My new alignment template generator

[egicar]

Dear Conrad,

many thanks for your wonderful work
Me too I use Windows 7 64 bit without problems

Ciao,
Egidio

[Dimal]

Ditto!

And with four different printers to boot....

Mal.

[Obscurist]

Hi,

Very happy that I just found this protractor generator, and I'm eager to use it. I installed Wine on my Mac so that I can use it. A warm thank you to Mr. Hoffman for sharing his work!

It took me a while to gather up most of the desired specs and parameters for the Jelco SA-750E I'm about to order, and it looks like the result from the Protractor Generator will be quite close to the specs given by Jelco. DIN Loefgren A will result in an overhang of 15.187 mm. (Jelco spec=15) with null points at 63.103 and 119.173. The effective length in that calculation is 255.187 (Jelco spec=255), so that extra 0.187 is compensated by the extra 0.187 for the overhang, isn't it?

I know that most ready-to-use protractors use IEC Loefgren A with null points at 66 and 120.9 but that will give me an overhang of 16.083.

I'm not sure if that will make a big difference, so comments on these numbers would be appreciated.

[Wawrzyniecki]

Hi,
Conrad I just wanted to use this opportunity and personally thank you for these priceless arc protractors. I've used Lofgren A on my new Debut III SE with OM10 and it was a real pleasure to calibrate and simple to read. No more fiddling around a stock "stupid" protractor. For the rest of the folks out there: I ran Conrad's program on Ubuntu 12.04 using Wine emulating Win XP. I have no printer at home so I've installed cups-pdf as a default printer to create pdf I then printed someplace else.
Again, thanks for your, free of charge, work. Really appreciated.

Greg

[awkwardbydesign]

Hey guys quick question:
While trying to align the cart to the arc. The p2s line should stay pointed towards the tonearm pivot as accurately as possible until the cart is aligned with the arc?

I've stuck my protractor onto a longer piece of card with a notch cut out to fit round the pillar of my arm. Works for me, but depends on your setup. I did have to bend the end down slightly to fit under the bias magnets (Decca International arm & Decca London Supergold).
And no problems with offset cantilever for me. No cantilever! I just can't see the sides of the Decca as it is in a GB clamp. I guess I need to make a mirrored version.

[Specd_out]

Hopefully someone can help me out. I have a dual cs1257, I recently acquired a pickering xsv3000. I would like to align it, but I am completely lost. I have tried reading through this thread, watching videos on youtube, and researching online but i am still not grasping how it works. Any help will be greatly appreciated

[Conrad Hoffman]

Hi Specd_out! The alignment process is nothing more than getting the cartridge screwed to the arm at the right distance and with the right rotation so it stays square to the groove across the record. The exact location and rotation of the cartridge depends on the distance from where the arm pivots to the center of the record. It also depends on what particular mathematical philosophy is used. There is no perfect alignment for pivoted arms, just pretty good ones. Read the read-me file that comes with my program. It should give you some tips. The details of how a specific alignment is calculated can be a bit complicated, but doing it with the aid of a template, mine or others, is pretty easy. It just comes down to looking at the cantilever or cartridge body and lining it up with some lines on the template.

[rjsilva]

I don't have access to a Windows computer and I wondered if someone would be willing/able to create an alignment for me and send it via PDF? I have a Dual 1229q and I measured the platter centre to tonearm pivot centre at 203mm. Do I need more data?

BTW, Conrad, if you're willing, I could probably create a Mac version of your program if you send me your sources.

[rjsilva]

BTW, Conrad, if you're willing, I could probably create a Mac version of your program if you send me your sources.

I might even be able to do a web app version of it, so it works within a web browser and generates a PDF (client-side) for printing.

[Alec124c41]

There are a couple of programs that will allow you to use it on an Intel Mac.
Try XQuartz and Wine (they work together).
A Mac version sounds good, too, as does the web app.

Cheers,
Alec

[rjsilva]

There are a couple of programs that will allow you to use it on an Intel Mac.
Try XQuartz and Wine (they work together).
A Mac version sounds good, too, as does the web app.

Years ago I vowed to stop being a computer geek - fiddling with computers stresses me out (which is why I'm much happier with the iPad/iPhone), and running Windows, Wine or X Windows on the Mac is extra annoying. Developing this software wouldn't make me any less of a geek obviously, but at least it's a service I could provide for others which would give my pain and suffering some value

[rjsilva]

I ended up being a nerd and installed Wine/Winebottler and printed up an alignment page. Nice quality and it seems to be easy enough. Thanks Conrad! Though a cross-platform solution would be great - web apps continue to be an increasingly feasible and powerful option for software development (though I think native apps are always best when possible).

[chileboy]

I was wondering if anyone has a "definitive" P2S measurement for the Pro-Ject Carbon. I measured mine using Conrad's method in the readme file, namely, with a machinist's block against the spindle, and then subtracting 1/2 the spindle width. Issues are that my pivot point is not clearly marked, and I used his other suggestion of tape-and-pen to get it as close as I could, but I'm not sure how well I did. As I was holding the pen, it was hard for me to tell when I was "close" if my pen point was actually moving a bit or not. My eyes are not what they used to be...

I came up with a number of 203mm, which when I ran it through the Generator for Löfgren A, IEC groove radius, returned an effective length of 221.783, and an Overhang of 18.783, vs. the Proj-Ject manual's 218.5 and 18.5, respectively.

Any input appreciated.

[strader]

Can I use this template for my Pioneer PL-630 if I only know a couple things about my turntable tonearm specs? Effective arm length is 237mm and overhang is 15mm. Static balance S-shaped tone arm. Tried the Stevenson and cartridge extends from headshell around 5/16, doesnt seem right. The other two Loefgren and Baerwald didnt seem even usable. Can I measure the spindle to Pivot distance? dont think this is the 237mm of tonearm length? How do I find the inner and outer grove Radius? for calculator