VPI Industries Scoutmaster Setup And Instruction Manual

Scoutmaster Turntable

Setup and Instruction Manual

VPI Industries, Inc., 77 Cliffwood Ave. #3B, Cliffwood, NJ 07721

phone: [phone] fax: [phone]

http://www.vpiindustries.com

Table of Contents

Important: Read Before Proceeding! ................................................................... 1

Safety Instructions ........................................................................................... 1

Introduction .................................................................................................... 2

Minimum Specifications .................................................................................. 2

Product Specifications .................................................................................... 2

Unpacking the Box ........................................................................................... 3

Setting up the Scoutmaster ............................................................................... 4

Installing and Aligning the Cartridge ................................................................... 5

Setting the Anti-Skating .................................................................................... 6

Setting the Tracking Force and Tonearm Height ................................................... 6

Setting the Azimuth .......................................................................................... 7

Playing Records ............................................................................................... 7

General Use ..................................................................................................... 7

Additional Items Available fr om Your Dealer ........................................................ 7

VPI Industries, Inc. Limited Warranty ................................................................. 8

Important: Read Before Proceeding!

 Read and follow the Safety Inst ructions below.
 Save all packing materials. The Scoutmaster should only be moved or shipped in its

original packaging to reduce the risk of damage in transit.

 The Scoutmaster must be placed on a flat, level surface. This will make setup easy,

provide better sound quality, and put less strain on the main bearing.

Safety Instructions

Follow the instructions below to reduce risk of electrical
hazard or injury.

1. To avoid electrical shock, do not open the motor housing.

2. If the power cord provided with the Scoutmaster does not reach an outlet, use a heavy­duty, grounded extension cord.

3. To avoid electrical shock, always plug the Sco utmaster into a grounded outlet.

4. Do not expose the Scoutmaster to rain or excessive moisture.

5. Do not touch the male pivot point of the tonearm assembly. It is extremely sharp.

Follow the instructions below to avoid damage to the
Scoutmaster.

1. Do not leave the Scoutmaster running unattended.

2. Use the Scoutmaster in a well-ventilated area.

3. Place the Scoutmaster on a firm surface to allow proper ventilation to occur.

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Introduction

The Scoutmaster turntable is a precision instrument. It has been thoroughly tested and run
for at least 4 h ours. The speed accuracy , wow, flut ter, and rumb le have been ch ecked, and
this unit meets all of our specifications.

Minimum Specifications

 Wow and flutter  Less than .02%.
 Rumble  Greater than 80db down.
 Speed accuracy  Within .1%.
 Total weight  64 pounds.
 Platter runout  +/- .001 inch.

Product Specifications

 300 RPM AC synchronous drive motor.
 Drive belt custom-made for VPI from a single piece of nitrile.
 Aluminum cone feet with stainless steel ball bear ings on the bottoms.
 Solid acrylic platter with bronze bushings and Teflon thrust surface.
 Platter sits on 60 Rockwell-hardened shaft and chrome-hardened ball bearing.

2

Unpacking the Box

The turntable and tonearm are packed very carefully to avoid damage during shipping. It is
important that you save the packing materials and box to use for shipping or moving the
Scoutmaster.

1. Remove the 2 pieces of cardboard.

2. Set aside the bag containing the drive belt.

Complete and return the warranty card. The warranty
does not take effect until the warranty card is returned.

3. Remove and set aside the items in the next layer:

o JMW Me morial Alignment Jig.
o Record clamp.
o Power cord.
o Bag containing screwdrivers and screws for mounting the cartridge.

4. Remove the pieces of foam covering the tonearm, then carefully remove the tonearm
and set it d own in a safe pl ace. Use cauti on with th e tonearm ’s del icate wi res and Lem o
connector.

5. Remove the foam pieces that su rroun d t h e chassis. Lift one si d e of th e tu rn t abl e ch assis,
slide off the plastic bag, then do the same with the other side of the chassis.

6. Remove the turntable chassis from the box.

7. Remove the tu rntab le pl att er and mot or. Be ve ry careful not to hit or damage the motor
pulley. It mea sured + /- .0005” when it was tested at the factory. Try not to disturb it at
all.

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Setting up the Scoutmaster

The Scoutma ster must be pl aced on a fl at, l evel surfac e. Thi s wil l ma ke setu p ea sy, p rovi de
better sound quality, and put less strain on the main bearing.

1. Place the turntable chassis, with the square cutout on the left, on the shelf or stand
where it will be us ed. Th e bette r isol ation you provi de th e Scou tmast er, t he bett er i t will
sound.

2. Remove the tap e from th e spindl e hole on the tu rntabl e platter and place the pl atter on
the spindle. The platter beari ng is lubricated; no additional lubrication is needed for at
least one year.

3. Connect th e power co rd to the motor, t hen plac e the mot or, with the power cord at the
rear, next to the square cutout of the turntable chassis.

4. Lift the chassis and place it over the power cord. The motor should extend
approximately .25 inch from the side of the turntab le chassis.

5. Place the drive belt around the platter and around the pulley on the motor. The belt
does not have to be level on the platter. It will self-level when the platter starts rotating.

6. For 33 RPM operation, place the belt on the upper part of the pulley. For 45 RPM
operation, place the belt on the lower, wider part of the pulley. The center groove in
each diamet er is the correct speed. To d etermine the p recise speed, u se a strobe di sc.
The VPI Synchronous Drive System speed controller provides the ultimate speed
accuracy and best so und . Check with your dealer about availability.

7. Verify the turntable is level by using a 9- or 12-inch bubble level front-to-back and
side-to-side on t he platter. I f it is not l evel, rotate th e aluminu m cone feet up or d own.
If you must turn the Scoutmaster feet more than three full turns, level the shelf or
platform the table sits on first.

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Installing and Aligning the Cartridge

1. Remove the red protective cover from the male pivot point on the a rm base assembly.

To avoid injury, do not touch the male pivot point. It is
extremely sharp. In addition, skin oils can blemish and
cause corrosion to the assembly.

2. Place the JMW Memorial Tonearm on its side on a foam pad.

3. For cartridges with threaded mounting holes, use the screws supplied by the cartridge
manufacturer. Other screws may not fit properly and may cause damage to the threads
and cartridge.

To avoid damage to the tonearm, use one of the washers supplied by VPI under the

screw heads.

4. For cartridges with pass-through mounting holes, use the hardware supplied with the
tonearm. Be sure to use washers under the screw heads.

5. The tonearm wires are color-coded as follows:

o Red  right hot.
o Green  right ground.
o White  left hot.
o Blue  left ground.

If your phono section inverts phase, the hot color becomes the ground color.

6. Using tweez ers or fine-tipped pliers, grip the center of the red wire’s conne ctor  not
the wire itself  and push it onto the cartridge’s right hot terminal pin. Connect the
remaining connectors in the same way.

To avoid damage to the cartridge, do not push the connectors all the way on.

7. Adjust the tonearm counterweight halfway back on its mounting to reduce the amount
of downforce on the cartridge.

8. Place the JMW Memorial Tonearm Alignment Jig on the spindle with the narrow end next
to the pivot point. Tighten th e screws of the jig so it fits snugly against the male bearing
shaft

9. Place the arm tube assembly on the lower pivot point, using caution with the 4-color
wire and Lemo connector. Set the arm in its rest.

10. If the cartridge has a guard, remove it.

11. Line up the red dot on the Lemo connector with the red dot on the receptacl e on the
junction box. The Le mo connector can plug in only one way and should not be forced.

12. Swing the tonearm over the jig so the stylus is as close as possible to the dot in the
center of the grid. Set the counterweight for enough downward force to keep the stylus
from moving when res t ing on the jig.

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13. Look down at the cartridge and align it between the lines of the grid. Be careful to align
the cartridge and not the tonearm headshell.

14. Adjust the cartridge mounting screws and the counterweight as needed until the
cartridge i s centered between th e grid lines and the st ylus is resting on the d ot of the
grid.

15. When the cartridge is properly positioned, tighten the cartridge mounting screws and
remove the alignment jig.

Setting the Anti-Skating

Anti-skating is one of the least understood forces acting on a tonearm. Skating force is
created by friction between the stylus and the reco rd, causing a forc e vector in a directi on
towards the center of the record when the headshel l of the tonearm has an offset angle.
Putting a stylus down on a flat, grooveless record will cause the arm to move toward the
center of the r ecord . Ar m man ufact urers h ave t ried to comp ensat e for this for ce, bu t th at is
impossible because the force is constantly changing as the music and velocity change.

VPI has conducted careful listening tests and determined that every tonearm we tried
sounded better with its mechanical anti-skating disabled and the tracking force very sl ightly
increased. All mechanical anti-skate devices add a negative sound to the music because
they are made of parts that
can vibrate.

VPI has a unique solution to anti-skating: the coiled wire of th e J MW Memorial Tonearm act s
as a spring and pushes the arm back without affe cting the sound quality.

1. Adjust the counterweight so there is no downforce on the cartridge.

2. Swing the t onearm towa rd the spindl e and release i t. The arm sh ould swi ng out toward
the outer edge of the turntable.

If you try adjusting the anti-skate with a groov el e ss
record, you will ruin the twist in the tonearm wire and
void your warranty.

3. If additional anti-skate is needed, disconnect the Lemo connector and turn the wire
once, uncoiling the twist. Align the red dot on the connector with the red dot on the
junction box receptacle and plug it i n. The Lemo connector can plug in only one way and
should not be forced.

Setting the Tracking Force and Tonearm Height

Tracking force is adjusted by moving the tonearm counterweight forward and back on its
shaft. If your cartridge is heavy and the counterweight is all the way back, you can order a
heavier weight from your dealer.

The JMW Mem orial Tonea rm does not have a b uilt-in t racking force g auge. We recommend
that you use the Shure Stylus F orce Gauge.

1. Place the Shure gauge on the platter with the notch against the spindle.

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2. Follow the gauge instructions and set the tracking force according to the cartridge
manufacturer’s recommendation. We recommend always going to the high side of
tracking force. High frequency vibrations on a light tracking cartridge can cause more
damage to the grooves of a record than running a cartridge a t a heavy setting.

3. To adjust the arm height, loosen th e setscrew s on the base of the arm assembly an d
turn the adjustment wheel above the base. When the arm is at the desired height,
tighten the screws.

Setting the Azimuth

1. Set a fireplace match or coffee stirrer (something light and about 6” long) into the
groove behind the mounting screws on the tonearm headshell.

2. If it is not level, use the supplied Allen wrench to loosen the setscrew on the
counterweight and rotate the counterweight around the shaft until the headshell is
parallel to the record. Be careful not to change the tracking force se tting .

Playing Records

Before playing a record, make sure that all of the tonearm screws are tight.

1. Place the black washer on the platter, then the record, then the record clamp. This
system forces air out from unde r the record and creates a partial vacuum. When you r
release the clamp, th e record d oes not pop u p. Thi s gives you th e benefi ts of a vacuum
without the problems or complications.

2. Press the power button on the motor. Sit down and enjoy listening to your records!

General Use

• When changing the speed of the turntable, place one finger of your right hand on the
drive belt on the rear of the platt er and move th e belt up t o increase spe ed or down to
decrease speed with your left hand.

• Allow at least 20 hours of break-in time.

• The motor will make some low-level noise. Th is will not get into the sy stem. The mot or

and bearings will become quieter as you use your Scoutmaster.

• If you noti ce hum i n t he syst em, r emove your interc onnec ts an d repl ace t hem wit h very
cheap, standard VCR interconnects. These are well shielded and should eliminate the
hum. If the hum goes away, get quality, well-shielded interconnects.

• After at least on e year of use, th e platter beari ng and motor wi ll need to be lubri cated.
For the pla tter bearing , use .25 teaspo on of white l ithium greas e. For the mot or, use 1
drop of 40-weight motor oil below the brass piece.

Additional Items Available from Your Dealer

 The VPI Synchr on ou s Drive System p o w e r su p p ly provides a ma j or i n c rea s e in musicali t y

by feeding the 300 RPM synchronous motor a perfectly stable wave form at the
frequency you choose. The SDS lets you change speed electronically.

 The HR-X periphery record clamp will fit the platter of the Scoutmaster and provide a

vacuum-like g rip on the record. Th e clamp removes a ll warps and dam ps the record to
prevent rin ging.

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VPI Industries, Inc. Limited Warranty

VPI Industries, Inc. (VPI) warrants this unit against defects in materials and/or
workmanship for three (3) years from the date of purcha se by th e ori gin al retail purcha ser.
VPI’s sole obligation under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement, at VPI’s
option, of any part(s) foun d to be defective. VPI’s obligation to repair or replace defective
parts is the purchaser’s sole an d excl us iv e reme dy, a nd VP I sha l l n ot b e li abl e for a ny d ire ct
or indirect injury and/or property damage arising out of the use of the product or defect in
or failure of the product.

This warranty does not extend to any unit whose serial number has been defaced or altered.
Any product that VPI determines causes a defect or malfunction due to incorrect installation,
modificati on, misu se, or servi cing b y the purch aser, or s ervice t echnici an not au thorized by
VPI to perform such service will not be warranted. This warran ty does not cover trivi al or
cosmetic defects that do not impair the unit’s normal function.

VPI reserves the right to make changes in this product without assuming any obligation to
install such change in any product previously manufactured. This warranty to repair or
replace def ecti ve pa rt s is i n li eu of all oth er exp ress or i mp li ed wa rran ties of m erch an tab ili ty
or fitness for a particular purpose. There are not warranties that extend beyond the
description herein.

Some states do not allow exclusion of implied warranties or limitation of incidental or
consequential damages, so the above exclusion or limitations may not apply to you. This
warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from
state to state.

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