[78-L] Winged RCA tonearm was [Got one of these in your attic?)

[Ron L'Herault]

My bad,   now I see what part was in question.  Was not the feeling that
increasing the weight of the arm gave it more inertia - it kept the arm from
moving from side to side in reaction to the side to side motion of the
needle in the groove.  Making the arm harder to  move quickly made it more
responsive to the groove's undulations.  

No, the weight I have fits exactly over the end of the arm to the rear of
the pivot.  It is not U shaped bit fan shaped.  The U shaped one I have has
a closed end so the only place it can go is at the very end of the arm, to
the rear of the pivot.

Ron L


-----Original Message-----
From: 78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com
[mailto:78-l-bounces at klickitat.78online.com] On Behalf Of Michael Biel
Sent: Sunday, June 23, 2013 3:20 PM
To: 78-L Mail List
Subject: [78-L] Winged RCA tonearm was [Got one of these in your attic?)


From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca)
>>>> http://santafe.craigslist.org/clt/3858202243.html
From: David Breneman
>>> Can anyone explain why the early RCA electric tonearms had those 
>>> huge metal "shoulders" behind the pickup?  Was it to trip some 
>>> record changer mechanism only installed in some models or...  ...What?!

If you look at these pictures again you will see that this is not a change
so that is not the purpose.

From: "Ron L'Herault" <lherault at bu.edu>
>> It's a counterweight, not enough of one in some respects but that's what
it is.

Actually the wings are stabilizers to keep the arm level.  There are torsion
wires under them. It's been a while since I looked at the mechanism and
manuals, but the wires also might go to springs for weight adjustment, but I
think that is really under the tailbone at the back of the arm.  
 
>> I have an additional slip on weight that I believe was part of a "kit"
>> sold to reduce wear on the Victor "LPs" that were introduced in the 
>> early 30s. I have a second one that slips on the end of the straight 
>> tone arm that has an inverted U cross section too. They have felt linings
the same
>> color as Victor turn table felt.   Ron L.

In the photo in the center at the back of the turntable is a an inverted U
felt-lined weight.  If this is what you are referring to, it is not a
counterweight to lighten the tone arm pressure, it is to slip onto the
reproducer to make it HEAVIER to make the recordings on the pre-grooved
plastic discs. 

From: George Epple <gkepple at msn.com>		 
> I have been told that the wide RCA tonearms were designed to extend 
> frequency response and in fact do. These RE series sets, when properly 
> restored have great fedelity!  George

That would mainly be a function of the reproducer, not the "wings", but the
stable arm might allow for the reproducer to resist movement on its own
which would distort the sound. 

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com




 
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