VPI Scoutmaster JMW-9T Manual

Scoutmaster/JMW-9T
Turntable
Setup and Instruction Manual
VPI Industries, Inc., 77 Cliffwood Ave. #3B, Cliffwood, NJ 07721
phone: [phone] fax: [phone]
http://www.vpiindustrie

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Important: Read Before Proceeding!
Read and follow the Safety Instructions 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 heavy-duty,
grounded extension cord.
3. To avoid electrical shock, always plug the Scoutmaster II into a grounded outlet.
4. Do not expose the Scoutmaster II 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 hours. The speed accuracy, wow, flutter, and rumble have been checked, 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 50 pounds.
Platter runout +/- .001 inch.
Product Specifications
300 RPM AC synchronous drive motor.
Drive belt custom-made for VPI from Pyrothane
Aluminum cone feet with stainless steel ball bearings on the bottoms.
Solid acrylic platter with bronze bushings and Peek thrust surface.
Platter sits on 60 Rockwell-hardened shaft and chrome-hardened ball bearing.
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:
oJMW Alignment Jig.
oRecord clamp.
oPower cord.
oBag 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 down in a safe place. Use caution with the tonearm’s delicate wires and Lemo connector.

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5. Remove the foam pieces that surround the chassis. Lift one side of the turntable chassis, 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 turntable platter and motor. Be very careful not to hit or damage the motor
pulley. It measured +/- .0005” when it was tested at the factory. Try not to disturb it at all.
Setting up the Scoutmaster
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.
1. Place the turntable chassis, with the square cutout on the left, on the shelf or stand where it
will be used. The better isolation you provide the Scoutmaster, the better it will sound.
2. Remove the tape from the spindle hole on the turntable platter and place the platter on the
spindle. The platter bearing is lubricated; no additional lubrication is needed for at least one
year. After one year lift the platter off and lubricate by placing a 3/8” round blob of white
lithium grease on the ball and replace the platter.
3. Connect the power cord to the motor, and then place the motor, 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 turntable 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 diameter is the
correct speed. To determine the precise speed, use a strobe disc. The VPI Synchronous Drive
System speed controller provides the ultimate speed accuracy and best sound. Check with
your dealer about availability.

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7. Verify the turntable is level by using a 9- or 12-inch bubble level front-to-back and
side-to-side on the platter. If it is not level, rotate the aluminum cone feet up or down. If you
must turn the Scoutmaster feet more than three full turns, level the shelf or platform the
table sits on first.
Installing and Aligning the Cartridge
•Remove the protective cover from the male pivot point on the arm 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.
•Place the JMW Memorial Tonearm on its side on a foam pad.
•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.
•For cartridges with pass-through mounting holes, use the hardware supplied with the
tonearm. Be sure to use washers under the screw heads.
•The tonearm wires are color-coded as follows:
oRed right hot.
oGreen right ground.
oWhite left hot.
oBlue left ground.
If your phono section inverts phase, the hot color becomes the ground color.
•Using tweezers or fine-tipped pliers, grip the center of the red wire’s connector 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.
•Adjust the tonearm counterweight halfway back on its mounting to reduce the amount of
down force on the cartridge.
•Place the JMW Memorial Tonearm Alignment Jig on the spindle with the narrow end next to
the pivot point. Tighten the screws of the jig so it fits snugly against the male bearing shaft
•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 and lock it.
•If the cartridge has a guard, remove it.

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•Line up the red dot on the Lemo connector with the red dot on the receptacle on the
junction box. The Lemo connector can plug in only one way and should not be forced.
•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 resting on the jig.
•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.
•Adjust the cartridge mounting screws as needed until the cartridge is centered between the
grid lines and the stylus is resting on the dot of the grid. The picture below shows the setup,
the jig is in white for clarity, yours is black.
•When the cartridge is properly positioned, tighten the cartridge mounting screws and remove
the alignment jig. Do not go crazy over this adjustment it is only mildly critical.
Setting the Anti-Skating – Two Solutions
Anti skating is one of the least understood forces acting on a tonearm. Skating force is created by
friction between the stylus and the record, causing a force vector in a direction towards the center
of the record when the headshell of the tonearm has an offset angle. Putting a stylus down on a
flat, groove less record will cause the arm to move toward the center of the record. Arm
manufacturers have tried to compensate for this force, but that 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 slightly increased..
VPI has a unique solution to anti-skating: the coiled wire of the JMW Memorial Tonearm acts as a
spring and pushes the arm back without affecting the sound quality. You now have the option of
installing a mechanical anti-skate for those that want it.
•Adjust the counterweight so there is no down force on the cartridge.
•Swing the tonearm toward the spindle and release it. The arm should swing out toward the
outer edge of the turntable.

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If you try adjusting the anti-skate with a groove less
record, you will ruin the twist in the tonearm wire and void
your warranty. Do this with the mechanical anti-skate if
you want that much anti-skate.
•If additional anti-skate is needed you can go to the mechanical anti-skate supplied.
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 Signature Tonearm does not have a built-in tracking force gauge. We recommend
that you use the Shure Stylus Force Gauge or good digital gauge. Place the gauge on the
platter and raise or lower the arm so it is parallel to the platter when sitting on the record.
Only when the arm is parallel to the platter will you get an accurate VTF reading.
•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 at a heavy setting. Always go 1/10th gram
higher than the maximum recommendation.
•To adjust the arm height, loosen the setscrews on the base of the arm assembly and turn the
adjustment wheel above the base. When the arm is at the desired height, tighten the screws.
If you put a 5” X 7” lined index card next to the arm when it is on the record you can set the
height very accurately parallel to the record. That should be your zero starting point for
tuning VTA.
Setting the Azimuth
•Set a drinking straw into the groove behind the mounting screws on the tonearm headshell.
The straw should be parallel to the record.
•The ring around the bottom of the bearing assembly on the arm wand (shown below) is called
the azimuth ring. Rotating the ring will level the arm and give you a 90 degree azimuth
setting. Turn the flat side of the ring towards the side that is lower.
Long thin rod
90 DEGREES

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AZIMUTH RING
•Unlike other unipivot arms, the JMW’s lateral balance weight does not hang off to the side of
the arm. Instead, its position around the bottom of the upper bearing housing places the
weight below the pivot point. This increases mass below the pivot and increases arm stability.
Playing Records
•Before playing a record, make sure that the two tonearm screws in the arm base are tight.
General Use
•Allow at least 20 hours of break-in time.
•If you notice hum in the system, remove your interconnects and replace them with very
cheap, standard VCR interconnects. These are well shielded and should eliminate the hum. If
the hum goes away, get quality, well shielded interconnects.

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VPI Industries, Inc. Limited Warranty
VPI Industries, Inc. (VPI) warrants the Scoutmaster against defects in materials and/or
workmanship for three (3) years from the date of purchase by the original retail purchaser. VPI’s
sole obligation under this warranty is limited to the repair or replacement, at VPI’s option, of any
part(s) found to be defective. VPI’s obligation to repair or replace defective parts is the
purchaser’s sole and exclusive remedy, and VPI shall not be liable for any direct 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,
modification, misuse, or servicing by the purchaser, or service technician not authorized by VPI to
perform such service will not be warranted. This warranty does not cover trivial 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 defective
parts is in lieu of all other express or implied warranties of merchantability 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.