Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

Ditto to what Pryso says. Downunder, you might consider finding another "tech". The guy you quote is not very tech-y. As Pryso says, the reason to change out the electrolytics has nothing at all to do with sonics (unless a leaky cap is causing a speed error already). It has everything to do with the fact that electrolytic capacitors have a finite lifespan. Which is to say that after about 30 years since most of our dd tt's were made, the lytics are near pooped. A leaky electrolytic (either electrically leaky, meaning that it can pass DC, or mechanically leaky, meaning there is goop all over the outside) can and will eventually take out an IC or a transistor that may be irreplaceable. Call it preventive maintenance, if you are having no problems. Like changing the oil in your auto engine at regular intervals. For a great tt like the Pioneer P3, do it.

Dear Halcro, Headshell offset angle does have an effect on the magnitude of the skating force, but it is not the prime cause. The prime cause is related to the fact that nearly all tonearms are mounted such that the stylus overhangs the spindle. Thus the cantilever/stylus can never be tangent to the groove. (You are fond of Copernicus; now think about that other Greek, Pythagorus.) Since the cantilever/stylus is not tangent to the groove, friction between the stylus tip and the groove wall creates a force at an angle to the path of the stylus; a component of this force vector is toward the spindle = skating force. A tonearm with no headshell offset angle is not free from skating force.

Lewm/Pryso

thanks for your concern. but the tech has no concerns about exploding caps or his ability to fix if any fail, even thou there are NO technical manuals available so he will be going somewhat blind again.

This is the same tech that fixed my P10 and Halcro's DD's, making his on IC on the P10 so he is more competent than most - There was nothing wrong with the caps in the P10 either.

The P3 was serviced by Pioneer Japan before I bought it a few years back.

I actually slipped a disc in my back trying to move the P3 into the car, so off the radar for some time now. Does not mean I won't do it in the future, but anything this old can fail at any time.

The prime cause is related to the fact that nearly all tonearms are mounted such that the stylus overhangs the spindle.

Thanks for reminding me of this Lew...😊
I do think that in this case with his specially made 20" tonearm without an off-set headshell.....he probably also set it up on his pod without any overhang⁉️
I can't imagine what geometry he would use if he DID set up an overhang as he couldn't get zenith correct at the two nulls without twisting the cartridge...❓😎

Halcro, Lew,
A straight arm with no offset is normally set to one null point a little inside of the center of the recorded part of the record. I think this would correspond to 96 - 98mm from the spindle.

There is an arm like that now called Viv Rigid Float. It has won some accolades. I've never heard it. "They" say the benefit is from eliminating most torsional forces on the cantilever.
Regards,

http://stereotimes.com/post/viv-lab-rigid-tonearm

Fleib, another such arm that preceded the Rigid Float is the RS Labs RS-A1. As you say, it uses "under-hang" and thus achieves tangency at one point on the LP surface. Both of these arms are in the realm of the crazy, but I can say that the RS-A1 really works and sounds way better than I would have guessed. Thus I am curious about the Rigid Float. What bothers me about it is the question of whether the pivot is really held "Rigid" by the floating bearing arrangement. I don't see how it could be. The instructions that come with the RS-A1 suggest 21 mm of underhang is optimal (stylus hits the LP 21mm short of reaching the spindle) but this is more a suggestion than a rule.

Halcro, I agree that a 20-inch arm with a straight head shell would have very little tracking error because of its sheer length, and the skating force would be weaker than in most cases. But the trade-off is the potential for lack of rigidity of an arm that long, plus high effective mass. Interesting for sure, nevertheless.