Cartridge align jig for Revox linear t-table

[N7SC]

Need to put a new cartridge in my Revox B791 Linatrack turntable, but don't have the Cartridge Alignment Kit. The only piece of the kit I really need is the plastic alignment jig that snaps on the tonearm (more accurately speaking, the tiny stub of a tone arm) and has alignment marks so you can get the stylus where it is supposed to be and align the cantilever and cart. tangentially to the turntable.

Do any of you have any ideas where I can find one? Have been searching eBay daily for 6 months, no luck. The only authorized Revox service in the US says to just send the ttable in for him to do it. Yeah, right: over $150 to ship both ways plus over $100 to get it done, plus cost of cartridge. Then, even with careful packing, there is the risk of damage.

Hell, I'll even "rent" one if someone has one.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Does the manual make any mention of an alternate method of setting the cartridge to the head shell?

I know on S shaped tonearms that use a standard head shell, the measurement is usually 49 - 51mm from the needle's tip to the front edge of the bayonet sleeve.

Does your turntable use a standard head shell or something more proprietary?

Cheers!

 

[N7SC]

The tonearm and headshell, if you can call these things that, are very proprietary. The shell does not come out of the tonearm, if this thing can even be said to have a tonearm for it to come out of.

Sounds like you may not be familiar with the Revox B790/791/795 Linatrak turntables. If you will bear with me I will try to describe, then I'll go look for a reasonably sized photo of one to post.

The Linatrack turntables have a solid truss structure that pivots over the record (you do this by hand after putting the record on the platter). The truss structure contains the rails, guides, motors, etc. for a linear-moving, tangential-tracking tonearm. There is barely a headshell under there, in the conventional sense. And it certainly does not detach from the rest of the structure. If you are familiar with the Bang & Olufsen straight-line tracking turntables, think of one of them, but instead of a long tonearm what moves on guides hidden at the rear of the turntable base, this ttable has a little stumpy "arm" that moves on guide rails that pivot into place directly over the record. When the whole gantry is off to the side it looks like a hugely fat tonearm in the rest position.

And, the worst of it: you have to have the stylus aligned to the "arm" by the gauge/jig in order to perform the rest of the alignment steps. It is the first thing that is done. Any other adjustments presume the stylus is where it is supposed to be, relative to the moving "arm."

Photo to follow in a few minutes.

 

[N7SC]

Top photo, a B791 with the Linatrack "arm" off to the side of the platter, in rest position. This shows the arm with the cover on it, which is normal. You can't see everything inside it.

Bottom photo, a B795 (exactly the same ttable/arm, but without the vernier speed control the 791 has), with the Linatrack in playing position, and the cover off of the arm. The cartridge is directly below the greenish circuit board you can see, the one with the 4 solder traces arranged in a rectangle. All you can actually see of the cartridge is the white front on it, just below and to the left of the blue-outlined thing. The stylus moves linearly toward the center of the album, perfectly tangential to the groove, and on a line exactly in line with the center of the album, if aligned correctly.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

Sounds like you may not be familiar with the Revox B790/791/795 Linatrak turntables

You're right.

I had a mental image more of the B&O and a few Technics models which did work with a hint of traditional tone arm thinking.

The Revox seems to be quite a departure from the norm and so long as that overhead crane of an assembly doesn't resonate all of its other benefits away, I guess they may have been onto something or at the very least, came up with a design that was sure to keep service technicians gainfully employed!

Will Revox, themselves, not sell you the jig?

Sorry I couldn't be of any real help.

Cheers!

 

[N7SC]

Ghost,

Revox doesn't have those things anymore, and Revox isn't really the same Revox that it was back then. Studer sold off Revox, or something like that, a while back. One hell of a shame to see that happen.

I've just sold two Revox PR 99s to a guy in Canada - for some reason those tape decks seem to be very popular up there - and, as he seems to be very well connected in Revox circles up there, have asked him. Will try European service and dealers next.

Thanks for the interest, though.

 

[N7SC]

I might add that prior to my purchasing this turntable the bloody cart. mounting kits came up on eBay every once in a while. For reasonable prices. So sooner or later it is bound to happen again. Actually, I know who has one. There is a B791 on eBay right now, the one whose picture I swiped for the post above, it was originally listed by the woman with the cart mount kit. But she is a nut case: Has listed that turntable 6 or 7 times since early November. Had a buy it now of $650 US on it. Way too high, even if mint+++. Lowered it one time to $450, but still no takers. Then began listings with starting bids going lower and lower, but never got her reserve. Did get up to $455 once, which is above a buy it now she had, but did not sell it. Has told me via email that she will list the kit AFTER she sells the turntable. Probably for $250 or something insane.

 

[The Ghost of FM]

But she is a nut case

Yeah.

Analog enthusiasts can be a fickle bunch of people at times.

It sounds like she really liked that model and didn't really want to part with it unless she got a good chunk back of what she paid for it herself. Most of this kind of older gear went for a pretty penny when it was new because of the skill and craftsmanship that went into putting it together. Ebay does have many of us spoiled to expect to be able to get older expensive gear for pennies on the dollar and on rare occasions that just doesn't happen.

Good luck getting yours going.

Cheers!