Rek-O-Kut Micropoise re-wire

dtut

Active Member
Back a couple of weeks ago, maybe longer, I said I'd post about a Micropoise re-wire I did. Several guys, here and on another forum asked about that. I thought I had already done one and would just have to take pictures and explain the process, but I mis-remembered, another old guy moment, and had to figure things out from scratch.

Disassembly involved removing the original interconnect wires, which were very stiff and I didn't want to use them. A screwdriver blade popped the black plastic fitting at the bottom of the pivot post and the internal wires were cut. The jam nut was removed and the entire arm was removed from the TT.

If you look closely at the photo of the bottom of the pivot, you can see a collar with a set screw and, above it, a very fine wire keeper clip. DON'T REMOVE that collar unless you enjoy chasing a large number of very small bearings. The keeper does have to come off if you want to remove the pivot from the cone shaped support, which makes things easier.

I removed the arm from the pivot. Take the head shell and CW off and back off the screws from the vertical bearings until the arm is free. There is a small spring and a plastic fitting under the VTF adjuster which have to be removed but, if you're careful, they come out easily. Pull the arm out from behind the pivot. The wires will come out of the pivot with the arm.

I found that working over a pie plate which could catch small parts was a very good idea.

There is a rubber plug at the headshell end. There are four tiny pins that barely stand above the plug, but they can be removed with needle nose pliers or a blade like Xacto or a jeweler's screw driver. It takes time and it's a PITA, but it can be done. Expose the wires behind the pins, cut them leaving enough wire to grab for unsoldering, and then pull the wires out of the arm. If you're lucky and the pins are undamaged, use them for the new wires.

I wrecked a couple of the pins so I had to make new ones. I had some 1/16" brass tubing I bought in an Ace small parts section. I cut four pieces the same length as the original pins. I cut them a bit long, filed both ends flat, and beveled one end. Use a small, sharp point to open the hole in both ends.

I used mouse wire for the new wires. I cut and twisted two pairs, one CW and one CCW, in a hand drill. I used other mouse wire for the drag wire. I threaded two wires at a time back through the rubber plug. Pay close attention to polarity and wire color while you're doing this. I got it wrong at least once and that's really irritating. Fish the wire ends out from the hole at the pivot position. Strip and tin the drag wires and the new wire pair. Solder a butt joint between the drag wires and the new wire pair then carefully pull the new wires into the arm and out through the rubber plug. Repeat for the second new wire pair. Check to make sure polarity and color are correct. Remove the drag wire.

If you use resin for soldering, be sure to clean it off. It's sticky and can hang up parts just when you don't want that to happen.

Slip whichever kind pin you're using over the exposed tinned wire and solder. The insulation should bump the bottom of the pin. If you're using the brass pins, put the beveled end closest to the insulation. The bevel helps with the initial seating when re-installing the pins. Pull the wires back until the pins are touching the holes in the rubber plug. Use needle nose pliers to set the pins in the holes. The original pins should slide in easily. The brass pins are a tight fit. Move slowly making sure the wires don't crimp and set the pins until the heads are barely above the plug surface. Use a headshell to check pin height. They should be just high enough that the headshell mounts all the way back into the arm.

With the headshell on, check continuity. If you're good, pull the wires at the pivot hole back into the pivot and re-assemble the arm. I found I had to insert the arm from the back of the pivot by putting the headshell collar end through first, then pushing the arm and pulling the wires at the same time until everything seated.

The process for the earlier S-120/160 arms is the same, but easier. Two of the photos are of an S-120.

I realize I probably should have taken more photos and I've probably not explained everything as well as I might. If there are questions or photos I can take, let me know.

I hope this helps.
 

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Hello. Thanks for posting this...

I have an S160 I want to rewire. However, what I am wondering about is how you pop the pin connector out and if you do that, do you reuse that or did you find a replacement?

On the 160, is there more than one plug? Or is it just the one with the pins where the headshell mounts?
 
musiqlvr,

You can grab the pins with needle nose pliers or use a blade, for instance an Xacto or a jeweler's screwdriver to pop the pins. If the pins aren't damaged, you can probably re-use them. Otherwise see the description and the photos for making replacements. The plug in the 160 should be the same as in the other arms with four holes holding the contact pins.

Good luck with your arm.

ths364 and fiddlefye, I like ROK arms and I hope my solution is a help with yours.
 
Yep!! Did mine.

Good results.
I also adapted mine to handle a normal (Sony/Tech) head shell.
All I did was have a machinist friend make small brass sleeves to insert inside the end of the arm. It is a little shaky but way better than buying those real ROK head shells.
There is a standard brass tub size that works fine. All he did was to slit the tube and cutoff to length.
See photo.
The whole setup says it should not work but it does.

Paul
 

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Great idea. The available ROK headshells tend to be spendy and frequently a bit funky.

Thanks for posting it.
 
Paul, that's a great hack - inserting the brass collar to adapt the ROK arm to an SME-type headshell. Do you happen to have a reference number for the brass tube size???
 
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