TURNTABLE SETUP Questions thread - don't start a new thread, ASK YOUR QUESTION HERE!

[Skylab]

How difficult it is to recable depends on the internal construction and how the current RCA cable is connected to the tonearm.  So hard to say without actually seeing it. Sign up at Vinyl Engine and you can get the owner's manual:  http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-41.shtml

 

[jjacq]

Err okay I think I have another problem the voices are chipmunk...

I'm so sorry I really don't know much about Vinyl and I picked this up cuz of the good price. With both 33 and 45 speeds both give me chipmunk/sped up voices. Maybe this record is set in a different speed? How can I tell?

*EDIT* I read the manual and it says oil is needed...will this solve my problem?

 

[reaqter]

Quote:

Err okay I think I have another problem the voices are chipmunk...

I'm so sorry I really don't know much about Vinyl and I picked this up cuz of the good price. With both 33 and 45 speeds both give me chipmunk/sped up voices. Maybe this record is set in a different speed? How can I tell?

*EDIT* I read the manual and it says oil is needed...will this solve my problem?

I lol'd.
 
TLC can't hurt. I think there are strobe speed calibrators?
http://www.vinylengine.com/strobe-discs.shtml

 

[Skylab]

So there is a speed problem. It could very well be that the belt needs replacing, since that is a old belt drive turntable. Belts for the PL41 can very easily be purchased on eBay.

 

[jjacq]

Yes the belt has been replaced like two weeks ago

 

[Skylab]

Hmmmmm...that's not encouraging. Does the turntable have an adjustable speed control, and have you tried adjusting it?

 

[jjacq]

Are you talking about the 33/45 speeds? Yes... ?

 

[Skylab]

No, I meant a variable adjustment, but from reading the manual it doesn't look like it has one. The manual does suggest to lubricate the bearing shaft, so you might try that.

 

[dminches]

If the voices sound like chipmunks it would indicate that it was turning too quickly.  Can you see if it is stuck on 45 rpm?

 

[reaqter]

Got a Sony PS-3300 yesterday! Needle kept hopping grooves and I only got left speaker sound so I readjusted the weight thing, zeroed and went for what I think is probably a real general 6-11g. Went to VE and 4-10g is recommended by Sony in the manual. However, two problems: I didn't do it with an actual stylus gauge, so I'm not sure exactly how much tracking force (is that the right term?) there is. It's tracking well now, playback is smooth and I get both channels nicely. Should I still send for a gauge?
 
And: I want to upgrade my speakers. They're a random pair of Pioneer Centrex 2.0 15w, they came with the receiver and turntable, and apparently they're terrible from what I read online. The problem is that the output from the back of my Tandberg 2075 doesn't have normal RCA plugs, the wires are sort of screwed into some metal plate. Can I get rid of them? The plates seem to be unscrewable, but I'm not sure what they might be connected inside. (Recs to a good vintage speaker thread welcome, I can't seem to find a real easy to read one...)
 
Oh yeah, third problem: On 33rpm, the Sony runs a tad bit fast. It has the strobe indicator thingy that's supposed to look stationary on the side of the platter, and two pitch control knobs for 45 and 33. On 45 speed I can get the bars stationary, but on 33 they sloooowly move to the left, clockwise. I don't know if I could tell the difference, but you can't rush Marvin Gaye.

 

[Skylab]

4-10g tracking force????? Are you sure? I would never do that to my records.

 

[reaqter]

Er, hold on, maybe I have the wrong terms. The manual says:
 
Tracking Force Adjustment Range: 0-3g (Little knob by the tonearm..origin...base plate..thing...)
Shell Weight: 7.5g
Cartridge Weight Range: 4-10g
 
Well, basically after I zeroed the counterweight the tonearm wouldn't even stay on the record, it would just float off the side so I increased by as little increments as I could. Then I accidentally pushed it by more than I wanted to, but it worked anyway.
 
I'm really impatient, so I couldn't wait to buy a stylus gauge and wait for it to get here. That's probably the wrong thing to do, but I'm just really desperate to get things working. I don't have a car, so my options are typically limited to online shopping and the occasional rare foray out into Koreatown (such as to buy this table/receiver/speaker set).

 

[Skylab]

You need to read again the part about how to adjust the tracking force. It is not supposed to stray on the record when it is zero balanced! But it should NOT be tracking at 4-10g!!!! It is the CARTRIDGE specification you need to read/know when you go to adjust the tracking force. What the turntable spec is giving you is just the range of possible adjustment.

 

[reaqter]

Hmm - I was going off of this mainly: http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/819.html
 
"Now it's time to set the tracking force approximately. If you can, try to fix the Platter in place so that it cannot rotate. How this is done best depends upon the turntable, but please make sure that you can reverse whatever you are doing. So do not pour superglue into the Bearing!!!!!
Many modern Tonearms feature a spring-based tracking weight adjustment contraptions. DO NOT USE THEM, but simply set them to the neutral position (normally the highest tracking weight). The Anti-skating Adjustment should be for the time being set to ZERO.
First leave the Arm-list up and try to zero the Weight for the Tonearm so that the Tonearm floats level. Now remove the Cartridges Stylus protector or refit the Stylus assembly and readjust the weight so that just a tiny bit of downforce is present. Now use the Stylus-force Gauge to set the tracking weight. There should be instructions with the Gauge.
Simply carefully lower the Arm so the Cartridges needle ends up on the stylus force gauge where it's supposed to be. See what the tracking-weight is. Depending upon the Arm, move the counterweight until the correct weight according to the Manufacturers recommendation is established. Moving the Weight forward (toward the Arm Pivot) increases the tracking force, moving it back reduces it...."
 
i guess I really have no idea about what exactly I'm adjusting. The cartridge doesn't have a brand or anything on it so I have no idea what it is. So when I adjust the counterweight, how should I tell when it is zeroed?
 
Good thing this is Marvin Gaye I'm testing it out on and not my Vienna Phil Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier..

 

[brunk]

Quote:

Hmm - I was going off of this mainly: http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/vinyl/messages/819.html
 
"Now it's time to set the tracking force approximately. If you can, try to fix the Platter in place so that it cannot rotate. How this is done best depends upon the turntable, but please make sure that you can reverse whatever you are doing. So do not pour superglue into the Bearing!!!!!
Many modern Tonearms feature a spring-based tracking weight adjustment contraptions. DO NOT USE THEM, but simply set them to the neutral position (normally the highest tracking weight). The Anti-skating Adjustment should be for the time being set to ZERO.
First leave the Arm-list up and try to zero the Weight for the Tonearm so that the Tonearm floats level. Now remove the Cartridges Stylus protector or refit the Stylus assembly and readjust the weight so that just a tiny bit of downforce is present. Now use the Stylus-force Gauge to set the tracking weight. There should be instructions with the Gauge.
Simply carefully lower the Arm so the Cartridges needle ends up on the stylus force gauge where it's supposed to be. See what the tracking-weight is. Depending upon the Arm, move the counterweight until the correct weight according to the Manufacturers recommendation is established. Moving the Weight forward (toward the Arm Pivot) increases the tracking force, moving it back reduces it...."
 
i guess I really have no idea about what exactly I'm adjusting. The cartridge doesn't have a brand or anything on it so I have no idea what it is. So when I adjust the counterweight, how should I tell when it is zeroed?
 
Good thing this is Marvin Gaye I'm testing it out on and not my Vienna Phil Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier..

You're only "guessing" at the tracking force until you get an actual tracking force gauge. Never take the "numbers" on the tracking weight as an absolute. Hope that helps