Great Experience with Feickert Protractor

Luis, I don’t know what you mean when you say the Feickert is “not so good“ for cartridge alignment. Can you elaborate? Because unless you are very anal about the process, I find the Feickert to be excellent on all counts. And because I am admittedly lazy, I increasingly use the Feickert instead of the Uni tractor, even though I realize the Uni tractor is capable of even greater accuracy and perfection. In addition to being lazy, I am also an agnostic when it comes to worshiping perfection in the art of cartridge alignment. I find that with magnification and strong lighting, I can very often visualize the cantilever when using the Feickert, and therefore can account for cantilevers that deviate from perfection in alignment. I also tend to avoid cartridges that are way out of line in that respect. Perhaps that is what you meant when you said the Feickert was not so good.

Thanks, Jmcg.  My bad.

Dear cetla, Whom are you addressing? Has someone offered to lend out  a Feickert protractor for home trial?  If you live in Wheaton, MD, you are welcome to come and take a look at mine, but I would rather not lend it out.  I could show you how it works on my own turntable.  I own the older version; I don't know exactly how it differs from the latest version, but not by much. I am guessing, however, that you live in Wheaton, IL.  

The first thing you need to do is to locate the exact spot on your arm mounting board where you wish to mount the FR tonearm.  For that, you don't necessarily need a protractor, but the Feickert can in fact be used for the purpose of locating the hole to be drilled.

A shout out to Raul. I hope you and your loved ones survived the earthquake without any injury or loss of property.  Please let us know.

cleeds, Perhaps I misunderstand what you are trying to say in response to dang, but he is talking about turntables, not tonearms.  In fact, there are at least 3 different "standards" for spindle diameter.  As you might guess, it is critical for any protractor to fit snugly, with no "play", over the spindle.  Conversely, the spindle diameter cannot exceed that of the hole in the protractor, else the protractor cannot be used.  So, his question was not inappropriate to a discussion of protractors.  In addition to owning an older Feickert, I also own a UNItractor.  UNI was cleverly designed with interchangeable spindle holes; three are supplied.  The one that fits my Lenco spindle perfectly does not fit my Japanese DDs and vice-versa.  As to the Feickert, I can only say to Dang that I have used it with the Lenco and with at least one of the DD turntables I own; can't recall which.  It seems to "fit" both but not so perfectly as does the UNI with a precisely chosen spindle adapter.

Also, although both the Feickert and the UNI are loosely based on the Dennesen, both are a bit better in that both allow for checking the alignment by supplying a second pattern, displaced toward the spindle, where the stylus tip and cantilever alignment is confirmed.  (Maybe not a good verbal description, but if you own a Feickert you know what I mean.)