So I was attempting to get the tracking on my 1800 sorted out (fitted with a MMC5 refurbished by Axel) and was following the directions on the Soundsmith site. http://www.sound-smith.com/faq/balancefaq.html I tried to get "zero balance" but the tonearm never seemed to float in the way that the directions described. More important, now I'm worried that I messed something up with the Counterbalance after fiddling with it so much. Is there supposed to be a quarter inch or so of a metal rod protruding from the back (it has a slot in it)? Or should that be screwed all the way in? And is it possible to turn the Counterweight or the Dial too much, meaning can both be turned 360 degrees without damaging anything inside? Sorry if this is basic for most people reading, but I'm in the trial and error phase of learning. 

You need to start from fresh

THIS THREAD tells you exactly what to do.

Chris.

Thanks, Chris. Here's what happened when I tried the first few steps:

1. Put an old record (or one you hate!) on the platter and start playing.

2. When the stylus sets down UNPLUG the beogram from the mains, this will stop the tonearm in the play position. (Pressing stop will simply return the arm to the rest position which is not what you want here).

3. Turn the counterweight until the tonearm is in a "floating" position :- IE zero force.<no matter how much i turn the counterweight, it doesn't raise the tonearm to make it float.

4 Very carefully hold the black main body of the counterweight and turn the silver graduated ring (it turns as it is simply held by a magnet to the main part of the weight) until "0" is at the top position. I do mean VERY carefully, the last thing you want to do is break the tonearm at the pivot or the pivot itself - they are both very fragile.

5 Now turn the whole of the weight inwards to the correct tracking force. 1.5g for MMC5 - 1.2g for MMC3 & 4 - 1.0g for MMC1 & 2.

6. Job done! Plug & play.

Ah - it sounds as though the couterweight has come adrift. Let me explain.... inside the counterweight there is a helix thread which allows it to move in & out on a pin which is fixed & sprung on the shaft inside (a bit like half of a watch strap pin if you get my drift). Not 100% sure exactly how to go about getting it back in synch though. Is the pin sticking out at the rear of the weight? (it may even be inside the end of the counterweight body so could be fiddly). If so you need to press it in & slide the counterweight backwards to relocate it back inside the body of the weight. If this pin isn't visible then it my be worth CAREFULLY pushing the conterweight backwards and turning it anitclockwise at the same time. Don't force anything though, if you could add a photo of the offending part protruding at the back it could help.

Below is a VERY simplistic drawing of what I mean as to how it works, the sprung pin is very small and may not be at the top of the shaft in which it sits.

Chris.

Ok, let me try taking a photo so you can see what I'm looking at on this end.

Having a problem posting a photo. It basically looks like a quarter inch diameter screw head protruding out of the center of the counterweight, directly in line with where the tonearm goes in on the other end.

Try saving the photo as a JPG & have another go.... only certain files can be uploaded & JPG's are a safe bet. You need to click on the options tab (when compling a post) then add/update & upload from a file using the browse option. You cannot simply copy & paste.

Chris.

Trying again. . .

I think you have screwed the weight too far inwards and the "pin" has popped out of the internal helix and you cannot access the small pin without removing the weight. I seem to remember the only way round this is to unscrew the conterweight shaft from where it marries up to the rest of the tonearm and remove the weight in this direction, you can then rethread it correctly back onto the shaft from the rear. This isn't exactly straightforward or without its risks.

The problems you have are :-

1, The shaft is screwed to the tonearm through the pivot mechanism which is extremely fragile & easily broken. A very small spanner is needed and there is also the chance that the thread itself will be stuck and snap off rather than unscrew.

2. If you manage to remove it without damaging the pivot or the shaft threads there is also the real risk of snapping the fine coper signal wires which also run through this point.

3, When reattaching the shaft & counterweight you need to make sure the cartridge sits perfectly level and isn't at a skewed angle as this will affect the tracking.

Chris.

Thanks. It doesn't sound like something I can fix. Oh well.

Where are you located?

Chris.

I'm in New Jersey in the U.S.

Hmm.... about 3,000 miles too far for me to pop round & have a look then.

Thanks Chris. I really appreciate all the help you gave me. There's supposed to be a guy not too far from me who used to service B&O tables for a HiFi shop. I'll see what he can do and keep you posted. 

Update: Someone very generously fixed my tonearm/counterweight problem. The shaft that the counterweight screws on to had become detached from the tonearm. He used epoxy to reattach it, and after I waited a few days for the epoxy to set, I was able to simply thread the counterweight back on the shaft. Everything works fine now.