Well Tempered Simplex arm and wiring

Finished the table. Fabulous.

Can any WT Simplex owners measure their arm for me? I'd like to know the exact length, minus the rubber stoppers on each end. I'd also like to know the distance from the tube front to the center mounting screw for the cartridge bracket... Lastly, the distance from the tube front to the pivot point. This is for the Simplex 9" arm.  All measurements as precise as possible please.

Thanks a bunch!

Can WT Simplex owner tell me the exact length of the armtube (not counting the black rubber stoppers of each end)? Can you then tell me the distance from the front of the armtube to the center the mounting bracket for the cartridge?  Thanks in advance. 

Sorry, I see you told me the arm is slightly smaller than 1/4" d... which probably makes it 6mm. My brother was bothering me about my arm being too thin (6mm) so I ordered 7mm carbon fiber rods. Probably should have left well enough alone...

Can you tell me how far behind the center of the pivot do the wires exit the arm? Does your arm shaft slide in the ball cap to allow you to position the cartridge on a Well Tempered protractor? With the cartridge mount fixed in position on the arm with no slot to make fine adjustments back and forth, I would think the arm moves a bit back and forth in the ball cap to make fine adjustments. Does your cartridge mount rotate from a screw fixing it to the arm from beneath it? I'll make mine mount with a screw down thru the rod from he top.

Yeh, it's a great azimuth solution. When I modded an original WT arm and then built my own clone, I saw both partial twist and full twist online... and finally modded my arm with a thinner 1/4" suspension post, making sure to give the grommet a full twist. My original suspension post was 3/8"d and too large for the lightness of my arm.

Any chance in getting a diameter of your armtube? I've used 6mm but think 8mm might be a better choice an wouldn't mind a confirmation...

I wonder if the inside front of the arm has been filled to allow for screw threads for holding the cartridge mount. Hmm...

I forgot to mention after you have looped the fish line around the collar, you have to twist the collar counter clockwise two times to get anti skate control. I believe this has to be done to make the azimuth control function correctly. This control makes the arm tip in either direction. You can tip the arm approx. 45 degrees either way. Of course you would never put that much azimuth correction to your cartridge, but it shows you just how much control you actually have.

The small horizontal tube goes all the way thru the cap. Fish line is fed thru tube. It is then knotted and slipped back into the tube. The fish line is looped a couple of times around the aluminum machined collar that fits on the horizontal part of the gallows post. The twists I mentioned give the arm anti-skate compensation. The beauty part of this is when you rotate the machined collar back or forth by your fingers, you get a wide range of azimuth control in either direction. And you can do this on the fly to dial in perfectly. This is one of the most ingenious azimuth adjustors I have ever seen. I believe the end of the arm tube is flattened ever so slightly and the cartridge mount sets on it with one set screw. You can adjust zenith by loosening set screw and moving the cartridge mount either way. Mine came preset by factory and they say to leave it at the angle it is set at, although you can adjust it if you have to. I do not know what the factory angle of degrees it is set at. Would love to see the pics. Keep me posted.... Tim

In the past, I've used a 6mm od diameter carbon fiber rod (4mm id). 6mm us slightly smaller than 1/4". From what I see, a standard arrow shaft is 5/16" od, which would make it 7.9mm od. Any way you can confirm your arm's diameter? Also, how does the cartridge mount connect to the carbon fiber shaft from the bottom? It looks like it's carved out a bit and the shaft sits into it. Glued on or screwed on?

Understood - no need to unmount anything! I see that top hole as where a screw inserts down into the ball half, then the arm tube is inserted. Of course, they could be joined with epoxy, which is what I might do. On an assembly line, screws and not epoxy make more sense... What's the deal with the small  horizontal tube for the fishing line in the ball cap? I've often wondered, does the line go all the way through? If so, how would it azimuth work if the fishing line isn't fixed to the ball? I have epoxied brass nuts in holes for use with brass screws to mount the fishing line in my 2 clone arms.

BTW, my plinth and base are drilled and bearing, spindle and platter installed and turning well. Pillar samples are drilled and ready to cut along with suspension arm for install. 3D printed cup should be here today. Suspension arm is 3" in length or a bit longer (t's silly, but why not be exact...)? Would love to send you a pic at some point.

The silver cap is either aluminum or metal, not sure. It has a silver paint coat on it. The caps overall depth is 1 inch. The upper part of the cap is 1/2 inch, the part that holds the arm, and the lower part is 1/2 inch. The cap is approx. same dimension as a golf ball. Golf ball is cut in half. The bottom part of cap is flat to fit cut golf ball. top portion of cap is curved, only for cosmetic reasons I presume. What you see at top of cap is not a set screw. It is just a hole which exposes a small portion of tonearm. Tonearm is just a tiny bit smaller than 1/4 inch in diameter. I would have to remove the arm to get an exact measurement. Would rather not do that for set up reasons as I have arm dialed in for my cartridge.

mr_m, it dawned on me that I could 3D print a similar connector to what the Amadeus ll uses to attach the ball and arm (why not make it more like the upscale model rather than the Simplex...).

Can you tell me a little about the piece that connects the arm and golf ball on the Amadeus ll? How deep is the entire unit and is it aluminum? Dimensions of the various surfaces would help. How deep is the lower circular piece and it's diameter? Is it curved to fit the ball underneath or is the ball itself cut in any way? I see a screw goes thru the top down into the ball before the arm slides in... Can you tell me the diameter of your tonearm? I've used a 6mm (slightly smaller than 1/4"d) carbon fiber shaft for an arm previously which worked well.

My base for the Simplex plinth turned out great - it's the same 15" x 15" x 1.25" size of the plinth - a matte black metal picture frame filled with 3 layers of ply. I moved the squash balls to the bottom of the base and separated the base and plinth with 2.5"d  1/4" Sorbothane discs. The gap is minimal. To gain height to clear screw heads protruding below the plinth, I added a bit more height to the leftover centers from drilling the holes in the base and hot glued these cylinders into the plinth holes along with 1.5" d washers on the bottom of each foot. The metal makes such good contact with the Sorbothane that it feels like the plinth and base are screwed together. Now to drill the hole for the WTRP bearing, add the WTRP spindle and platter, and install the pillar and support arm parts. My 3D printed silicon pot should arrive shortly. The bearing reaches clear to the bottom of the base's bottom. I hope to make the base hole larger than the bearing to further isolate the plinth from the base.

The Simplex plinth I bought has the set screws. A friend is making the pot for me according to your measurements (he’s printing it 3D out of grey plastic). I bought a regulated AC to DC power supply and the motor turned nicely. I am making the pillar out of both black Denril and aluminum - I’m making a couple stainless steel  support arms. I ordered a metal picture frame I’ll be using as an extended base so that the WTRP bearing, spindle and platter, will fit. This will give the table a beefier, taller appearance and add mass along with some pods of sorbothane for damping separating the plinth and base. Then on to making the arm. I have a few parts for that. The pillar Delrin I got is 5.25" long. The support arm is supposed to be 3.8" from he top of the arm to the top of the plinth. How long is your support arm? I’ve made them 3-7/8" long for my 2 clones.

Just thought of something. The gallows post that supports the arm is, I believe, 6 to 7 inches in length. It too goes into a hole in the base near the cup. It is adjustable in height with a set screw so as to adjust height of arm to adjust VTA and rake angle. I  can give you exact length when I get home.

gvoth. I will get back to you in a few days. I am out of town away from my system for a while.

Correction, I’m making both Denril and aluminum versions of the pillar.

mr_m, thanks for this detailed description - I thought of keeping the cylinder bottom of the cup unit solid as well to add mass. Can you tell me the length of you suspension arm? I understand that the arm is 3.8" from plinth to top of arm (for the Simplex). In my clones of that arm, I've made the suspension post 3-7/8" long. Time to get things are accurate. I'm making the pillar from both Denril and aluminum.

Hi gvoth, The cup diameter is 2-1/16 across. Cup height is 3-3/8" Top of cup to inside deepest (concave) id 1-1/2 inches deep. inside of cup is like a test tube, bottom outside of cup is flat bottom. This makes cup thick on bottom side. Visible part of cup above plinth can vary. it is adjustable in the plinth via a set screw to secure in the hole in the plinth. It is designed this way so as to vary the depth of the silicone level for the golf ball to adjust the amount of damping of the arm. I've never rotated the squash balls as they seem to hold their shape quite well, although an occasional rotation wouldn't hurt.

So, the visible part of the cup above the plinth top is 1.5" and that the bottom part of the cup is rounded - a half sphere - and the cup looks is a test-tube shape.

Mr_m, can you verify the cup dimensions again? Cup height is 3-3/8? Cup depth is 1-1/2"... is the cup very thick at the bottom to add mass? How deep is the Amadeus plinth?

 Thanks for the info on the connector, ac adapter and squash balls. Have you had to rotate them yourself or do they hold shape for a very long time?

btw: I have an Audio-Technica 440MLb on my Simplex arm clone and they mate very well.

If you are talking about the  Amadeus Mk.II, I use a Soundsmith Boheme. Basically a high output MI cartridge. Whether it's the best is debatable, but none the less a good match with the WT arm. Very smooth sounding with little in coloration.

How do the feet come off? They seem very tightly screwed on... hesitant to use too much force. I understand that the feet need to be rotated occasionally because they compress over time.

mr_m, can you measure the outer diameter and height of your silicon pot? Perhaps stick a toothpick inside and mark it to then measure the inner height? The connector has proved hard one to find... anything written on male part of the connector? A brand name of model number? What does your AC adapter labeling say? Is it regulated 12V or lower? I've read that the Amadeus can run on from 7V up to 12V and with 100 or more amperage. Just want to be sure...

I'm getting close to similar performance to my ear. I can also change the length of my longer arm, which has come in handy. The first arm sounds fantastic on my Braun PCS-5 idler. That Braun's been a fun project... the it has a 50 hz pulley but it's playing in the US under 60 hz power. I had a friend print 2 sub platter half rings that increase the sub platter diameter, slowing the speed. So far, with the addition of a thread belt, I've reduced the speed from 40.1 to 34.1. A final print with slight mod of the sub platter should bring it to near correct speed. This Braun came to me as a gift from an audiophile friend and modded with a hefty gorgeous wood plinth.

I have the WT Amadeus Mk.II, turntable and absolutely love it. Some prominent dealers have attested that this table easily outperforms much more expensive VPI designs.

Very nice. Are you getting similar or better performance from your clones versus the original?

Actually, both of my arms are there at the bottom, scroll down.

You can see one of my clones on my Neat Shield MO-19 here at the bottom of the page
http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=12923.45

Wish I could help you on that one, but don't know of anyone who makes that connector.....Oh baby, if you are successful at making a WT arm, keep us posted as how it turns out.