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TriPlanar tonearm outward skating issue

Hi all,

I have been trying to research a solution to a recent issue with my TriPlanar VII UII tonearm that I bought  a couple years back.

The tonearm seems to want to skate outwards, even with zero anti skate applied and the weight removed from the little anti skate arm. It is evident at various settings of VTF, VTA, etc. The platter is very level and everything seems to be aligned OK. This outward skating force is very light in the outer grooves and becomes stronger as the cartridge gets closer to the end of a side. In fact, as it traces the lead-out grooves at the end of a side, the tonearm sometimes thrusts outwards across those grooves back into the last track. Very scary!

A visual check of the cantilever azimuth seems to confirm an outward pressure from the tonearm since the cantilever is leaning with the stylus end closer to the spindle.

I can’t seem to find any information online about this phenomenon.

Any insights and recommendations would appreciated.
shayes002

Showing 5 responses by wrm57

wrm57
1,070 posts
 
@shayes002: I, too, have noticed a high amount of native anti-skate in my Triplanar VII uii. Nothing like yours but still quite a bit. The armboard and table are perfectly level, and all parameters are set with reliable tools. Tri sent me a lighter counterweight but it’s still too heavy. So I fabricated a lighter one still, comprised of two layers of blutak between three small titanium washers. Slides on, stays put, and allows for adequate fine-tuning of bias.

@cleeds: Good thought but the Triplanar has a captive cable fixed to the base, relieving stress on the arm from the cable.

wrm57
1,070 posts
 
Yes, the wiring was my first thought, too. I've played around with the cable to no effect. Perhaps there is some torquing of the internal wiring within the arm tube/pivot, I don't know, but that's beyond my skill to check. And as I've been able to dial-in bias with the lighter weight, I see no need to send it back to Tri.
wrm57
1,070 posts
 
I agree with cleeds. I’m not sure where Raul and others are getting this inflammatory business about Tri being unwilling or unable to fix this or any other issue with his tonearm. I certainly never asked Tri to adjust my anti-skate, nor claimed he said he could not. I merely asked my dealer to have Tri send me a lighter weight, which he graciously did free of charge. In fact, I have no doubt that Tri would be more than willing and able to bring my arm back to spec if I thought it worth the trouble of sending it to him, which, as I stated, I do not because it sounds great with the lighter weight I've fashioned!


wrm57
1,070 posts
 
that post tell us that was you not Triplanar whom fixed the problem because the advise Triplanar gave you not works.

Dear @rauliruegas , I know you mean well, but you have misread my post. I did not say that I asked Tri for advice. I only asked for a lighter counterweight. You have assumed that I asked for advice, and then received incorrect advice. I only point this out because I do not want Triplanar to be misrepresented in this instance.

In fact, I should have asked Tri for advice. He would have told me the same thing Ralph said here:

Its also easy to fix- just extract some of the wires from the cable where the clamp is mounted at the base of the arm so as to give the wires a bit more slack.

I confess, I didn’t try this until last night. I’ll be damned, the cable is not fixed to its jacket at the clamp, like I assumed, but slides easily out to create the slack Ralph mentions. (Assumptions can be deadly!) Problem fixed, and my improvised weight is no longer needed. So, good has come of this messy thread after all. Thanks! I hope it also solves the OP’s problem.
wrm57
1,070 posts
 
On Raul's behalf, I'll interject that I am not the OP, just someone who chimed in. Ralph, while your solution did help me, the OP has yet to say whether it helped him. So Raul is correct when he says:
Btw, the OP on this thread does not posted yet he solved the trouble.
Just being fair.
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