SME Rewire: DIY gone awry!

Tweakers' Asylum

Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

I just completed a rewire on my SME. It was a successful rewire using VdH MCS-150m (same as used in the SME V), and goes from the cartridge pins straight to the DIN connector. I managed to make a debilitating error that is going to cost me $500 in service fees. So those of you considering a rewire listen up!

The SME IV and variants have 4 basic parts:
1) armtube
2) yoke (has a spindle that goes into the pillar, looks like a Y-shaped lollipop)
3) teardrop-shaped plate/bracket with holes cut in it containing cue lever, anti-skate, and fluid damper
4) cylindrical vertical pillar
When the arm is put together in the factory, the yoke is fitted with bearings. The tear-shaped plate/bracket is placed over the main pillar and screwed in by 2 orthogonal tapered-point set screws. Later the yoke bearing assembly is pressure fit into the pillar body by using a special jig. Thus the plate/bracket is sandwiched and cannot be removed at all. There is a little hole in the side of the main pillar through which a small filament is passed. It is then tied to the spring, which is connected to the anti-skate dial. If you cut this filament, you cannot repair the anti-skate feature, period. It is remarkably fragile.
I simply rotated the plate/bracket by about 5Â°, closing the hole and thus shearing the filament in an instant. It is not a robust design at all, but then again they don't expect people to be disassembling the tonearm. If the plate/bracket is not allowed to move, there can be no harm done otherwise.
For those of you servicing the SME IV or variants, there are only three adjustments that cannot be done outside of SME's factory: horizontal bearing torque, vertical bearing torque, and anti-skate. Everything else is safely serviceable as long as you don't touch the bearing nut or rotate that bracket. Rewiring is easy, as is adjusting, cleaning, or changing out parts. It's a pretty expensive lesson. Hope you guys who are considering tweaking your SME's can learn from this.
-Chris

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Topic - SME Rewire: DIY gone awry! - csown 12:38:30 12/13/02 (0)

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