Tonearm Cable Suggestions

[ZZMoko]

So my new DIY 12" arm project is to moving forward with much thanks to Werner for his beautiful brass turning skills.

The next stage is to rewire the tonearm both internally and externally and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what wire to use for each part of the job? As ever money is tight on this project so please no mega expensive pure gold hand woven suggestions 

Previously I used litz wire for the internal section from Vic at TransFi, but is using Cardas wire easier and would it produce a better results.

[Chopsaw]

Stick with the Litz wire, it's fine. For external cables I use Van Damme pro patch which is around £1.50 a metre.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Van-Damme-Pro-Grade-Classic-Black-XKE-Pro-Patch-Cable-/150550553495?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item230d832397#ht_1305wt_902

I use a pair of these ie one cable per channel with the shield connected to the green at the tonearm end only.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopsaw,

Would you mind explaining why you connect the shield to the green at the tonearm's end only?

And is this similar to the cable you suggested?

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAN-DAMME-PRO-INSTRUMENT-CABLE-METRE-COLOURS-/150616698611?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&var=&hash=item68c7c647d7

Cheers,

Victor.

[Chopsaw]

Hello Vic,

Those cables in the link only have a single inner conductor. The Pro Patch cable has two shielded cores, one red, one green. The reason I wire it like I do is because a cartridge is essentially a balanced device so I put the hot side of each channel to the red conductor and the cold side to the green conductor ( obviously I use two lengths of cable, one per channel) The shield or screen is exactly that, an electrical shield, so I don't use it to carry any signal at all and that's why I tie only one end down, usually at the source end. I make all my interconnects like this as well even though rca to rca isn't balanced. Again the shield is tied down at the source end only and the cables become directional because of this. It just seems a better way of doing it to my mind and it works well. I've never had a problem even with eight metre runs from preamp to amp. It's often referred to as pseudo balanced for obvious reasons. It was Jack Lawson at the Audio Salon who put me onto this years ago and I know a well respected tonearm builder who does it the same way too.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopsaw,

Thanks for explaining in detail.

The reason I asked about the cable is that there was a similar thread on VE where the Van Dam shown on my link was suggested.

In all honesty the whole subject may be a bit confusing!

I have ordered some of the Van Dam instrument cable already but will get some of the patch cable you suggested as well. Hardly expensive so worth giving it a go!

Would you advice using Litz from headshell connectors to phono plugs or would that be a pain to handle due to the wire's delicate construction?

Just had a look at one of my Rega tonearms, looks like rubbish wire. am I wrong?

Cheers,

Victor.

[Chopsaw]

It depends on the arm Vic. When I did my GL75 arm recently I left the headshell connector in place as it was the obvious thing to do. If I was doing a Rega I'd take the Litz wire from the cartridge tags to the arm pillar and then joint it at that point to the external cable. More often than not I solder the joints rather than use a din connector. It makes a more robust job imo and I'm not anal about having an extra joint in the signal path. There's plenty more in your preamp!

This is an Audiomods arm I wired for a friend.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopsaw,

Thanks again for explaining.

Not sure whether I would want to rewire the GL75's tonearm but there are a few candidates laying around here!

I have a RB200, bought you know where, which the seller failed to describe properly.

The anti-skate belt has perished, fair enough, but someone has pulled most of the wires out and then reassembled it.

The headshell connector is buggered as one of the sprung pins has been messed with,  I bought a connector for a SL1200 which should fit ok.

Another thing is the internal Litz wiring, is this the same which is used for windings in radios? Seems in the US things like these are available fairly inexpensively but here in the UK nearly always come with fancy labels and prices.

Cheers,

Victor.

[ZZMoko]

For the Litz wire I got mine from Vic's Trans Fi store on EBay for 99p per metre which didn't seem bad.

[Chopsaw]

Vic at Transfi is good for Litz wire, cart tags etc and his prices are fair. No complaints with any of the stuff I've had from him.

The stuff wound around the ferrite rod in transistor radios is more than likely Litz wire but I couldn't guess what sort of quality it is. The Litz wire I get from Vic etc is something like 30 strands of .04mm copper wire and it's good stuff. He uses it in his own arms so that's good enough for me Victor.

Someone on eBay was selling the bias belt for the RB200, Don't know if they still do or not. There was a belt from a printer that had the right pitch I believe but I've no idea which one. The arm has got to worth repairing though Victor.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopsaw,

Yes, there used to be a seller on the bay who provided the bias belt. Something to do with J7 and a member of this forum? Not sure though.

I shall take your advice and get some Litz from Transfi, shame you can't remember which printer belt fitted the RB200's bias mechanism.

J7 advices setting the bias to 1.5 grams and fixing it in place so negating the need for a belt!

Would you remove the connector which joins the internal tonearm wire to the exterior phono leads, in the case of the RB200, or would you soder the wires to it?

Thanks for the advice Chopsaw!

Cheers,

Victor.

[ZZMoko]

Have a look over HiFi Wigwam a guy called Speedy Steve restored and converted a R200 into a great looking 12" arm.

If you did the same you wouldn't need the anti skate function then

[Chopsaw]

I think there's a misconception here that twelve inch arms don't require any bias.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopsaw,

Yes, an increase of three inches to the standard length may not be the answer to all problems, in this particular instance.

I am trying to adapt a Dual 505's pitch belt to fit in the RB200, if that works it will be the only thing the Dual has been useful for!

ZZ, the 12inch project looked good but it will  probably easier for me to re-wire the arm,internally and externally, and fix the anti-skate to 1.5 grams if the Dual belt mod fails.

Cheers,

Victor.

[Chopsaw]

And the vertical bearings are offset to the same angle as the headshell. If you lengthen the arm tube the headshell offset will have to be reduced and the alignment of the headshell and vertical bearing will change. Whether this change in geometry has any significant effect on the performance of the arm I don't know.

[vincitsemper]

Hello Chopesaw,

The Litz wire and Van Dam cable you suggested should be with me next week.

Thanks for taking the time to explain how things are meant to be connected.

Still trying to make the Dual 505's pitch belt work in the RB200's anti-skate assembly, to say that it's trying my patience would be an understatement!

Surely there must be a small toothed belt manufactured somewhere which will fit the RB better.

Enjoy your Bank holiday mate.

Cheers,

Victor.