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Questions from a new Loricraft user

I just took delivery today of a new Loricraft PRC3 RCM. took it out of the box, went through the rough setup and cleaned a couple of records. Very impressed. Now my questions:

some of the nylon thread had come loose from the spool in shipment and I wound it rather sloppily back to the spool in my hurry to try it out. I decided to go back and rewind it evenly on to the spool. In doing so, I managed to pull the thread completely out of the arm. The manual seems pretty vague about how to rethread - merely saying that I should "disconnect the 3mm pipe and use the pump to rethread through the bottom brass tube" Do I disconnect from the arm, or from where the 3mm tube enters the discharge bottle? I've tried it a few different ways and even with the pump running, I can't get it to rethread. Any advice?

Second question: When cleaning, the arm tracks very nicely from the outside to the inside, picking up everything. But if I go from the lable side to the outside, the arm does not track at all, it just sits at the spot I place it. What am I doing wrong there?

Seems like an advanced RCM like this one would come with a better manual.....
slipknot1
11 responses Add your response
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uru975
684 posts
 
Rethreading the Loricraft is a time for patience. With the pump on the only real difficulty if getting it from the spool to the end of the arm where the tip is. Once there it goes somewhat easier to get it to the bottle. Not difficult but far from easy, a little patience goes a long way.
As to the next question. The arm starts on the inside, by the label but is directed, as it were, to go to the back of the machine, not the front, that may be your problem. Hope so.
Hope this helps.
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uru975
684 posts
 
Let me be a bit more specific. Leave the arm in place. there is a little tube that starts by the spool and goes over the top of the arm and down. thread that first. Then thread it through the little plastic liner of the return to the bottle. It will go through, which is why they insist on cotton thread. once it reaches the top of the bottle, give the thread some lee way and just pull it down, make sure the lid is tight and it should work easy.
jtimothya
612 posts
 

Re 2nd Question...

The arm and its motor do not know whether you're asking it to go inside out or outside in. The same mechanism does both, so if one direction is working the other should also.

When starting at the label:
a) ensure the arm is on the back side of the spindle - that is, the other side of the spindle from you, at the front.
b) the arm motor switch is in the on position. (This sounds silly obvious, but there have been moments when I position the arm and stare at it for a few moments before realizing I need to flip its motor switch.)

Re 1st Question: take a look at this PDF file

Fwiw, there are several good threads (nopun) here with Loricraft tips. Great machine!

Tim
classicjazz
153 posts
 
I own the PRC4. When you clean from the inside, did you place the arm on the left side (9 pm side) of the inner label? If so, the arm will radiate out to the left-most edge of the record.

I examined my unit but it's not clear how one would re-thread the arm. I would think that turning on the pump and arm will suck the thread in?

Good luck,
William
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>Seems like an advanced RCM like this one would come with a better manual.....<<

Maybe it's not the manual.
acresverde
372 posts
 
Sorry, Bill, but in this case, it's the manual. I just got my PR-3 back from Smart Devices. Some part of the internal drive mechanism unscrewed itself and made the machine inop but your problem sounds different than mine since mine wouldn't work on either side of the label.

The good news is that if you need help over the phone or, heaven forbid, have to ship it back, you'll have the pleasure of dealing with John Snowden. Funny, I spent some time this AM on AA reading about all of the problems people are experiencing in their dealings with Ron Welbourne. I'm here to tell you that John is the anti-Welbourne. The most responsive, available and pleasant guy I've had the good fortune to deal with in my entire audio odyssey...in my case a journey peppered with nothing but good relationships to date.

Sure hope for your sake that your first outing in your new ride doesn't end up back at the service dept. but if it does, you're in good hands.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
It was a joke.

I'm sure slipshod is not the only victim of a bad manual, not to mention bad jokes. He's proven his audio expertise in many posts heretofore.

He's my guy.
slipknot1 OP
1,423 posts
 
Thanks for the responses from (almost) everyone.

We're back in business. The pdf is very helpful. THAT should be in the manual. Everything is working as it should...
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Slipknot1, so, how does your vinyl sound with the Loricraft compared to your VPI 16.5 ??? Very curious here. Thanks!
slipknot1 OP
1,423 posts
 
Jrech - I really did like the the 16.5 (except for the noise), and thought it did a good job. I took a group of LPs that had been recently cleaned on the VPI and redid them on the Loricraft, using the exact same cleaning proceedure and fluids as on the VPI. The discharge bottle has waste fluid in it that is dirtier than I thought it would be given that they had just been cleaned. It is so much quieter than the VPI. My daughter is happy about that. It takes a little longer than with the VPI, but properly set up the nozzle/thread pick-up gets everything off the record, from the inside all the way to the bead on the outside of the LP.

I had recently switched to using the Walker Prelude cleaning fluids and had noticed a much quieter surface after cleaning on the VPI. After cleaning with the Prelude on the Loricraft, the surfaces are even quieter.

It is a great looking machine too and the low noise factor means that you can clean LPs while listening to music. I know longer feel like I should be wearing ear protection either.
audiotomb's avatar
audiotomb
1,112 posts
 
enjoy the Loricraft slipknot

expensive but well worth every dollar
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