anti-skate problems on rega 202

[luvpies]

Hi, I've been having problems with my 1st turntable which was set up last weekend, it consists of a Technics 1210, Moth Mk1 (rega 202) arm and a Nagaoka MP110 cart.

The sound stage is all on the left with nothing on the right, but this is not an issue when playing CD's through the system.

I've checked certain things such as cartridge alignment, tracking force, I've swapped the left and right rca connections going to the phono (this seems to balance the sound stage a little with sounds then coming from the right but sounds dull). The deck is also level

Today I balanced the arm so it was floating with 0 tracking force to check the anti-skate/bias, with the anti-skate set to 0 or full at 2, the arms is moving to the outside of the platter returning to the arm rest, it moves faster when set at 2 but still returns when set at 0. Is this normal on a rega arm.

The arm is brand new bought from a Divine audio.

Could this be the cause of my issue and and is the arm faulty.

Really glad of and advice as this is doing my noodle in,

Thanks
John

[Macca]

If you've isolated the problem to the deck some possible causes would be
1) faulty RCA connectors
2) fault in the connection from the arm lead to the output leads
3) fault/loose connection in the cartridge tags

Probably some others I can't think of but there are some things to check for starters.

[Stratmangler]

What happens if you swap the turntable leads over at the amp end?

[luvpies]

What happens if you swap the turntable leads over at the amp end?

Sound stage moves to the right but is a lot better with an improved central image but overall sound is dull, a local friend has offered to come round with a spare cart to see if that is the problem but will be a few weeks until can come.

[Stratmangler]

Have you used the cart prior to installing the Rega?

[aniki]

Today I balanced the arm so it was floating with 0 tracking force to check the anti-skate/bias, with the anti-skate set to 0 or full at 2, the arms is moving to the outside of the platter returning to the arm rest, it moves faster when set at 2 but still returns when set at 0. Is this normal on a rega arm.



This is normal. Rega bias is set using opposing magnets so you still get a little 'residual' force when set at 0.
IME it is fairly common knowledge that Rega arms are quite generous with their bias settings in as much that it is often favoured to set the bias to approx. half your tracking force rather than match it.
Of course the best method is to use a test LP to get it bang on but the general consensus is that you will need to set it lower than you think.
Having previously owned a couple of RB250s and an RB300 my experience mirrors this opinion.

[struth]

If your getting music out of both channels but just the soundstage is off I would be inclined to think the cart'arm is either not set up correctly or cart is faulty. most likely the setup tbh.

[luvpies]

Thanks for the advice, yep I'm getting music from both channels and the cart was bought second hand from pfm, I was told that it only had 15 hours on it and the guy I bought it from was the second owner making me the 3rd, so maybe I've been stung, but hey there is no way I would sell something on to others if I knew it was faulty especially on a forum, I don't have another cart to try and I'm totally skint but a very kind wammer is sending me a cart dl103 as a lone to try on the arm to see the score, you can't get much kinder than that!!!

The cart was but in last weekend by an expert acquaintance local to me who used a Dr Feickert alignment gauge, I checked the alignment today using a free printed gauge from VE, the over hang looked a little off but the angle of the cart looked spot on.

The advice that the arm always swings outwards despite the anti skate was very helpful, as I can eliminated that as a cause, it would just be nice to know what the problem is, in some ways I hope it is the cart as easily sorted by getting another next payday, and chalk the loss off to experience.

Thanks again

[struth]

The denon 103 cart is a low op mc so wont work in an mm stage unless you have a stepup tx or have a mc stage in your phono amp. You may be aware of this but if not then its then valid.

[Rush2112]

Third hand cartridge without good knowledge of the previous owners use is a leap of faith ! I would check the connections particularly at the cartridge end to be sure everything is in phase. Also a good alignment gauge and test record will make optimising tracking and bias far easier, perhaps your friend can help here and certainly changing the cartridge is going to rule out that as the problem or not !

[Rush2112]

PS I wouldn't exclude stylus wear as a possibility so a new stylus may solve the problem, if an option, although this might be more than you paid for the cartridge ! You need a jewellers eye glass or microscope etc to have a good look at the stylus and any possible damage !

[luvpies]

Third hand cartridge without good knowledge of the previous owners use is a leap of faith ! I would check the connections particularly at the cartridge end to be sure everything is in phase. Also a good alignment gauge and test record will make optimising tracking and bias far easier, perhaps your friend can help here and certainly changing the cartridge is going to rule out that as the problem or not !

Thanks for advice, the cartridge tags are all going to the right colour on the cart and are tight, the rca are red to right and black to left, how the factory fitted incognito rewire is not sure how to tell, total newbie here...

[luvpies]

It's the cart!!!! a friend just came round and stuck an old goldring on it, soundstage was spot on straight away, equal on both sides, cool, at least I know what the issue is so can now sort.

[DSJR]

Whew - saved a long essay :rolleyes:

Yep, the RB250? arm from Moth is a goodie and Mike Harris was one of the only people outside of Rega who has the torque tool - and factory training - to properly set the arm bearings had he needed to dismantle them!

The bias magnets were always slightly too powerful although Rega did try to improve this over the decades and may have sorted it with the current models (I've only set up a couple at hifi dave's place). Bias correction is a compromise anyway and what is suitable for one stylus can be totally different for another. Grado's for instance, didn't seem to want any added at all (leave the setting at '0' on the RB arm and maybe set to a third of tracking weight on other arms), where an old Ortofon MC30 Super with perfect stylus needs almost double the suggested typical amount!

Hopefully you're now sorted and can relax and enjoy some music from your vinyl. As a standby cartridge, the AT91/Rega Carbon or AT95E (there's a seller doing it for £25 or so on eBay last I looked) could be kept as an excellent alternative.

[luvpies]

Whew - saved a long essay :rolleyes:

Yep, the RB250? arm from Moth is a goodie and Mike Harris was one of the only people outside of Rega who has the torque tool - and factory training - to properly set the arm bearings had he needed to dismantle them!

The bias magnets were always slightly too powerful although Rega did try to improve this over the decades and may have sorted it with the current models (I've only set up a couple at hifi dave's place). Bias correction is a compromise anyway and what is suitable for one stylus can be totally different for another. Grado's for instance, didn't seem to want any added at all (leave the setting at '0' on the RB arm and maybe set to a third of tracking weight on other arms), where an old Ortofon MC30 Super with perfect stylus needs almost double the suggested typical amount!

Hopefully you're now sorted and can relax and enjoy some music from your vinyl. As a standby cartridge, the AT91/Rega Carbon or AT95E (there's a seller doing it for £25 or so on eBay last I looked) could be kept as an excellent alternative.

Thanks for advice, I'm going to wait til payday and get a brand new Nag MP110, I loved the sound and hopefully won't have balance issues, the faulty one looks brand new, shame, maybe it was a manufacturing issue, but at least if I buy new then I can send it back under guarantee.

thanks again Dudes!