cfp@hou3c.UUCP (Craig F. Preston) (08/02/84)
Does anyone out there have any experience/warnings/recommendations
about these devices for use with manual turntables?
Respond via email please.
Craig Preston
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Holmdel, NJ
{ihnp4,allegra,ulysses,harpo}!hou3c!cfpwjm@whuxl.UUCP (MITCHELL) (08/02/84)
<this is for the daemon's lunch> The only tone arm lifter that can be retrofitted to a turntable that I know of is the Audio-Technica Safety Raiser. Unfortunately, A-T discontinued making these little gems in 1982, although you may be able to find one in a shop with old stock. They cost about $30 and consisted of a small spring-loaded hydraulically damped piston. When the tone arm reaches the inner groove, it hits a trip wire (at most 26 gauge) that releases the piston, which rises raising the tone arm from the record. The beauty of this approach is that one gets the convenience of auto lift at the end of a side, without the need for any connecting linkage to the tone arm. When they work, they work very well and if you get a good one they are fairly reliable. However, about 3 out 4, in my experience, will work for a while and then need adjustment by your local handyperson type. Once adjusted, they then tend to work well for quite a while. Also, the initial setup is a royal #%^%&* (as are most things in setting up a high end turntable). Regards, Bill Mitchell (whuxl!wjm)
jeff@tesla.UUCP (08/03/84)
From: jeff (Jeff Frey) Decca in England used to sell a simple mechanical tone arm lifter for about $5. that does the job quite well, although not viscously. I used to use one on my AR turntable. Perhaps they're no longer available (I doubt they ever were in the USA). If you're going to England there's a shop on Tottenham Court Rd just N of Oxford St that sells nothing but record-playing accessories - dedusters, pads, replacements for Watts products, cables, etc. Large shop, large stock; that would be the place to ask. J.Frey
fritz@hpfclp.UUCP (fritz) (08/08/84)
There are also devices (I forget who makes/made them) called Stylift.
These contain a delicately-balanced weight which is unbalanced when
the tonearm touches it, causing it to drop down and (via a lever
mechanism) lift the tonearm. I had one on my Kenwood KD-500 / Black
Widow, and it worked, kinda -- but it was a royal pain to set up,
and you had to re-cock it before every album.
Myself, I have decided I am lazy enough that I require at least
auto lift/shutoff in my turntables. As a matter of fact, I am
looking for a new one right now. Anybody got any good suggestions?
Gary Fritz
Hewlett Packard Co
Ft Collins, CO
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz