2. analog
  3. 159642-124530

Have a Victor UA-7045 tonearm coming

I've been searching for either a Victor UA-7082 or a UA-7045 tonearm ever since I purchased my Victor CL-P2 plinth with two arm boards.
The rear arm is almost ready to go, it's a Audio Technica ATP-12T mounted in a custom aluminum armboard. I also had to machine a bracket to add a Jelco JL-45 tonearm cueing device and a tonearm rest. This should be perfect for my low compliance DL-103.I have been looking at both models of the Victor arms and have posted WTB on several forums, watching Ebay but nothing nice has come up. So for the past month I have been keeping an eye out on the Japanese website Yahoo Buyee and finally saw something I liked. It's a clean looking UA-7045 that should work out nicely.
https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/v741873067?_=cnZxVG5GZVlFQTA3VEZVTDBjQnRCS1RGYWtnTW1ZOTZORUVmb2R...=I won the auction this morning for $202.81, way cheaper than I've ever seen one of these go for. estimated shipping is around $50.00 via DHL. It takes up to two weeks for the seller to get the arm shipped to Buyee and they will inspect and repackage it for shipment via DHL. So in several weeks I'll have this in my hands.
Since I know the spindle to pivot distance I will machine an armboard for it in advance.
Anybody familiar with this series of arms knows all about the rubber damper in the counterweight stub that degrades and causes the dreaded tonearm droop where the weight starts hanging down.
There are two types of this series of arms, those that have the droop (most) and those that will develop it soon. Aging rubber and gravity never let up. Every arm will eventually have this problem.
I've talked to my friend Elliott about this as he had one of these arms for a short time. He sent me a sketch of a rubber piece that he made from hardware parts that he used to fix his. Between Elliott and the internet I found enough info to figure out how this comes apart but I'm not entirely happy with the fix. Since Victor can't supply the rubber dampers I've been thinking about possibly making a mold and casting them out of urethane. I have samples of urethane coming to me from a supplier so I can compare the hardness of the rubber bushing to the urethane samples to find a close matching durometer value.
The mold will be a simple affair, machined out of aluminum. I need to dig out a vacuum pump buried in my garage to see if it works and I found a vacuum chamber on Ebay for 50 bucks.
Once I get the arm I'll pull the stub off and get some critical measurements and work from there. I can even do a temporary fix on the stub until I have a decent result as I have never cast urethane before.Anyway, I'm very excited to be getting this tonearm and at least one member here (chakster) talks very highly of it.

BillWojo




billwojo
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I dont think I ever ran either the  7045 or 7082 more than 1, probably more like 0.7.
Same as I have my 505ls set at.
Never ran a dl103 though, vintage carts mostly like Astatic/Glanz.
lewm
13,565 posts
 
Bill, In days of yore, some advised setting AS equal to VTF, but I think in this "modern" era, no one would advise you to do that.  Now will come a flood of advisories on AS, but what I do is to start out with the most minimal amount of AS that is achievable with the particular tonearm I am using.  If I hear distortion in the L channel, I will tick up the amount of AS until that distortion goes away.  The required amount of AS is always way less than VTF.  This is all by ear.
billwojo OP
397 posts
 
Thanks for the info on anti skating, I've always done it the old way, set AS = to VTF. when I get this setup I'm going to dial in a little bit and go from there.
BillWojo
elliottbnewcombjr
5,856 posts
 
Bill,

my two simple tools to refine anti-skate:

most alignment disks (important tool to have in ant case) have enough smooth surface to see the arm react/move in/out while adjusting anti-skate force.

https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Hi-Fi-Turntable-Cartridge-Protractor/dp/B01MU6AD2E/ref=sr_1_22?dchild=...

Mine is 2 sided, strobe rings on other side, so I use the alignment side, bouncing merrily over the grids, then the important smooth area. I wonder if this single sided one, no strobe, if the other side is smooth, anyone know?

I spin it manually, check it at 3 locations, inner, center, outer areas.

adjust to get very slightly in at inner area, essentially no movement center or outer areas. don’t even look at the indicator dial, just reality.

next, your ear, much nicer than test tracks

side 2, tracks 2 and 3 all 3 guitarists, if you hear the l/r equally, the center distinct and centered, the applause equal then you have it! make a minor adjustment, you willl hear it.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=68141&ev=mb&currency=USD&sort=condition%2Cde...

Of course, you have to be assured your system is truly balanced before doing this.

I use this CD. Is Cassandra dead center? This will help prove system balance.

https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/1116039471

CD version to prove system balance because you cannot yet rely on TT anti-skate setting.

Then use the 3 guitarists for a precision anti-skate adjustment.

Cassandra LP version for more delight, she should still be dead center 






lewm
13,565 posts
 
Elliot, I am not sure what you are recommending, so maybe I am off base in the following statement. If you are recommending setting AS using a smooth, i.e., grooveless, portion of an LP, or a test LP that has no grooves at all, or that alignment protractor which is not even made of vinyl, seen in the URL you cited, then I suggest this is not a good idea. Because the skating force (the force you are trying to counter when you set the AS force) is caused by the friction force of the stylus tip in the groove. An LP with no grooves does not accurately reproduce the skating force you are trying to equalize. Moreover, that alignment protractor you've recommended is not even made of vinyl, so it's a worse tool for setting AS than even a blank LP.  Apologies if I have misunderstood your previous post.
More to discover