Have a Victor UA-7045 tonearm coming


I've been searching for either a Victor UA-7082 or a UA-7045 tonearm ever since I purchased my Victor CL-P2 plinth with two arm boards.
The rear arm is almost ready to go, it's a Audio Technica ATP-12T mounted in a custom aluminum armboard. I also had to machine a bracket to add a Jelco JL-45 tonearm cueing device and a tonearm rest. This should be perfect for my low compliance DL-103.I have been looking at both models of the Victor arms and have posted WTB on several forums, watching Ebay but nothing nice has come up. So for the past month I have been keeping an eye out on the Japanese website Yahoo Buyee and finally saw something I liked. It's a clean looking UA-7045 that should work out nicely.
https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/v741873067?_=cnZxVG5GZVlFQTA3VEZVTDBjQnRCS1RGYWtnTW1ZOTZORUVmb2R...=I won the auction this morning for $202.81, way cheaper than I've ever seen one of these go for. estimated shipping is around $50.00 via DHL. It takes up to two weeks for the seller to get the arm shipped to Buyee and they will inspect and repackage it for shipment via DHL. So in several weeks I'll have this in my hands.
Since I know the spindle to pivot distance I will machine an armboard for it in advance.
Anybody familiar with this series of arms knows all about the rubber damper in the counterweight stub that degrades and causes the dreaded tonearm droop where the weight starts hanging down.
There are two types of this series of arms, those that have the droop (most) and those that will develop it soon. Aging rubber and gravity never let up. Every arm will eventually have this problem.
I've talked to my friend Elliott about this as he had one of these arms for a short time. He sent me a sketch of a rubber piece that he made from hardware parts that he used to fix his. Between Elliott and the internet I found enough info to figure out how this comes apart but I'm not entirely happy with the fix. Since Victor can't supply the rubber dampers I've been thinking about possibly making a mold and casting them out of urethane. I have samples of urethane coming to me from a supplier so I can compare the hardness of the rubber bushing to the urethane samples to find a close matching durometer value.
The mold will be a simple affair, machined out of aluminum. I need to dig out a vacuum pump buried in my garage to see if it works and I found a vacuum chamber on Ebay for 50 bucks.
Once I get the arm I'll pull the stub off and get some critical measurements and work from there. I can even do a temporary fix on the stub until I have a decent result as I have never cast urethane before.Anyway, I'm very excited to be getting this tonearm and at least one member here (chakster) talks very highly of it.

BillWojo




billwojo

We were posting simultaneously. Please see my post above yours. Perhaps that will help. I do realize you have already purchased the QL7.

Hello Lewm,

I started down this rabbit hole, and am not sure where it will lead, but often it is the journey,and not the destination that is so much fun. I am not super technical, somewhat handy,so minor tweaks I can do. I am most interested in the arm / cartridge I mentioned above, wondering if I should mount it on the basis 1400, I also have a older roksan xerxes table, and then the tt-71 in a new plinth setup to fire my imagination....not sure where to go next.

G

Gentlemen, Between all your input, advice and suggestions and knowledge I am sure I will get closer to that ever elusive golden sonic carrot! 
Thanks for all the input. I will keep you posted as to my next move as I am sure this information is invaluable for the future addicts!

G

If you already purchased then what’s wrong with the tonearm? Counterweight is a common problem. Simple test for you, just set the counterweight like this and you will see if it’s broken or as good as new (like on my picture):

 

 

If your counterweight is not in line with armtibe then you must replace rubber grommet. 

After several posts from other people from the USA I realized the prices are extremely high for simple refurbishing job (tonearm). Where you from? In our old Victor thread people discussed where in the states they can refurbish Victor turntables.

Well, my UA-7045 is straight but my UA-7082 is going to need the rubber bushing replaced. Need to get back on that project. I know others could use a new one as well.

BillWojo