mcip Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Hello from a newbie. I have inherited an old Orpheus Silex turntable. This came with Pritchard tonearm. The turntable doesn't have a plinth and the tonearm is not attached to the turntable. I do have the bracket" and other bits and pieces that are needed to attach the tonearm to the turntable. I am only missing the wiring (to connect the tonearm to the amplifier) and the anti-skating weight for the tonearm. I would love to bring this beautiful piece of equipment back to life and was hoping I could find some guidance on the following: - I would like to build a plinth for the turntable. Does anyone have a template with measurements that would help me with this? - How can I find out what would be the optimal positioning for the tonearm? - I would like to make the anti-skating weight for the tonearm. Does anyone have any information on what weight this should have? There appear to be 2 possible positions for the anti-skating weight. Does anyone know what is the difference between positioning the anti-skating weight in each of the 2 positions? Here is some info I found on the tonearm Sorry for asking so many questions. Any guidance would be much appreciated / Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cafe latte Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 The best advice I can give re a template is make one. You are going to have to remove the motor and platter anyway to service it so while you have it apart cut bit a piece of card till you get it right, then. There are a fee old threads here with good advice for changing the dampers. All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcip Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Thanks for the advice Chris. I haven't got round to taking it apart yet. I'll see if I find a thread on how to optimize the tonearm position. Cheers, Marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 (edited) ProJect sell a replacement anti-skate weight for a few dollars. The positioning would depend on the mass of the bias weight, the cartridge and tracking weight you use. Measure the tonearm pivot to stylus length. This measurement will help determine the mounting position, the guides on vinylengine will help you work it out. A quick google search for Pritchard tonearm uncovered many discussions about this arm. One of these articles had "According to the manual the effective length is 9" (228.6mm) with 0.7" overhang (17.78mm), so the pivot to spindle centre is 8.3" (210.82mm)". Scans of the manual can be found here: https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=hmvjpdg2kbseqh1afvghdc5077&topic=19411.0 and also on vinylengine (listed under ADC). Which colour Silex do you have? Edited August 12 by audiofeline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcip Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 Thanks so much Rob. I'll look into the manual and see what ProJect have. Would you think that a 1g weight would be suitable? The Silex I have is metal grey with some patterns. I will have to restore/replace the rubber 'dampers' and the rubber parts where the motor hangs from the frame. I found some threads with advice on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 The patterns on the sliex is a hammertone paint finish. A standard paint finish on industrial equipment from (I'm guessing) the 1940's to 60's. You can buy it in spray tins now. I've got no idea what weight would work best on your arm. You can make your own weight with some fine nylon thread and a weight - some people use nuts as a stop-gap measure, a silver tip unscrewed from a biro could be filled with nuts and blu-tak for a home-made version that would look OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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