Nottingham Space Deck and Space Arm question?

Update #2......300,000cst did NOT cause the 9" Spacearm to drop slowly enough. I sourced some 500,000cst and that has enough "sticky" to do the job. I would suggest, if you want the arm to drop even more slowly, 1,000,000cst but HAVE NOT tried it. My stylus rests 5/16" above the record surface before I cue it down just in case that is a consideration. You will, of course, need to remove the mechanism from the arm base, thoroughly clean it (I used isopropyl 93%), and then coat the piston filling the groove in it completely with the silicone oil as per Rega’s (it’s identical to the Rega lift/cueing mechanism) instructions found here:

https://www.vinylengine.com/library/rega/arm-cueing-lever.shtml

You will need to create an account at VE (free) and then go to that link to see the instructions.

Hope this helps others that have run into the "drops like a rock" issue.

Upon further review......

After a couple weeks with the 500,000cst silicone oil in the cueing mechanism, I can report to you that this is definitely the right stuff for a Space Arm. 

As for cartridge, currently using an SAE1000E with a weight of 4.7 grams.  It will be interesting once I have my Sumiko Blackbird back on the arm as it weighs about 9.6 grams to see if that makes any difference.  My hunch is that it shouldn't as the counterweight will be adjusted accordingly to achieve the correct VTF but we'll see. 

Meanwhile, if you are having the "drops like a rock" issue with your Spacearm, highly recommend a dismantling of the cueing mechanism, thorough cleaning with IPA, followed by re-packing the piston/cylinder with the 500,000cst.....let me know if this gets you to where you would like to be. 

Right now, my arm takes 5.6 seconds from beginning the drop to the record surface at a distance of right at 5/16 inch.  Perfect for me to get to my listening position......I'm happy!

Sorry this is an old thread but do you know how to make the lifting mechanism higher, ie so the arm drops from higher up. Can't keep the tone arm level without skimming the record when ithe arm is lifted. 

This is purely for reference for others. I could not find a way to adjust the cue height on the Nottingham Analogue space arm so used a work around. Using scissors I cut a sheet of lexan / plastic sheet of about 1mm thickness into a shim that slots over the end stoppers. I cut two but one was enough. I also cut a 3mm PE sheet but that would only be good for a very high cartridge.