Origin Live Aurora MKI - Manual (Page 10)

10
T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G
S P E E D V A R I A T I O N
If there is significant speed variation then possible causes are as follows.
•
Significant changes in room temperature - this especially affects decks that use thick, viscous oil in the
bearings e.g. Rega decks
•
Lack of oil in the bearing so check by adding oil.
•
Changed belt tension or an oily belt o r sub-platter - clean running surfaces.
•
Turntable out of level – this affects the main bearing friction.
•
After adjusting the tension of the 3 small Philips screws which hold the motor on, you may need to re-
adjust the speed as they affect motor bearing friction very slightly.
•
Check the sub-platter is not fouling on anything - on certain decks it can rub against one of the spring
covers - it has also been known to "bottom" against the top of the bearing house - there should be
about 1 to 3mm clearance between the top of the bearing house and the bottom of the sub-platter.
•
A dirty bearing that exhibits too much friction - The sub-platter should drift round effortlessly with the
slightest of nudges and go on spinning. If you suspect the bearing friction to be a little high return the
bearing to us for checking.
•
A worn thrust bearing - this may occur on a small run of bearings, which were too soft.
•
Transistors that have developed temperature instability.
E X C E S S I V E M O T O R N O I S E
The motor needs a run in time of around 2 - 4 days continuous running. They are sometimes a little noisy to
start with. It is best to run in the motor on full power with the belt off. Most importantly you can "tune in" the
motor to give minimum noise by adjusting the tightness of the 3 small Phillips screws next to the motor pulley.
The best way to set their tension is to tighten the screws until they just nip tight. Then back off all 3 screws a
little way. Now tighten one screw at a time till you hear which ones cause the least noise when tensioned and
then adjust the other two to give minimum noise. It may be necessary to use thread lock or similar to stop the
screws vibrating loose. If it continues to be very noisy please get back to us and we may check it out. However
bear in mind that the dc motor is never as silent as a/c motors are - this is because they are cogless and rely on a
different type of brush. Having said this dc motors still sound a lot better in terms of musical performance.
The other major potential source of noise is the motor vibrating due to lack of tightness and causing it’s top
plate to resonate. The solution is usually to slightly tighten the 3 small screws holding on the motor. This
adjustment is fairly critical - if the 3 small screws are too tight then the motor whispers, too slack and the motor
can vibrate against it’s top plate.
Please note that by adjusting these screws you affect the angle of the motor. If the belt touches the flanges at
the top or bottom of the pulley then the motor is at too extreme an angle and you will need to re-adjust the
bolts.
The ideal is for a vertical pulley with the lowest noise level. If you get a knocking sound from the motor then
slightly slacken off the 3 screws holding the motor to the top plate.
If you have checked the above and are still having trouble please contact us making a note of the serial number
on the back of the control box.
Final setup of tonearm
I N S T A L L I N G T H E A R M
Introduction
Rega arms and Origin Live arms require mounting dimensions such that the centre of the platter to the centre of
arm hole is approx 223mm plus or minus 2mm tolerance and the hole diameter for the arm is 24mm to 25 mm.