Setup Objective 4: Stylus cuing position at lead-in dead wax.
Objective
: Setup tone arm position with regard to the front of the platter so that manual cuing
(dropping the stylus under control of the lift/lower motor) results in the stylus making contact within the
lead-in groove area, safely inside the 12” vinyl record perimeter (lip).
This objective gets separate treatment, because it’s a heart-stopping experience to watch your multi-
thousand dollar cartridge stylus slide off the outside of the LP rim. It could happen, so special attention
is paid to stylus cuing during setup.
Cuing Problems
:
1.
The operator may not be able to hover directly above the LP and wand, so that his eye is exactly
vertical to the LP lead-in groove (parallax error).
2.
Cuing from one or more oblique side angles, so as to get a better view of the stylus is also
subject to parallax error from those angles.
3.
The cartridge may obscure the exact stylus position, especially if the stylus is located under the
cartridge body proper.
4.
Viewing the stylus position from front may not be possible.
Cuing Solutions
:
1.
When the wand is setup and viewed as parallel to the LP surface during playback, the
architecture of the Stealth One is such that the fully raised stylus is around 1/8” above the LP
architecture of the Stealth One is such that the fully raised stylus is around 1/8” above the LP
surface at end of lift.
2.
The wand is normally lifted above the vinyl record just enough to clear the ridge at the LP outer
rim. The stylus drops a minimum vertical distance from above the LP. Parallax is greatly
minimized, at the expense of being able to stack only one LP on the platter at a time.
3.
The wand rests on, is dropped by, and is lifted by the lift/lower “bullet”.
4.
The wand slides onto the breech block, which has a blue upside-down button-head screw
mounted underneath, approximately midway in relation to the diameter and length of the
“bullet”.
5.
The “bullet” has a “well” with two vertical depressions and an angled slide zone.
6.
On-record detent
: One “depression” is placed so that the blue button-head screw can be setup
to drop within the LP’s lead-in dead wax area. During the lift cycle, the wand should slide into
this depression, self-centering the wand to the lead-in dead wax zone. This depression is the
lowest point in the “bullet” well. For manual cuing of LP’s, the blue round-head screw should be
15
lowest point in the “bullet” well. For manual cuing of LP’s, the blue round-head screw should be
sitting in this depression so the vertical drop is “true”.
7.
Off-record detent
: A second, shallower well “depression”, is located outside the first
depression. The second depression is used to manually “cock” and “gravity lock” the entire
wand at about a 10 degree angle outside the platter rim. When the entire wand is outside the
platter rim, an LP can be deposited or removed from the platter without touching the wand at
all. When ready to play, gently slide the wand back into the On-record depression, and press
the blue lift/lower button to drop the wand safely onto the LP.
