Arm's Weight Hey Hi A couple of my records are skipping. A friend of mine told me it may be happening because of the weight of the arm. Is there any way to adjust it? Thanks!

A worn stylus can do that. Check also for dirt on the record and stylus. The tracking weight might have been moved, meaning less pressure. If there is a weight on the end of the arm, check the settings. It should be set to those recommend by the cartridge maker.

Hi
It sounds as if the tone arm has become unbalanced. Make sure the turntable is on a firm flat horizontal surface and at the opposite end of the arm from the needle there will be a weight and a means of altering the position of weight on the tone arm. This weight keeps the needle on the record but only lightly when positioned correctly. If positioned too far from the pivot post the needle will as you have experience skip virtually straight across the record. You need to adjust the weight so that the needle just sits in the groove and plays without being too heavy. It is best to use a record you are not too worried about for this testing as the test record can sometimes get scratched.
Hope this is helpful, if so would you please register that with Fixya
Cheers

You could try increasing the weight at the end of the turntable arm. It will be a question of trial and error. Trying a record to see if it stops, but putting to much weight will make the sound rumble.
First however check to see if there's something on the arm somewhere that makes the record jump. Could be anything: muck, a pin, or a wire.

the weight on end of arm is out of adjustment. You need to loosen weight.

there is a counter balance on the side of the arm called an anti skating weight.it prevents the grooves on the record from pushing the stylus inward,wearing out one side.when the anti skate weight system has a fault,it drags the arm toward the center of the record faster than needed.there is also a weight on the back of the arm.that is the balance.when set to zero,the arm should balance.then the weight is turned to 1 gram or so.if there is not enough force downward,the anti skate mechanism will drag the arm inward.

A needle is a precision part. Look to see if the needle has a conical point descending from the cartridge needle carrier. If not, replace the needle.
*Always protect the needle while you adjust things!
Pressure is essential for the needle to track. Turn the weight down until the needle just floats above the record. Zero the weight by turning just the weight indicator, not the weight. Now turn the weight to add 1.2 to 1.5 grams. (Always use the manufacturer's recommended weight if different!)
A level surface is important. Make sure the turntable is level.
Test the arm bearings:
Adjust the weight until the arm floats. With a feather, gently push the arm towards the center. Now gently push it back. The arm should move smoothly with no hesitation and easily. Reset the weight to 1.5 grams or less.
If your cabinet is moving when you walk around, the records will skip. Find a different place for the turntable or don't walk around. In severe cases, raise the weight to 1.75 to 2 grams, but this wears the needle fast an can cause distortion.

The anti skate adjustment. And if you scratch @ all....move the weight all the way in and take off the little extra one that screws in on the back. Also a great tracking needle is a M44G.

Sounds like your arm is tracking too light. To proper set the tracking weight on most units you need to zero the arms balance so that it is balanced just at the surface of the record. Once that is done using the weight on the back of the tone arm, or whatever system your unit uses, there should be an adjustment by turning the weight on the arm or perhaps a lever near it. You owners manual should really explain all this and give the recommended tracking weight in grams and fractions of grams. Each weight is different for different styli. Take a look at your operation manual and adjust the weight. Let me know how you make out.

hardrocko

Thanks for using FixYa

Regarding the poor sound quality (and possibly the skipping):
check the needle condition, see if exchanging it with a needle (or the entire pickup head) from a working turntable does any good.

Check the pickup connection pins (contacts on the pickup head and on the end of the wires coming through the arm from the unit), see if there is any dirt or oxydation and clean the contacts if necessary, also check for any damage to the wires.

As for the skipping - a heavily worn needle may affect the sound quality and cause skipping as well - if cahnging the needle (or the pickup head) doesn't make a change, try to realign the weight on the tone arm so that the pickup head will become a bit heavier, this could help somewhat (before you actually try to realign the weight, try to put a small coin or a small weight of some kind on the pickup head while it is playing a record, if the skipping goes away, you need to realign the tone arm weight).

This could also be a problem with the tone arm lifting mechanism (may be obstructed by something or damaged so it won't let the tone arm sit properly onto the record and "grab" the groove).

I just mentioned a few things you might want to check, but don't take anything for granted, the problem may as well be elsewhere in the unit.

regards

Triarcuate

Hi the pennies will mess up the stylus. There should be an anti skate setting at the back of the turn table, a round adjustable bit with numbers, increase the anti skate and then use the balance weigth (weight right at the back of the arm that turns to get the weight right. Set the anti skate with the tone arm light, then increase the weight a bit. Hope that helps