THE TERMINATOR TONEARM – Mounting Instructions
note: pictures may differ in this manual from your product which will encorporate the latest updates.
Mounting the Terminator is fairly simple. There is only one place it can go, & that is along the back edge of your turntable parallel to the back edge of the plinth, or if you have no plinth, a virtual line that represents the back edge!
You will need an old LP with a line scored through its diameter.
Mounting to deck
If you have no hole for a pivot arm in your plinth, one needs to be drilled anywhere in the yellow box shown in this diagram. It needs to take an M6 bolt, so a 6.5mm hole will do. It needs to be drilled perpendicular, so a bench drill is essential.
Note: If the existing hole on your deck does not line up with the yellow box an adaptor plate can be provided!
You will be provided with the correct number of 10mm spacers needed to bring the stylus roughly in line with the record surface. Bolt the mounting plate with arm assembly loosely to the plinth:
Use the appropriate bracket slot so that the carrier is about half way over the disc. Keep bolt finger tight at this stage until you set the lateral position.
Setting Lateral Position
Slide carrier in slot so that second air-hole lines up with platter spindle:
Check the carrier remains parallel to the back edge of the plinth by eyeballing it so it looks right. It’s not supercritical, as we will soon see***! Once this is done you can clamp the M6 bolt tight.
Setting Wand Length & Azimuth
Mount an old cartridge to the wand. Rotate the record so the score line is parallel to carrier.
You need to remove wand & loosen bearing grub-screw enough so you can slide wand with some resistance. Mind the wires!
Note: Getting the wand out of the straps was a little tricky. The saddle straps are now cut away to allow easier removal.
Replace wand on straps. Ensure blade is fully seated. Check how far stylus tip is from score line both at the start & end of record. Now its just a case of juggling the wand length with the position of the score line by sliding wand in & out of bearing & rotating disc***. Once the stylus lines up at the start & end of score line groove, you will have everything in perfect alignment!
At the same time, adjust the azimuth by ensuring the cartridge body is square with the surface of the record when viewed from the front.
Once correctly aligned, you can do up the grubscrew so everything is snug. No need to overtighten!
Setting Tracking Weight
I use digital scales for this. Tracking weight is set as a pivot arm….loosen the counterweight grub-screw & screw the weight in or out. The weight should be back far enough so it won’t foul arm-lifter bar. If there is a problem with your particular setup, A lighter or heavier weight can be provided.
Setting VTA & Carrier Tilt
Note: For this stage we are assuming your turntable is already set up & perfectly level.
Ensure all 2 thumbscrews at the side are loose & pivot screw has enough play in it to allow free movement of carrier assembly. The exact VTA will depend on adjustment of all 3 thumbscrews working together. Screwing the top thumbscrew raises & lowers the carrier, but also tilting will affect VTA.
Initially, set level by plugging in air supply (see below) & letting saddle float freely with no wand. Adjust so it remains roughly stationary using only the top thumbscrew at the side.
Replace wand & adjust top thumbscrew until required VTA is reached. Just lift wand off saddle to see if it still remains stationary. If not, adjust level again using top side thumbscrew. You can bring the bottom thumbscrew into play at this stage. You will find very minute tweaks from all 3 thumbscrews will be necessary to take up play & level the carrier.
It sounds complicated, but once you get a feel for the controls its very fast & easy. When everything is set up properly, the 3 thumbscrews will be tensioned together holding the carrier firm. To settle this position, the pivot screw can now be tightened.
Bear in mind if further adjustments are required, this will need to be slackened off.
A Note on the Cueing Device & Operation
This has been designed to have a wide range of operation & needs no adjustment unlike the old Evo. However, you will manually need to limit its movement. Once the stylus touches the record, do not carry on pushing the lever down to its full travel or you will foul the straps & stop the slider from sliding! It becomes second nature once you understand its operation.
The 'stiffness' of operation can be adjusted by tightening of loosening the pivot screw. Only a slight tweak is necessary.
Important: Position the stylus over the groove by moving the sliding saddle itself, not the headshell or wand!
Playing a record
Plug wand wire connectors into socket (red on red) ensuring wires are dressed in such a way so they won’t cause tension / interference, and are not dragging across the plinth or record surface. The may need to be twisted one way or another. Connect up your interconnects to the RCA block. Lower stylus onto start of record GENTLY. Be prepared for stylus to skate inward or outward if level not perfect. Tweak thumbscrew slightly to counteract. Similarly, at the runout grooves, the stylus may have a tendency to bounce back. In this case, a slight tweak of level in the opposite direction should sort it. A compromise position needs to be reached between the skating inwards at the start, & bounce back at the end. If you are unable to adjust this satisfactorily, re-dress the wires as they are introducing tension.
Note 1: the sensitivity to level of these airbearing tonearms takes some getting used to & can be a source of frustration during set-up, especially if you have been used to a pivot arm. Once you get the feel of how the slider reacts to tiny tweaks, it becomes second nature!
Note 2: when unplugging connector be sure to grasp by the insulation sleeves covering the connectors, not the wires!
Further Tweaks
If the stylus it tracking reliably, you should see the saddle swaying to & fro smoothly with eccentric records. There should be no strain on the stylus, which should remain stationary relative to the cartridge body. You can try turning the air pressure down at the pump until it starts snagging, then raise it a little.
As mentioned at the start, the pump can be boxed to reduce noise, but leave a hole for air to get in…..it must not be airtight or the pump will starve of air & the arm will mistrack.
Causes of mistracking
The carriers are thoroughly tested before dispatch, so if you’re getting mistracking it is most likely something to do with set-up.
Most common causes are:
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Carrier out of level, or TT not level. The platter & carrier must be in the same horizontal plane.
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Wire from wand dragging or twisted to exert a tensioning force.
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Dirt/debris on saddle or carrier
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Air supply problem…..leaky hose or insufficient air pressure.
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Cue lever fouling wand or saddle straps.
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Insufficient tracking force.
Setting up the Air Supply
The air supply needs to be sorted by connecting the 4 outlets to the back of the smoothing tank. To reduce noise, the pump can either be placed in a different room, boxed in, or placed in foam lined cupboard. I have mine positioned near a mains outlet which I switch off when not in use, but of course, you are free to come up with your own arrangement. Some have placed in basement or under floorboards!
In this section I have gone through the stages of DIYing the smoothing tank & pump connections in case you have elected to purchase your tonearm without these elements. In this case I will usually provide you with the appropriate hose adaptors.
I use a Sera 550 aquarium pump with adjustable output. I run this at half power. Any equivalent aquarium pump will do. In the US, my son runs a Rena 400 which is widely available & inexpensive.
For the smoother tank (necessary to smooth out the pulsations from the pump) you will need a 5litre (1 gallon) plastic petrol can available from most car parts shops.
You will also need a drill, 4mm drill bit, a M5 x 0.7mm thread tap & superglue gel:
Drill 2 x 4mm holes, one in the lid, & one in the back of the tank:
Replace the drill bit with the M5 tap, & gently tap both holes at slow speed. Reverse to remove.
Trim away flash with sharp blade:
Run superglue around threads of adaptor:
Screw adaptor into hole. Tighten gently with pliers or spanner so its snug, but not too tight so as to strip threads.
The smoother tank is now complete. While this is drying, prepare the pump. You need some 4mm plastic hose (available from aquarium shops). Cut 6 lengths of approx 4-6 inches.
The 4 outputs from the pump need to converge into 1. Connect Y fittings as shown:
The other end of the tank finally connects to tonearm block:
I have housed my pump in the same room as the hi-fi, but boxed it in a cupboard surrounded by foam. It is perfectly unobtrusive:
Nomenclature
