-edible zone-
No.6435
Overview Starting
Line Arrival Deconstruction
Beneath Decks
First Night's Spin
Listening to Plinths
Motor
System: The Tonearm Tweaks
Articles Bookshelf
Transit
*
Transportation of Garrards Without Original Transit Clamp
Very often the subject arises of just how to safely ship a 301 when the original 'transit clamp' --that immobilizes the motor-- is missing. Since most users will remove the clamp as a resonance reduction measure for regular operation, it tends to get misplaced, and is unavailable when shipping is necessary.
What is being protected is not so much the motor, which is
a very robust construction, but the rest of the deck from impact caused
by the motor moving on it's springs in shipping. Specifically, the
delicate eddy-current disk, the drive-shaft, and the idler mechanism are
at risk.
Whether using the transit clamp or using wedges to
shim, it's important that :
A. The on-off lever is firmly set to
"off".
B. The speed control (pitch) dial is set to "+" all the way.
The way the original clamp works is that, with platter removed, it's
tightened from above evenly on both sides so that the mass of the heavy
motor is drawn upwards toward the frame. The wedges work the same way,
but care must be taken to stretch the support springs no further than is
necessary to secure the motor. A wind of tape around the outside of all
four wedges will hold them in place.
Packaging should take extra
care that the breakable bakelite levers are protected, and that no
weight or pressure bears on the spindle or motor-drive shaft. Under-deck
levers and linkage should also be protected. No packing tape should be
used directly on the enamelled upper surfaces, which may not survive the
shock of 'un-taping', since the enamel may have become fragile and ready
to flake when abruptly peeled tape pulls at the surface. From there the
301 should really be double-boxed, platter cushioned and boxed
separately, and placed in a sturdy double-wall cardboard shipping
carton.
( More often than not, the 301's friction-fit platter
will have been seized in place. Since it's sometimes a subject of some
contention for the seller to remove the platter, the wedge approach can
be done from below without broaching the platter removal issue.)