[Vespasian]

I am having trouble placing the JMW 9 tonearm on the male pivot point of my VPI Scout. It seems that the pivot is longer than what the arm will accomodate (wobbles back and forth, ~2 cm too high), and the clamp that encompasses the tonearm doesn't come close to doing it. Not sure what to try at this point?

TIA,
Ves

 

[909]

You just need to balance it on the point. If you were to knock it by mistake, it will move and wobble.

 

[Vespasian]

Do I do that by adjusting the counterweight?

 

[vpivinylspinner]

A unipivot tonearm will always wobble this is important when tracking the grooves in the record. The tonearm rest is adjustable slightly to allow for proper height but it should not be that far off. The counterweight should be adjusted for tracking force with a stylus force gauge so that you have the proper force for your cartridge. Any pictures?

 

[Todd R]

Unipivot arms do wobble.
If the arm rest is in the wrong position there is a small set screw that holds it in position. Loosen the screw (you should have gotten some allen screw hex drivers with your TT) and adjust the height.

If the male pivot is too high, that can be adjusted by loosening the 2 allen screws that secure the collar below it. You can then rotate the collar to raise & lower the pivot point.

It sounds like you are pretty new to turntables, am I right? If so, it would be a good idea to look up some turntable set up threads on this site and on other sites like Audio Asylum.
TR

 

[Vespasian]

I am new to turntables. Where are the turntables setup threads on this site?

-VEs

 

[Vespasian]

I uploaded a picture of how the tonearm currently rests on the pivot at the following URL. Does it look right?

http://mysite.verizon.net/res1qdjr/images/highfi.jpg

TIA,
Ves

 

[vpivinylspinner]

No that definitely does not look right. Are you sure you are getting it in the internal cup or is it getting caught on the outer lip?

 

[Todd R]

You've got it caught on the lip of the cup. Pick the arm up and move it to the rear

 

[Vespasian]

I am sure. I can see the scratches/indents within the internal cup.

 

[Todd R]

Just pick the arm up and carefully reposition. It's easy to miss the right spot.

BTW, here is a good turntable set up page.

 

[vpivinylspinner]

Does yours look significantly different than this?

I change tonearms very regularly and I have never had an issue seating the tonearm. Maybe some more pics of the pivot point and the mounting point would help.

 

[Todd R]

Unless you have a very, very heavy cart on the arm, I'm sure you're not in the cup. I've done it my self on my Scout.

If you're absolutely sure you've got it in the cup then you can do a couple things:
loosen both S-5's (there is another one on the rear) and turn the ring right above it to lower the tonearm pivot.

Loosen S-1 & S-2, which will allow you to move the rest and the lift up higher.

I just looked at mine, and the arm rest on yours is pushed way down.
Check it out:

 

[vpivinylspinner]

If you are in the proper mounting point then I think your major problem might be that the tonearm mount is mounted very low. Mine is almost at its highest position. This in conjunction with the counterweight being mounted very far forward could be the issue if you actually forced the tonearm down into the perch and locked the clasp to leave it in that weird position. I think S1 should be lifted alot and you might actually be alright.

 

[Vespasian]

My camera is charging; I will get another pciture up shortly. The legnth of the pivot from the "base" was around 29-30 mm (millimeters). Refer to the URL below to see what I am calling the "base". Does that length seem reasonable?

http://mysite.verizon.net/res1qdjr/images/highfi.jpg

Thanks,
Ves