DJ PRO LAB - Technics Tonearm Check

www.djprolab.com - This is how you check to see if your tonearm's bearing are damaged. Please note, that your turntable must be on a flat and leveled table in order to get it to float properly when the anti-skate is set to ZERO. If your tonearm DOES NOT SKIP, and it does not float like it shows in the video, and your table is level, chances are the anti-skate might not be set correctly or damaged. If this is the case, you are good. As long as your tonearm doesn't skip, your fine.
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[@salcidob]

Great Video. I have the 1210 M5G's and am wondering what the horizontal weight adjustment is for. After further inspection I see that all it does is make the tone arm movement stiffer, I guess its to help keep the stylus in the groove especially when back cuing and scratch since this decks tonearm is lighter than previous models. Someone enlighten me!

[@ericohman]

can the anti-skate be repaired? i think mine is faulty/weak. on both 0 and 3 the arm goes towards the resting position. on 0 it moves with less speed but it definately isn't floating still, it's pretty noticable speed towards the resting position. seems like some calibration issue of the whole anti-skate function. I can still set it so that it stays in one place when playing a blank (no grooves) vinyl.

[@lcmxr6]

Awesome Video! My table passed the test! whew I was worried because on one deck the tonarm is angled down and low when clipped into the rest, on the other deck its perfectly level. Any explanation as to why this is?

[@djhose]

I know how the antiskate works. I'm speaking about this; when the arm is free balancee to "0" (floating) and the antiskat is set to zero & table is flatened, there should be no force to mowes the arm to te spindle or oposite direction! If in this case the arm begins to moves straight to the spindle, there is somethnig not right. I have two mk2 an the arms are in perfect neutral postiton in this case. djprolab, thx for exchanges!

[@a1rhendr1x]

When you talk about leveling the turntable, are you measuring from the platter or the plinth? Whenever I measure from the platter, the plinth ends up not being perfectly level. Likewise, whenever I measure from the plinth, the platter ends up not being perfectly level. Assuming the platter is not warped (which I'm pretty sure it isn't), is there anything else that might cause this discrepancy?

[@a1rhendr1x]

Thanks for the reply. Is there any way to tell if the anti-skate is damaged? Anything I can look for? Let's say the anti-skate IS damaged, what is the repair process like? Replace the whole tone arm?

[@Special_T06]

How much do you guys usually charge to replace the tonearm or fix the antiskate?

[@Zakkattak12]

hey my question is my tone arms anti skate is usually set to zero the height adjustment is at zero and my counter weight is usually all the way forward do to the fact i scratch alot....both my tables are set this way and when i tried this by pulling the weight back as far as possible this test didnt work on either with the cartridges off. would it mater what the height? i use sl1200m3ds

[@keepyourlovesafe]

Question: My sl1200mkII tonearm goes to the end/middle of the platter but doesn't return entirely when set to 3 but does return more than half way. My table is level. Do you think the tonearm is bad?

[@SiRRKiZZLE]

How do you find the exact problem with a buzzing?

[@a1rhendr1x]

I tried this last week, and my tone arm barely moved at all. I tried to level the turntable as best as I could but couldn't get it 100% perfect. So, I still don't know if my bearings are shot or if my table simply isn't level enough. I don't have any skipping during record playback, so something tells me it's probably just my table not being totally level.

[@progen]

The 0 - 6 grams anti-skating range is to keep up with some of the heavier tracking pressures available nowadays. Quite common to have DJs use 5 - 6 grams although being a vinyl lover, I go up to 4 grams a tmost. No anti-skate since I use it to beatmix and need to backcue often. Seems to me that your turntable's not exactly level. Try checking with a spirit level. Not rare for turntables to have their feet uneven.

[@djhose]

ok, but why should the arm itself moving to the spindle when the plater stay stil? The friction of the needle vs.vnyl couses the centrifugal force and this moves the arm to the spindle. when the antiskate is set to "0" the arm should be in neutral position, cos there shouldn't be ANY force at all that moves the arm inwards, before it get in "use" respect!

[@DimitrisPapadopoulos1980]

In Greece a Brand New tonearm costs 30+VAT Euros from Technics ! You can replace it easily !