Thorens TP-16 arm oddity Q.

T

~The Captain~

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Hi chaps-

Did a rewire on a TP 16, which went ok. Odd thing afterwards I cannae understand tho: the armlift before, as expected of a good TT, went down gently onto lp after a few secs etc (and up gently too). Now tho the arm goes up and down with an abruptness/ plonk so it goes onto lp, and zips up and bounces on the riser thingy. I can eleiviate the abruptness by using the lever knob very carefully.. but I cant use as before (as best with any armlift lever) by turning fully/ or whipping lever down fully as it were, and waiting for the gentle landing. Seemssuch a trite concern, but it affects using the TT and damned annoying tbh.

I know the mech somewhat by now, it comprises 4 small springs and a cable to the knob etc.. so I expected it to be a 2m job to just slip a spring back on and job done.. but no: all springs already on/ fine, and no signs of anything else wrong with mech at all afaict. Im stumped. Any ideas?

Cheers capt.
 
Doesn't seem to be a lot happening on this site- shame.

Nevertheless I'll persevere even if it falls on deaf ears: Im so stumped with this.

If anyone can answer this Q then?.. what exactly does the 'resistance' of any decent arm-lift mech comprise of? say when you whip the arm down, and wait for that nice slow few secs for the riser (and arm onto lp) to fall: why doesn't it fall down in direct time with the lever? (as mine annoyingly does).

Any reply welcome/ ideas/ anything. Thanks
 
Cue mechanisms usually contain fluid - silicone base or sometimes oil - and that usually governs the nature of the drop.

Perhaps this has leaked during the service?
 
RobHolt said:
Cue mechanisms usually contain fluid - silicone base or sometimes oil - and that usually governs the nature of the drop.

Perhaps this has leaked during the service?
Click to expand...

Hi Rob- then indeed it must have been the fluid/ grease gone awol. The arm was upside down obviously for the rewiring/ faffing about. I cant see any obvious leakage tho that adds to the quandry.

It has to be that. Ok so anyone know where Ican get a fraction of this gubbins? it only needs a match-head afaict.. or do I have to spend £20 for a linn vial/ snake-oil. (that'd be nowt but outlandish arsebanditry).
 
I know that Rega have supplied it in very small quantities so might me worth asking.
 
I got a whole syringe full for not that much money - came from the states - it's great for gumming up / damping all sorts of things.
There were 3 viscosities - you need the stickiest. 60.000 I think it was but could have been 100.000. It's too thick to leak anywhere and you just smear it around it does not pour. Anything that pours will see your armlift drop like the proverbial.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Don't know the thickness, but SME may supply re-fills (at a price, sadly) and the damping fluid in some unipivot tonearms may suffice as well.

Note - Thorens cueing devices were amongst the slowest in the business as I remember and were usually extremely reliable, so PLEASE check the linkages to ensure nothing is dislodged...
 
speedy.steve said:
Correction! the stuff I have is 600.000! We fixed Alfie's FR64s up on Thurs evening - was dropping like a stone - now sorted.
Click to expand...

Ive just woken up after a year-long sleep and pleased to read the helpful replies above. and now off to find some silicon fluidy stuff @ 600.000 number then.

Cannae see where exactly to stuff the gubbins into mind.

Thanks capt
 
speedy.steve said:
Correction! the stuff I have is 600.000! We fixed Alfie's FR64s up on Thurs evening - was dropping like a stone - now sorted.
Click to expand...

Im not sure if Speedy Steve is alive and able to reply (i literally forgot I had an audiosmile account/ forgot I even asked the Q on here until i just googled my own thread/ Q by accident! I do apologise: thx for great info all)..

but if so are you sure 600.000, and not indeed 60.000 ? its just I dont see 600 guage available, but 60.000 I see at velly good plice, in squirty ebay sylinge.

capt.
 
I've heard that you can buy small bottles of the fluid used in shock absorbers on RC cars. You can buy it various viscosities. Try your local model shop.
 
The answer is

Lookup the Thorens td-145 on vinylengine.org it says Dow Corning silicone grease #200 at 200,000cs viscosity. I have your problem right now with my table td-145. Just replaced the entire cuing unit with the three springs it was NOS with no grease. I am going to buy this week a couple alternatives and will post the outcome. Or try Vpi product code vpII-D1018 dampening fluid, not sure about this one, or this looks good, turntablebasics.com silicone dampening fluid 300,000 cs viscosity or 100,000 cs and the other one that was mentioned at 600,00 cs. I like the 300,000. But I found Dow Corning 7-3099 dimethacone hip emulsion. This is added to cosmetics for consistency. And at graingers.com part # 2YKK1 by jetlube or 2YKJ9 or by loctite 5E201. One of these will do the trick I'm sure. Hope this helps.
 

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