Rewiring a stock tonearm for a GL75

[symon]

Hello all,

I have recently picked up a GL 75 which is a bit shabby and in need of restoring. The first problem I have is that the tonearm wires have been cut very close to the tonearm itself, so I cannot connect them to the phone cables. I've had a look through this site and could not find anything about rewiring a stock tonearm.

Is it possible to reqire the GL 75 stock tonearm? If it is, how do I do it?

Thanks
Peter

[daiwok]

Yes re-wiring has been done by others here, but not me. How about some photos to get everything started ? 

[symon]

Okay - please forgive the terrible photos, but I hope they will help start things off.

The Lenco itself:


And some pics of the arms I have:

[symon]

Having looked at those pictures again, they really are rubbish! I will try again tomorrow and try and get something a little more in focus (still haven't got the hang of our digital camera).

I suppose the first thing I would like to know is if the end which takes the headshell comes off? And if so, how? Is it screwed on?

I'm tempted to try and get it off one of my arms, but I'm a little wary.

[Beechwoods]

Peter - Hello! I came over here to check out what they had to say about tonearm rewiring and find that you've already asked! Make sure you have the Macro setting on on your digital camera switched on, if it has one. That allows you to focus closer up

[daiwok]

Peter - Hello! I came over here to check out what they had to say about tonearm rewiring and find that you've already asked! Make sure you have the Macro setting on on your digital camera switched on, if it has one. That allows you to focus closer up

Beechwoods, good to see you here !! So handy that you are in the neighbourhood ! I visit Bristol to see my business partners twice a year, may be one year I should drop by. 

[Beechwoods]

Hi David. You'd be most welcome to pop by! I've only just realised that that was my first post on the new site. I've been lurking
 a bit round here recently, I must admit... 

Bristol is getting to be a good little outpost of Lenco-Heaven!

[symon]

Well, this outpost of Lenco Heaven in Bristol is still thinking his way around a silly tonearm problem! 

Here are some better(ish!) pictures:



The questions I have are: can I get the end off the tonearm to put new wire in?
Or, how can I use what I have got to get it working?

And, Beechy, good to see you here too. It seems odd that I posted here before you did!! I should point out that it was Beechy's example that got me into giving a Lenco a try in the first place.

[nigel]

Hi Peter,

how important is it, to you, to retain the ability to remove/change the headshell?

I did rewire a stock tonearm, when I first had my L75, but I did it by drilling out the connectors, in both the armtube & the headshell and wiring right the way through to the cartridge. I found that the headshell was then a bit of a floppy fit on the arm, so I had to add a small o-ring between them, to ensure it tightened up properly. Not an ideal solution, but it does mean that you loose another set of connections between cartridge and phono stage, which can't be a bad thing.

I'm not sure if it's possible to remove the armtube connector intact (but then I didn't particularly investigate how to). Anyone?

[willbewill]

The questions I have are: can I get the end off the tonearm to put new wire in?

Right, it can be done - here's how:

Put the headshell end of the arm in a vice (remember to protect the jaws!) then twist the 'knife' end of the arm with a pair of pliers (again protect the jaws of the pliers and put the pliers on the 'knives' to gain leverage) - it is a 'friction' fit and should pull out reasonable easily.

Now you are left with the headshell connector - in order to remove the connector plug from this to enable rewiring you need to remove the small brass pin, this can be done by drilling it out which is quite fiddly (but possible) or it can be driven into the plug and subsequently removed. The connector should now be free - use a headshell to help it out.

Reassembly is just a reversal.

WARNING
Some have broken their tonearm trying this - do it at your own risk
Some heating with a heat gun of the headshell end of the tube may help

[ken13]

Hi Guys,
 I did the same as Nigel, but i seem to remember someone saying to put the headshell connector end of the arm in hot water, this helps to got the two parts apart, but i did not try it. 
 I also found that my arm had some green packing inside that was  soft, like putty, but i pushed it out with some wire, dont know if it was for damping the arm ?.

[symon]

Will, thanks very much! That's teh answer I was hoping for and was beginning to think I wouldn't get.
Right, off to find a vice!

[willbewill]

I've just remembered another way to remove the pin is to drill a small hole directly opposite it right through the connector - it can then be driven out.

[willbewill]

While you are at it don't forget to un-de-couple the counterweight stub - like so:

In the gap between the tonearm and the CW stub wrap some dental floss (unwaxed preferably) until it doesn't wobble anymore - check it is still all in line and drip some superglue into it...Done!

The reason for doing this is that the piano wire that holds the stub on becomes stretched with time and gives bad sounds due to the wobbling.

[Beechwoods]

And, Beechy, good to see you here too. It seems odd that I posted here before you did!! I should point out that it was Beechy's example that got me into giving a Lenco a try in the first place.

Cheers Peter! I posted before on the old site, but have been lurking more since the move! I'm glad you're getting some ideas to fix your tonearm wiring problem