Numark TTUSB tonearm adjustment Options

[rocket_pc]

I have first browsed the wiki for this, though only a few minutes. My question is about adjusting the tone arm on the Numark TTUSB. Can anybody tell me where there are instructions on adjusting the counterweight on the tone arm of the Numark TTUSB and adjusting the anti-skate mechanism?

I got the turntable yesterday. The instructions in the operator's manual is insufficient, with only a few sentences on the subject that seem very ambiguous to me.

The manual says,

...there should be a feeling of weight and resistance when the head shell is raised and lowered. Begin rotating the counterweight clockwise (away from the pivot point) until the weight and resistance feeling is gone. If done properly, the tone arm will pivot with very little resistance back and forth indicating that there is exactly 0 grams of stylus pressure. With the counterweight in its new position further away from tone arm pivot point, grasp the scale ring of the counter weight and rotate it until "0" is in the vertical position. Finally, rotate the counterweight (and scale ring) counter-clockwise (towards the pivot point) until the desired amount of weight is reached. If the scale rotates 360 degrees beyond the zero point, the new scale ring reading should be added to 3.5.

I don't understand these instructions at all. I remember seeing somewhere last month, when shopping for this, mention of some website or other with instructions on adjusting the tonearm and antiskate functions.

Thank you, in advance, for your attention on this subject.

Don

This post has been edited by greynol: Dec 11 2009, 22:04

Reason for edit: Please use the default font. Placed quote in the proper container.

[rocket_pc]

Hi audiophiles, Thank you for your replies, Cliveb, Axon, and Krueger. To start off the year, I have been involved with several technical support issues of electronics things that I have. On the subject of the lp turntable testing disks, you have convinced me that the "Ultimate Analogue Test LP" would be a good investiment. The problem now isn't the cost of a test record, but the several testing instruments that may be required to conduct the tests offered by the tracks on this test LP.

For example, browsing through a list I found of tracks of this test LP, some of the test instruments that I had seen mentioned were: an oscilloscope, preamp adjustment (which is part of the usb turntable), AC millivolt meter, cartridge (part of the turntable, the tonearm), IMD tester, a Wow & Flutter meter, a stethoscope on the plinth (I've got a stethoscope) And I have seen mentioned someplace else, that a strobe light can be used for testing the turntable.

If all of the tracks of this LP require expensive instruments, then there would be no purpose in getting this test LP. Remember that my turntable is a Numark TTUSB, with limited, imprecise adjustments. (The tonearm weight is simply pushed back and forth. And the anti-skate dial appears to be a cheap recast of another dial.)

All I had planned for this turntable was to convert half a dozen Christmas records to digital (now for next year) and convert about a dozen other LPs to digital. I do have maybe a few hundred LPs, though I have little interest in most of the lot.

About reading on how to conduct these tests, Hydrogenaudio may be having some technical problem with their website, as some of the links on the knowledgebase are blank. I did find a site describing testing instruments: <http://collectingvinylrecords.blogspot.com/2009_04_05_archive.html>

So, are special instruments required? I would spend ten or fifteen dollars on a few instruments, but not the hundreds of dollars.


Below is a list of the tracks of the test LP, "Analogue Productions - The Ultimate Analogue Test LP". I removed all of the comments to save space here, and to avoid copyright infringement. The article in detail is at: <http://store.acousticsounds.com/index.cfm?get=detail&title_id=35532>


Side 1

Track 1 1Khz reference tone 7cm/s Mono, in phase (Lateral)

Track 2 1kHz reference level Left channel only

Track 3 1kHz reference level Right channel only

Track 4 1 kHz tone at -20 below reference level, Lateral

Track 5 10 kHz reference tone at -20dbu, Lateral

Track 6 1 kHz to 20 kHz sweep at -20dbu, Mono (Lateral)

Track 7 1 kHz to 20 Hz sweep at 0 VU (Lateral)

Track 8 100 Hz reference tone at 0 vu (Lateral)

Track 9 VTA adjust

Track 10 Standard Wow & Flutter test signal; 3150Hz

Side 2

Track 1 Anti-skating test; 315Hz amplitude sweep to +12dbu (Lateral)

Track 2 Pink noise lateral

Track 3 Pink noise vertical

Track 4 1kHz @ reference level, vertical

Track 5 1kHz to 10Hz sweep @ -20 below

Track 6 Silent groove for bearing rumble and table isolation



The above "The Ultimate Analogue Test LP" you mentioned is highly rated. What about this test LP, "Realistic Stereo Test Record Home & Lab Audiophile LP"? Are these tracks valuable and without requiring alot of testing instruments?

1. Speaker Phasing and Channel Identification, 2. Channel Balance, 3. Frequency Response, 4. Cartridge Evaluation, 5. Stereo Separation, 6. Stereo Spread, 7. Effective Hum, 8. Rumble, 9. Flutter.

Thank you for your time, helping with this.

Don