Opus 3 Cantus parallel tracking arm

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I am the new owner of an Opus Continuo turntable with the Cantus arm. It was shipped to the US in 2007 and Bo Hansson filled out the shipping info and invoice that I also have.

Anyone know of instructions on how to setup the arm?

I also have another Continuo tt (55 lbs) without an arm that is new open box and 2 Juniors (less than 55 lbs) also NOB.

PM me if interested.
 
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nothing Bo did was standard. I mean that, you cannot take one platter from one table and fir it on another. Can you say PITA? However Bo really did understand what mattered and what was a waste of time so far as the mechanical design went.
I can tell you though that you want to use sloppy bearings because that is where Bo gets most of the free up and down play for the arm to easily track normal surface fluctuation and keep the arm so well damped. It might seem quite odd but it is actually extremely clever. If you use tight tolerance bearings you will lose that play and you need it. This design is so very very deceptively clever. Just about everything there is so because that is what works best.
 
diyAudio Senior Member
Joined 2002
Hi,

It might seem quite odd but it is actually extremely clever.

One design choice brings on a set of counter measurements to make it work.
Opting for lose bearings and then having to filter the chatter out is not what I'd call "clever".
I adhere to another school of design when it comes to arms, cartridges and TTs and of course, I believe that that way is best. YMMV.

Cheers, ;)
 
nothing Bo did was standard. I mean that, you cannot take one platter from one table and fir it on another. Can you say PITA? However Bo really did understand what mattered and what was a waste of time so far as the mechanical design went.
I can tell you though that you want to use sloppy bearings because that is where Bo gets most of the free up and down play for the arm to easily track normal surface fluctuation and keep the arm so well damped. It might seem quite odd but it is actually extremely clever. If you use tight tolerance bearings you will lose that play and you need it. This design is so very very deceptively clever. Just about everything there is so because that is what works best.

OK, interesting observation, but I can't believe that he DIYed the bearings so who made them and what was the model number in case anyone wants to try a DIY version? I ask because, as you say, I assume that he found something that works very well and probably put a lot of time into it.
 
Bearings

Anybody know the part number for the arm bearing, were they are standard part?

Can you post a close-up picture of the bearing in question?
Can you possibly measure the bearing and post the dimensions?
Is it metric or inches? I dare say that the bearings used in tangential tonearms are off the shelf items.

I am looking for the following dimensions:

Diameter and width of the outer race.

Width of the inner race.

Shaft diameter.

shields?

Does it have a flange? Dimensions of the flange.

Is the inner race extended, i. e. is it wider than the outer race?

Sincerely,

Ralf
 
Nottingham Paragon K1

The Nottingham Paragon looks very nice but the picture does not show much of the mechanical detail did you find any other pictures of it? The first arm shows that even one tensioned thread can support a linear arm. This arm will have a resonance as it allows the arm to freely swing up and down on the V-groove rollers which is something the Cantus eliminates. Thanks for posting these interesting pictures.

Old tread, but I have the NAS tangential arm pictured in post #36
Let me know if you have questions or want pictures

BR Anders
 
sorry no I have just now spent some time searching in hope new photos may have been posted but I cannot find any. While a single wire can be tensioned to hold an arm it is going to resonate more than a glass tube track will no matter (so far as I can see). The cantus is a very clever design and I believe as Bo did that a mechanical arm is a better option than an air bearing. If you do find any fresh photos of the Nottingham please post copies on the thread. You might try contacting Nottingham and ask if they would supply some photos for the thread (if they exist).
 
Thanks James! I own and have installed the arm (Nottingham Paragon K1) on a old interspace deck.
If you (or anybody else) want pictures, I happy to take some of mine :)

Licence: please do post some photos of the arm especially the inside/underside (if you can) which show its workings. I think that the K1 is a very clean looking design and would like to learn more about it. I am sure others would also be interested. I have sometimes wondered if a twin parallel wire configuration could be used to emulate Bo's Cantus 3 design using a three wire harness attached to the arm making a three point sliding connection?
 
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