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What's that funny little weight hanging off the side of some tonearms for?
Follow Ups:
That is right. It is a lateral balance weight. To check if it is the right position 1- Balance the arm at 0 VTF. 2. slightly life the right side of the table. Set it down and lift the left side of the table. The arm should have stayed balance and not veered off to one side or the other. If so then the weight needs adjusted. This is painstaking and trial and error. Hope yours does not need adjusting. Unless they have been messed with they should never require adjusting.
As far as the rest of the (non) answers I have gotten used to that in 14+ years at the Asylum. Plenty of BJ around. I guess some inmates just need for their 2 cents to be read...
we could figure out what part he was talking about?
The only weight I have ever seen hanging off the side of a tonearm was a lateral balance weight. The counter weight hangs off the rear and anti-skate weights hang from a string. Yes a photo can save confusion, but the OP question was pretty clear if you read carefully. If not then that is the fault if the OP...
With those words, I didn't know if it was the weight on a string or the weight on the metal rod. I have seen the weight on the chrome rod numerous times, but I admit that I didn't know what is for. We can thank two posters for excellent answers.
Regardless, the original post offered no help as to what little weight he was talking about. A picture, as requested early, would have eliminated a few responses.
The fixed weight on the left side is a lateral balance weight.
The string mounted weight is for anti-skate.
See? No picture required and the question should be answered.
Sorry, but I have been through this countless times here at the asylum in 15+ years. I will pose a question. Then go through the trouble of posting pictures (largely useless). And still get non-answers all over the map.
Edits: 03/08/23
was talking about, then we could possibly answer his question. Initially, the OP did not identify which little weight he was talking about, and there were two possibilities.
One easy way of initially identifying "the little weight" would have been a picture. Posters on this site frequently ask original posters for a picture for other subjects in order to answer and help someone. You have certainly seen that in your 20 years here.
When I see posts that read as follows:"I have been here for 15 years and I STILL highlight selected WORDS with CAPS to prove that I am a a VERY IMPORTANT contributor here ....
"B.K.
Edits: 03/13/23 03/13/23
nt
"Then go thru the trouble of posting pictures (largely useless)."
I've been here for over twenty years. First of all, it's not difficult to post pictures here if you know what you're doing. It doesn't take a lot of time- maybe 30 seconds. For you to say a picture wouldn't have helped here is, pardon my English, lunacy. It absolutely would have helped! He would have gotten an answer MUCH SOONER. And after all, why not post one? Would it have hindered the quest to find an answer? Let's face it- either he's lazy or doesn't know how to post a picture, in which case he should learn. It's not rocket science.
Instead, he and you blame what you consider lame answers when, in fact, if you actually read the responses, most of them were really trying to be helpful. Why don't you post one of your prior posts with a picture and the "non-answers" you received? I'd be very interested.
Because is has been such a LONG time and I cannot even begin to remember which one there are. And I don't care to do the research just to prove a pint. I am not arguing about the pictures helping, BUT is is still a simple answer in this case. It is either an anti-skate weight on a string (RH) or a lateral weight fixed mounted (LH). Again, I am not saying pictures are never necessary, but they are certainly not necessary in EVERY case. I figured it out without a picture and I am not the smartest person on Earth.
I rest my case...-
You knew exactly which of the two possibilities was correct?
Over fifty years messing with this stuff and I never knew about this. Many Many Thanks.
Just adding to what PhonoMac wrote, with J and some S-bend arms, the centre of mass of the arm is not on the imaginary line (effective length) from the pivot to the stylus, but off-centred.
The result of the centre of mass being off the desired line is seen when you try and balance the arm (zero VTF and antiskate) - the arm will precess around the pivot. The outrigger small mass is to provide a compensatory torque so that the arm is properly balanced.
S-bend arms when properly done should put the centre of mass back on the pivot/stylus line. This is not always successful, but manufacturers typically don't bother about compensation because the deviation is small.
You see it on J arms because it is essential - have a look at SMEs M series and earlier tonearms.
Regards Anthony
"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats
Wonderful, thank you !!
nt
The Sansui SR-929 manual has a procedure to get the lateral weight set up. It's tonearm has a double knife bearing. More or less, from memory: Raise the back of the table 4 inches, float the arm, and set the lateral weight so the arm is not being pulled left or right.
Anti-skate?
Which tonearm/s ?
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
I think this is what the OP is referring to. Sony wasn't the only one that had them.
Pretty sure that arm has a dial for anti-skate adjustment, so who knows what that stationary weight is on the inside of the tone arm gimbal.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
I assume this is what he is asking about, a lateral weight.
Seems we are more interested in figuring out what he's asking about than he is 'splaining it.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
But that's what I was talking about for sure. In the pic, you can see the actual anti-skate lever or dial or whatever.
I always wondered what those weights were for myself, back in the day.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
nt
Why don't you just post a picture? NOT THAT HARD TO DO!
You know, there are people that you can talk to regarding your emotional problems...
it is overused, but it would solve a lot of confusion here. Those who asked for it are just normal folks.
Lateral balance weight. Necessary in some form for uni-pivots (think asymmetric counterweight location for example).
On gimbal bearing arms in theory it lets you play records even when the turntable is on a slant (prefer to level it myself) and also in theory equalizes the load on the vertical motion bearings.
Also provides the added feature of a weight on a cantilever (= resonant object).
As usual when I post here, I get back one intelligent response from one intelligent person and a whole load of chucklehead comments from a whole load of chuckleheads, at least one of whom is angry. Thank you, mac, for your kind response.
So don't post here anymore. We won't miss your tepid sarcasm. All you had to do was post a photo and you would most probably have gotten an instant response. But you couldn't even manage to do that! Instead, we're all just a bunch of "chuckleheads." My advice: Easy on the MUSHROOM SOUP!
The Micro Seiki MA-505 arm has a short rod along side and came with a couple of weights for lateral balance.
I agree with phonomac, better to level the turntable to start with.
"The only cats worth anything are the cats who take chances. Sometimes I play things I never heard myself." Thelonious Monk
nt
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
That's for antiskate
I've got the little antiskate weight on the lever that pulls the lever that pulls the string that pulls the tone arm. This is not that, this is a solidly mounted, larger weight.
Off the side or off the rear? Are you talking about the counterweight? I can't imagine a tonearm would have a weight hanging off the side. makes no sense. A picture is worth....well you know...
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
some tonearm with a single point suspension use weight to control arm movement, since it is just balanced upon single point, unlike the more common gimbaled arm supports.
One way to absolutely find the function Is to cut the thing off.
Some of the tonearms, there would be a weight mounted on a small aluminum rod sticking out of the gimbal. It was non-adjustable and independent of any anti-skate knobs or weights.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
Just a weight stuck on a rod. Nothing to do with anti-skate because there was usually a dial adjustment for that.
I always figured it was just marketing. Looked sophisticated even if it didn't do anything.
The blissful counterstroke-a considerable new message.
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