardas PCCEG Gold Cartridge Clips
Color Coded Heat Shrink
Last edited:
@Vintagear Very nice work!-- looks stellar...
I don't think you need to re-wire the arm. Mine looked like yours. Much better now and less noise.
Cardas PCCEG Gold Cartridge Clips
Color Coded Heat Shrink
I am curently in the middle of this process -== in fact much deeper than I thought... your photo is a great reference, and I shall refer to it for inspiration --
Using Cardas Clear --and the same clips as you --although this is an arm re-wire as well as a restring, and etc, just getting rrady to post some pics of my progress in my "WT Journey thread"
Just finished tinning the wires for the junction box etc ... but ran out of solder. --- My buddy at the welding shop said he hadsome silver solder --- but I am going to wait till I get the Cardas Eutectic == I like that stuff .
This thread is way informative,, and a huge thanks to @Scott Burton for creating it.
Off to see i I can post some pics of my progress --
Happy 4th of July weekend--
Celadon