To sbank, Thank you for the reply and recommendations for the stylus force gauge. I will check them out. P.S. I tend at times to over state my case See below my response to alpha_gt about the hum problem
To alpha_gt, I spoke to Ben Carter at U-Turn turntables. He walked me through the following procedure which seems similar to what you suggested. I put on a LP and played the selection at a higher than normal volume, and the hum was audible. He then told me to shut off the motor, leaving the stylus still on the record. He ask if there was any hum, I said NONE, even when I turned the volume to step 69 on the CJ pre-amp whose volume control is scale from 1-99. He concluded that the problem was the turntable motor and not the Moon LP110 phono pre-amp, or the connecting cables from the table to the box. He offered that I could return it and a replacement of the same TT as ordered would be sent out, or I could just return it for a full refund.
Even with the hum being audible, the sound was very good and surprisingly dynamic for a budget table. I am not a big fan of the Ortofon 2M RED cartridge which was one of the cartridges offered as part of the customized package price, and, I would eventually replace with a Denon DL-110 high output MC which U-Turn claims mates well with my table, and its tonearm which is standard throughout their line. .
However, I am torn between returning it and as you rightfully suggested, spending more money for a better TT The other tables I have very recently considered is the Project RPM-3 with the Sumiko BP-2 MC for $999.00, and Project's 1Xpression TT with a Ortofon 2M Silver cartridge (at $999.00) which supposedly stands between the 2M Red and 2M Blue There are a few of the RPM-3 tables around with the less expensive Sumiko "Pearl" cartridge, on sale at $599.00 by Audio Adviser which has 3 left.
I can opt for the replacement and hope the new one is free of hum. If so , i can always sell it, if I later decide to upgrade. Thanks, SJ