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Posted by Cobalt on Mar-31-2007 17:13:

Techs 1200 tone arm question

I've had a pair of used Techs for a while now, and noticed that both carts I use seem a bit uneven to the surface of the record. Instead, the right side of each cart (side without the handle) seems slightly tipped up versus the left. The needle forces itself into line during play, causing the left channel to play slightly stronger than the right.

My carts are level when I look at them alone, so I looked at the tone arms, and noticed that the notches of the headshell mount aren't perfectly vertical to the turntable surface, and instead skewed in the direction that my headshells are rotated out of level. I think I've finally traced the problem to the pivot points at the left and right side of the tonearm assembly, where the right pivot (to the inside of the turntable) won't come unscrewed.

My ACTUAL QUESTION is: is this pivot screw reverse-threaded? I've thrown all my weight into trying to unscrew it counterclockwise, but it won't budge, on BOTH tonearms. Am I supposed to unscrew this one clockwise, or is it just really stuck? (I've cut my fingertip with a precision screwdriver; I'm pissed, frustrated, and looking for help.)

Posted by OMNIFEX on Apr-01-2007 14:48:

To be honest, I never tried to remove the screws on the left side of the Tone-arm (Which is basically hidden unless you move the Tone-arm all the way towards the end of the platter). The few times I've fixed a buddy of mine's Decks, I could align the tone arm using the right screws only.

You may want to examine your head-shells (If you are using Technics Heads-hells) before fooling around with those screws. Head-shells tend to maneuver their way upwards from constant picking up and placing the tone arm on the platter.

Those screws can really cause a lot of misalignment if you are not careful. Your problem sounds more towards a slack connection between the head-shell (Of any type) and the mounting ring in which you use to fasten the head-shell in place.

Posted by skot_e on Apr-02-2007 08:38:

I removed my tonearm as part of dismantle and paint project (Part finished). i found that one of the screws seems to be glued in (the one with the hole on the side) and so I could not remove it at all, while the other was a simple removal.

Posted by Zild on Apr-02-2007 19:08:

Those screws aren't screws at all they're bearings. You can break them very easily by overtightening them. Be careful, but yes it is common for technics to need slight adjustments to those bearings periodically.

Posted by skot_e on Apr-03-2007 07:41:

i'm talking about the point that the ball bearing bit pivots on. There's actually 4 points in the structure, one on each side of the 'loop' and two on the C shaped piece that makes up the frame for the arm to sit in.

Posted by Zild on Apr-03-2007 19:08:

OK cool just making sure people aren't damaging their tonearm bearings.

Posted by skot_e on Apr-03-2007 22:58:

That's important. From what I can tell they are stamped/punched in place, causing them to be a permanent fixing, and therefore not repairable. (at least on the framework, don't have the arm in front of me).

Posted by Cobalt on May-06-2007 03:50:

quote:
Originally posted by skot_e
I removed my tonearm as part of dismantle and paint project (Part finished). i found that one of the screws seems to be glued in (the one with the hole on the side) and so I could not remove it at all, while the other was a simple removal.

I suspected as much! Thanks.

Posted by skot_e on May-06-2007 09:06: