NSM Festival ES160 Carriage problem with large centered records

Hi. Long time reader, but my first post! I am in the process of repairing and modifying an NSM ES160 carriage. The original problem was the scanning clutch was slipping. I have replaced this, and the scanning now works fine. At the same time I changed the Shure System Tonearm to an Ortofon, and built a 2 transistor preamp/ equaliser on veroboard to compensate for the Ortofon's lower output. This also works very well and gave a noticeable improvement in sound quality compared to the Shure. And now on to the problem that I don't seem to be able to solve and could do with a little help! With a small centered record, everything is fine, transfer arm picks up record and it it successfully clamped, played, and returned to the magazine. With a large centered record, things arent so good. I should point out at this stage, I have already investigated the adjustment of the transfer arm, and with a small centered record, the "spindle" hits the record hole on target at the highest point of it's travel. Now with a large centered record what appears to be happening is as follows : the record is picked up from the magazine as normal, but when it reaches the highest point of it's travel, the transfer arm is already on it's way back to the magazine BEFORE the clamp had engaged with the large center hole, so the record "rolls back" towards the magazine sometimes damaging it. I think the same thing happens with small centered records, but because the center spindle is longer, the problem is hidden and the record is successfully played and returned. The only thing I can think of is that there is a problem with the main cam assembly, but it seems intact (at least without removing it from the carriage for closer inspection). Any help gratefully received!

Hallo DI_colourist

The whole process is fixed by the design and there is nothing to adjust. The lift arm should be pulled back only about 2-3 millimeters, if the record is clamped. The hole should be in the region of the cone and the record should be pulled by this cone into the play position. It sometimes happens that the surface of the cone is rough. Then the cone does not slide into the hole and the record is not correctly clamped. A replacement is available here in the shop. [www.jukebox-world.de]

Best regards - charly49

Hi Charly. Thanks very much for the very quick reply, I really appreciate your help! I have now been looking a little more closely at the problem. I also have a good working carriage, and it behaves exactly as you describe in your message. However watching the faulty one closely, and turning the mechanism by hand so I can see what's going on, the lift arm starts to withdraw, heading back to the magazine well before the record is clamped. While the lift arm is travelling back, the clamp is still moving in, and has no chance of engaging with the center hole as the record has effectively rolled back towards the magazine due to gravity. I also noticed that the lift arm is failing to "spread" the now vacant plastic holders in the magazine in the play position, so the record "rubs" the magazine whilst playing although this may be due to the rack on the magazine being slightly misaligned. I did try swapping the clamp from one carriage to the other with the same results. Any further input gratefully received!

Hello DI_colourist

I have a NSM carriage in the workshop. I'll look at it tomorrow to see what are the fault possibilities.

Best regards - charly49

Hello DI_colourist

I've watched my carriage. First, the record is clamped, thereafter the lift arm is retracted. This is determined by the shape of the cam. There is, as far as I can see, only one way that the error can occur as described. The gear wheel, which moves the lifting arm must be offset by one tooth. Only in this way the lift arm could be pulled back earlier.

Best regards - charly49