Scout master owners...

Good morning,

I owned a Scout and the setup is very similar. I placed my square motor about 1/4" away from all three sides. Keep in mind that the belt is very flexible (just like a rubber band), thus it allows some leeway as to the distance. Your motor is also very heavy and is not going to move if you have it even 1/2" away from all three sides.
In addition, it would be a good idea to pre-order another belt, just to have one in reserve and also to replace your current one after a year of using it.

I just used the power cable that came with the motor.

hi,

nice table!!

my 45 rpm wheel (the larger one is at the bottom) about 1/4 inch away from the platter. my pc comes in underneath the plinth from the back straight on in to the motor. also, i placed my motor on a mouse pad cut to size to reduce motor vibration. it works amazingly well for this purpose. my scoutmaster sits on a 2" thick maple wood block which sits on (4 )of the cork/rubber isolation sandwich pads on top of the rack shelf which eliminates any floor vibrations from being picked up by the cartridge.

but, i do use a vpi frequency speed controller with 33/45 rpm switching (it is not necessary to change the belt on the pulley to change speeds) & i use a kab strobe light & disk set for occasional speed correction for complete accuracy every few months. a strobe is must have accessory for me but a lot of people can set pitch to their own good hearing.

if you do not have a speed controller, the distance of the fly wheel from the platter may depend on the belt elastisity (stretched or not) & maybe the 33 rpm fly wheel pulley groove you set the belt in may have an effect on the speed. a strobe will come in handy in setting the speed. but, i am not qualified to comment on moving the motor or changing the belt on the fly wheel pulley. my 45 rpm fly wheel is 1/4 inch because i do not have a very wide maple wood block so i can only stretch it so far. this works fine for me at 1/4 inch since i use the vpi speed controller for precise speed with the kab strobe system & i don't have to fiddle with motor distance or pulley changes.

you may want to consider investing in or borrowing a decent easy to read strobe set. you can preserve belt life by taking it off the fly wheel if you are not going to use your scoutmaster for a while. i use mine too frequently to do this unless i remember to take it off & reduce the stretching factor if i go away for a month or three.

call or email vpi. they are very helpful wih questions of this nature & the info should be in the instructions.

good luck & enjoy the vinyl.

VPI says motor housing should be .25 inch outside of the side of the table. Mine is .50 inch. I use the stock PC cause, like you say, others don't fit under there. Just make sure you don't bump the pulley. Close tolerances there. I can't tell if mine is spinning, or not!