"David B" wrote in message
...
"Phil Allison" wrote in message
...

"Arfa Daily"
Anyone come across a tonearm with a single pivot point rather than the
normal four pivot gimbal ? I have a Thorens TD160 Mk II on the bench
that has come in to have the owner's 'soldered with a hot poker'
cartridge connections corrected. It appears not to be the original
tonearm that's fitted, which was a standard fully mounted type
according to the user and service manuals. This arm is a slim black
skeleton, and it just seems to rest on a single spike sticking up from
the mounting plate. If it wasn't for the wires, you'd be able to lift
it right off the deck. There is a fishing line-hung LBC weight on the
left, and the tracking counterbalance weight, as well as being
adjustable fore and aft to set the tracking force, is also mounted
eccentrically, so that it can be rotated to negate any off-axis force,
such as from the LBC weight, which would try to rotate the arm about
its long axis.

I have never seen a single bearing arm like this before, and it doesn't
have any name on it at all. Anyone know what it is ?


** You have described a black version of one of these - a " Formula 4"

http://soundup.ru/images/stories/arc...-tonearm-2.jpg

http://soundup.ru/index.php?option=c...s&directory=15

Sold under various brands names in the 1970s.

The pivot is oil damped and they are fiddly to set up and use - but the
performance was second to none, particularly with a Shure V15 mk3 or mk4
up front.

Not all examples had the sliding weight in the middle.


Or one of a multitude of other tonearms......
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=unipivot+tonearm

The images option seems to be more helpful:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=un...&bih=859&dpr=1

On 19/09/2013 10:53 AM, Arfa Daily wrote:
Anyone come across a tonearm with a single pivot point rather than the
normal four pivot gimbal ? I have a Thorens TD160 Mk II on the bench
that has come in to have the owner's 'soldered with a hot poker'
cartridge connections corrected. It appears not to be the original
tonearm that's fitted, which was a standard fully mounted type according
to the user and service manuals. This arm is a slim black skeleton, and
it just seems to rest on a single spike sticking up from the mounting
plate. If it wasn't for the wires, you'd be able to lift it right off
the deck. There is a fishing line-hung LBC weight on the left, and the
tracking counterbalance weight, as well as being adjustable fore and aft
to set the tracking force, is also mounted eccentrically, so that it can
be rotated to negate any off-axis force, such as from the LBC weight,
which would try to rotate the arm about its long axis.

I have never seen a single bearing arm like this before, and it doesn't
have any name on it at all. Anyone know what it is ?

Arfa

**It is called a 'unipivot' arm. Whilst they have their charms, I hate
the buggers. Almost impossible to maintain accurate zenith. They are
very low friction though and quite good for many MM carts. MC carts
should NEVER be used with any unipivot arm.

--
Trevor Wilson www.rageaudio.com.au

On 19/09/2013 21:58, Trevor Wilson wrote:


MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)

--
Eiron.

"Eiron"

Trevor Wilson wrote:

MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)


** What you have to understand is that with some MC cartridges - it's the
tone arm the vibrates not the stylus.

But none of them can touch the Decca London for pure ability to permanently
remove vertical modulation from a grove.

A real groove straightener.


..... Phil

"Phil Allison" wrote in message ...


"Arfa Daily"
Anyone come across a tonearm with a single pivot point rather than the
normal four pivot gimbal ? I have a Thorens TD160 Mk II on the bench that
has come in to have the owner's 'soldered with a hot poker' cartridge
connections corrected. It appears not to be the original tonearm that's
fitted, which was a standard fully mounted type according to the user and
service manuals. This arm is a slim black skeleton, and it just seems to
rest on a single spike sticking up from the mounting plate. If it wasn't
for the wires, you'd be able to lift it right off the deck. There is a
fishing line-hung LBC weight on the left, and the tracking counterbalance
weight, as well as being adjustable fore and aft to set the tracking
force, is also mounted eccentrically, so that it can be rotated to negate
any off-axis force, such as from the LBC weight, which would try to rotate
the arm about its long axis.

I have never seen a single bearing arm like this before, and it doesn't
have any name on it at all. Anyone know what it is ?


** You have described a black version of one of these - a " Formula 4"

http://soundup.ru/images/stories/arc...-tonearm-2.jpg

http://soundup.ru/index.php?option=c...s&directory=15

Sold under various brands names in the 1970s.

The pivot is oil damped and they are fiddly to set up and use - but the
performance was second to none, particularly with a Shure V15 mk3 or mk4 up
front.

Not all examples had the sliding weight in the middle.


.... Phil

I remember Hadcock also made/sold a unipivot arm, although this may have
been a badge-engineered Mayware Formula 4 in view of Phil's comments.

Geoff Mackenzie

"Geoff Mackenzie"
"Phil Allison"
"Arfa Daily"

I have never seen a single bearing arm like this before, and it doesn't
have any name on it at all. Anyone know what it is ?


** You have described a black version of one of these - a " Formula 4"

http://soundup.ru/images/stories/arc...-tonearm-2.jpg

http://soundup.ru/index.php?option=c...s&directory=15

Sold under various brands names in the 1970s.

The pivot is oil damped and they are fiddly to set up and use - but the
performance was second to none, particularly with a Shure V15 mk3 or mk4
up
front.

Not all examples had the sliding weight in the middle.


I remember Hadcock also made/sold a unipivot arm, although this may have
been a badge-engineered Mayware Formula 4 in view of Phil's comments.


** Nope.

This is pic of a Hadcock GH228 Super:

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable...image_id=10717

May well be the very one the AD is on about.

And look what is sitting on the end .....



.... Phil

In article , Eiron
wrote:
On 19/09/2013 21:58, Trevor Wilson wrote:


MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)

AOL Me too. :-)

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

In article ,
Bob Latham wrote:
In article ,
Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , Eiron
wrote:
On 19/09/2013 21:58, Trevor Wilson wrote:

MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)

AOL Me too. :-)

OK, so what if you happen to think MCs sound much nicer?


Quite.

MM is for those who only read specs. ;-)

--
*If tennis elbow is painful, imagine suffering with tennis balls *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article , Bob Latham
wrote:
In article , Jim Lesurf
wrote:
In article , Eiron
wrote:
On 19/09/2013 21:58, Trevor Wilson wrote:

MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)

AOL Me too. :-)

OK, so what if you happen to think MCs sound much nicer?

Use one. :-) ...but not with an ultra-low mass arm unless you hate bass
notes.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
wrote:
In article , Bob Latham
wrote:
In article , Jim Lesurf
wrote:
In article , Eiron
wrote:
On 19/09/2013 21:58, Trevor Wilson wrote:

MC carts should NEVER be used

Very true. :-)

AOL Me too. :-)

OK, so what if you happen to think MCs sound much nicer?


Quite.

MM is for those who only read specs. ;-)

I can't read without my specs. Although I do take them off when listening
to music. :-)

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scot...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html