BIC 960 - Counterweight and Anti-Skate Setup

gauge. Loosen the cartridge mounting
screws and move the cartridge until
the stylus tip lies directly under the
center of the cross-hairs. Remove the
gauge from the shell and re-tighten the
mounting screws. Re-check alignment,
using the gauge, to make sure the
cartridge has not shifted during the
tightening process.
Attach Shell to Tonearm
Line up the hole in the rear of the
shell with the pivot pin on the tonearm
and engage the plug-in socket of the
pickup head with the pickup arm
(Fig. A, Pg. 6). (The connector in the
tonearm is a floating, self-aligning
connector.) Press the pickup head into
the tonearm. Re-install the head locking
nut but do not fully tighten.
Counterweight Installation
The counterweight should be installed
on the tonearm in the following manner:
Place the counterweight at the end of
the tonearm, with the knurl facing the
rear, and rotate it in a counter-clock¬
wise direction (Fig. A). The counter¬
weight must be assembled and taken
off the tonearm only by a winding
action —not by directly pushing or pull¬
ing. Rotate the platter in a clockwise
direction approximately 5 turns to make
certain that the mechanism is free and
the unit is not in cycle. Also, make cer¬
tain that the cueing lever is in the play
position. With the tonearm released
from its locked position and both anti¬
skate and tracking force levers set to
0 (zero), continue to rotate the counter¬
weight until the tonearm is perfectly
balanced, floating parallel to the turn¬
table. When this is accomplished, the
tonearm will be at the approximate
level of the extension on the tonearm
pickup rest.
Selecting Proper Anti-Skate Mode
The physical and geometric relation¬
ships of all offset tonearms give rise
to an inward force during record play
which applies lateral forces against the
inner groove wall of a record. This force
is called “skating” and must be coun¬
tered by an equal and opposite force if
minimum record wear and optimum
tracking is to be achieved.
The anti-skating systems on the 980
and 960 are unique in a number of
respects. On all automatic turntables,
and even on many manual players, a
double scale is employed to permit set¬
tings for the differences in the amount of
force needed when using an elliptical
or conical stylus. Not only is this con¬
fusing and difficult to set, but in actual
fact, this method involves a compromise
since one force is being used to create
both compensations. In the Models 980
and 960, the reference point for elliptical
and conical styli is preset by a separate
function lever (Fig. B).
Shift the conical o /elliptical o stylus
mode selector to the appropriate posi¬
tion—conical or elliptical, depending
upon the type of stylus used in your car¬
tridge. For other types of styli, such as
Shibata or CD-4 cartridges, consult the
cartridge manufacturer’s recommenda¬
tion for anti-skating calibration.
Setting Stylus and Anti-Skate Force
Set both anti-skating and stylus force
levers to the number of grams recom¬
mended by the manufacturer of your
cartridge (Fig. C). Although tracking
force and anti-skate settings can be
made individually, the controls can also
be operated in tandem.
Cartridge Angle Adjustment
Place the setting gauge on the flat (non-
ribbed) surface of one of the spokes of
the turntable mat (Fig. A, pg. 8).
DO NOT PLACE THE GAUGE ON THE
BLACK DISC.
Set the auto/ manual selector at
the front of the tonearm shell to the
manual (M) position. Gently place the
stylus on the gauge supplied and sight
the location of the top surface of the
pick-up head in relationship to the
parallel lines of the setting gauge. Ideally,
the top surface of the pick-up head
should be parallel with the lines on the
gauge. This can be achieved by turning
the adjusting screw with a small screw¬
driver. Make this adjustment with the