Spacedeck users

[ray70]

I bought Musicbox's Spacedeck and Spacearm and set it all up last night. Only had a brief listen, but first impression is:

Can't wait to get home tonight for more listening. My question is, where do I put the oil and how often? Please explain in real idiot terms as I really am clueless about turntable maintenance - despite having owned TTs for more than 20 years.

 

[ray70]

One more question. Do you leave the motor on (and hence leave it vibrating) or do you unplug it from the mains?

 

[Joff]

Hi,

You lift the platter off the base and put the oil in there. A few drops should be enough but, as Tom says, its better to have too much oil than not enough.

As for the motor, Nottingham say its fine to leave it on all the time. I switch all my gear off at the plugs though.

 

[ray70]

Joff wrote:

Hi,You lift the platter off the base and put the oil in there. A few drops should be enough but, as Tom says, its better to have too much oil than not enough.

As for the motor, Nottingham say its fine to leave it on all the time. I switch all my gear off at the plugs though.

Thanks Jon. So the oil doesn't go anywhere near the motor then, which was my first thought

. If Nottingham allow you to leave the motor on all the time, and the oil does not go anywhere near the motor, won't there be some wear and tear to the motor after a few years?

Told you I was clueless about turntables.

 

[Uncle Ants]

ray70 wrote:

If Nottingham allow you to leave the motor on all the time, and the oil does not go anywhere near the motor, won't there be some wear and tear to the motor after a few years?

No. It'll be fine. It may be on but its stalled so its not spinning. So far as I am aware the motor shouldn't need oiling.

 

[Joff]

No need to oil the motor. I don't know how long the motor will last but you should get many years of service from it. I imagine its lubricated during assembly and thats all it needs. Sometimes oiling things like motors can just speed up the wear as it attracts dust and stuff which will cause more damage

Make sure the belt and belt grooves on the platter and motor pulley are clean and free from any oil etc

 

[ray70]

Thanks for the replies Tony and Jon. I keep thinking that I'm doing something wrong because the Spacedeck set up seems so......easy. I guess after owning a LP12 for a a few years has caused me some paranoia

 

[musicbox]

Ray - I put oil in the bearing only 6 or 7 weeks ago so shouldn't need any more. Might be worth lifting the platter up a half inch or so and checking with a torch that there is no (or not very much) oil splattered around the bearing. If not then let it settle back again.

I think the manual mentions not to be concerned if there is occasionaly a smidge of oil around the bearing or underneath it.... like any traditional piece of British engineering this is to be expected as normal healthy behaviour.

 

[ray70]

Cheers Alan. I wasn't planning to put oil in it yet - just wanted to know where it should go when the time comes.

I'm convinced I haven't set it up properly because I did it very quickly and I'm pretty useless with my hands. When I listened to it though, it just sounds fantastic!

Is it time to go home yet?

 

[fro]

just leave the motor running all the time don't switch off at the mains, trust me it will last for ever.

 

[PAG]

As everyone else has said,leave it switched on,it won't do it any harm whatsoever.

As for oil, a capfull will do. It doesn't matter if it spills over when the platter is fe-fitted ,that's normal.

How doth it copare to ye old LP12?

 

[ray70]

PAG wrote:

How doth it copare to ye old LP12?

The LP12 has a tendency to give a rose tinted glow to the music which works really well for some types of music / recordings but not on others.

Based on my limited listening to the Spacedeck so far,I would say it is a very neutral TT, playing exactly what's on the vinyl. Speed and timing seem to be significantly better than the LP12. I am liking ita lot.