Technics 1200 Gets A Makeover, Part 1.

I picked up this Technics 1200 MKII a couple of months ago from a guy I know at a local flea market. I did not pay a lot as these tables go, but it needed a lot of work to get to a point that I would be comfortable either keeping it or selling it.



It was quite scratched up especially around the front edges, the platter has corrosion most noticeably the strobe dots. The tonearm has a dent just ahead of the cueing lifter and the cueing "foot" on the side of the arm is broken off. Other incidental marks, no lid or hinges. It came with a generic headshell and a Shure cartridge, though the model escapes me right now. Maybe an M95?

Functionally it was pretty good. Bearings and pivots seem ok, speed a bit off but not much. It will not switch back to 33 rpm from 45 except when you turn it off, but that might just take cleaning.



I had no intention of doing a half-assed job of this. I might not be going full audiophile on it with tonearm rewiring and other tweaks, and I am definitely not pimping it with extra LEDs, smoke and mirrors. I want it to work as well as originally intended and to look as good as new or better. Not too much to ask, right?

I ordered from ebay a tonearm, a lid and hinges. They were all new and unused from a vendor with lots of similar items. Having them shipped to my USA depot meant free shipping so the total was about $100. I've had them waiting for a month or so now.



The great thing about the 1200 series of turntables is that it was simply the most popular turntable ever made (I read that somewhere) and there are vast amounts of parts available. There are also many resources around on tricks, modifications and how-to articles. No new ground here, but I have taken lots of pictures to document the disassembly and other steps.



This darn thing has lots of pieces. And this particular table was also a mess inside. Looks like spillage and maybe a mouse nest!








I eventually got it completely stripped down to the point that the top of the plinth was ready for the next steps, cleaning and sanding. The box of parts and tonearm were set aside for now, but will get some work while I wait for the plinth to come back from paint, or rather powder coat.






I am lucky in that I know someone with a machine shop and sand blaster, using walnut shells specifically. He also lets me use some of the equipment sometimes. I did some sanding to get the worst of the scratches reduced with a medium grit sanding sponge. Then it was off to Toby's today where it took me an hour or so to get everything off the top. I also took most of the finish off the non exposed surfaces but was less fastidious about it.







It looks pretty good at this point. Toby, Robert and I talked about the best way to finish it. There are spray paint options plus powder coat, and one I had not thought about until today and that was anodizing. I thought that would look great but one issue with that is the fact that it hides nothing. Any imperfections would be glaringly obvious and touch-up impossible. It also turns out to be quite tricky if the alloy is not exactly right to take it. That last fact I found out when I took it to the anodizers. However my second choice of powder coat was also something they offer so I took it to their other shop down the road.

There it will stay until at least next week, and will come back to me with a finish type called SandTex black. This should not only be somewhat unique, but a good finish that won't show finger prints.

2 Hour Dynaco Speaker Refinishing

I picked up a pair of Dynaco A25 speakers in a yard sale a couple of months ago. They were quite beat up but are a quite desirable and still highly regarded model from 1969. Even though they were made in quite high numbers and sold for just $79.95 each back then, they hold pretty good value but they don't seem to pop up very often around here. Even so, when I saw them I instantly thought I knew what they were and I was right.



Chipped veneer, serious water stains from plants, scratches, stained and torn grill covers. At least the drivers looked fine and "they work" claimed the seller. The drivers were also dirty but thanks to rubber, not foam, for the surrounds they looked intact.

I am no expert at refinishing and I did not think that without a real effort and possible re-veneering that these would look show-room quality again, so I did a quick power-tool enhanced job on them today. I just wanted to make them good enough for me.



With my sanders, both belt and orbital, I soon had the finish completely removed from one. On the other one the water damage went quite deep and I ended up going beneath the veneer or into a flaw in it at least. Too bad about that but I can use some filler and colour matching to hide it.

I did what would also probably be considered really bad form by not even removing the tweeters and woofers. Since they were dirty anyway I was not too concerned, but had to be careful. I found the terminals were soldered anyway and did not have my soldering gun nearby.



I went over all the veneered surfaces with walnut stain that was already nearby but had to run out to the Despot and get some MinWax oil finish even though I was sure I had some around. So the 2 hours actually became more like 3.



After cleaning the drivers and faces with damp cloths, and a bit of buffing and wiping down the results are very good. I will still do a bit more work partly because it started to rain a bit and before I noticed I got more water marks! The few tiny spots will come out easily though with a bit of gentle sanding and more stain and/or oil.

The grill faces will get re-covered soon. Linda looked at the fabric and said "transparent linen, they should have some at the fabric store". It was too hot and being a holiday we do not want to risk driving to the nearest big one to check, but she will tomorrow. If they don't have it I can check out the local electronics store.



So I think they look pretty darn good so far! Too bad I sanded too deep on the one side. Be careful with that belt sander, Eugene.

With the combo of the dark stain and the oil finish I probably did not have to take out the entire water stain and it would have been masked. So it goes.

I'll bring them inside soon and check out how they sound. Eventually I will get around to replacing the crossover capacitors and maybe the binding posts. That will be another day and post.

Edit: A day later...

Linda stopped at a fabric store today to get some grill cloth. I was hoping for something more like the original linen, somewhat coarse and a bit like cheesecloth but that is not what she brought home. It's a bit stretchy and synthetic and much whiter. However I think it will turn out fine after all and might just grow on me. Only done one so far though.

Before grill cloth but sounding good:



After cloth, I think the contrast is good:

Marantz System is up for sale! $650...I mean is SOLD!!!

I decided to sell my Marantz 140 power amplifier along with the 3200 pre-amp and the 112 tuner. The trouble is, when I hook up something to make sure it is all working fine and so that I can demo it to prospective buyers, I end up with cold feet!

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/0140.html

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/3200.html

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/0112.html

If you would like to buy this system, you can use the PayPal button below but I would rather do this locally and in person. Please note that I will ship, but it WILL NOT BE CHEAP and will be calculated later. Shipping weight will be close to 40 kilos and ideally in 3 boxes.

I don't need it for sure as I have several other more-than-capable receivers including another Marantz. It  is the only system of separates though and it does sound pretty darn good The looks are not bad either.

I want $650 for the system as you see it. If you don't want the LED bulbs, I will change it back to incandescent fuse lamps and knock $50 off the price. The displays will probably look cyan green if I do that.

edit: SOLD!! In one day!

Maybe I should have asked for more money??



The amp puts out a conservative 75 watts per side and in my space the needles barely flicker. The 3200 preamplifier is the period and model specific mate as is the tuner, model 112.

All the pieces are clean inside and out and the meter fuse lamps have been changed to LEDs, as have the tuner back light bulbs. The LEDs restore the Marantz blue that typically turns to green as the vellum paper ages and yellows with the conventional bulbs. That is if the bulbs still work as they burn out eventually anyway. The meters came out a different sort of blue, maybe partially because of the LEDs being done at a different time were from a different source. Or possibly it is because they deflect into the meters, rather than directly back light the face plate in the tuner.






Some people are purists about the old gear though, so LEDs are verboten. Incandescent only, even though it generates lots of extra heat that deforms and yellows the plastic surround the bulbs, and burns out readily. LEDs are much cooler running and will last practically forever but may not have that "original" look. Whatever...the LEDs look good and work well.

Sometimes I could slap my friends

No, I don't mean slap that way...I mean slap them for things they should be better at maintaining.

I am referring to my friend Jeff who used to be a bike mechanic, and now works for a coffee roaster. I went there today to buy some of my favourite beans and, though he wasn't there, I ended up coming home with his turntable. His co-workers, also old friends, know I like to work on vintage gear and especially turntables gave me Jeff's Technics SL-B2 to take home and repair if I could.

Admittedly this table has spend much of it's life in this warehouse-like space, but "come on Jeff! It's filthy!" At least I would have said that if he was there. Jeff does not even know I have the table.

They did not give it to me to dust it off. It had other issues, and what they reported was it would not shut off. Before I began to work on it I had to clean it.

The good thing is that nothing was broken or cracked that I could see. Mostly dirt and perhaps a burnt or melted spot on the lid. The base for the carbon fibre brush was held on to the plinth with masking tape.

I opened it up and examined the return mechanism, expecting something had popped out of somewhere. It took maybe 5 or 10 minutes inside to trace down the problem.

The Auto-return mechanism is run by a cog on the bottom of the spindle which is turned by the belt of course. This engages with a larger toothed cam at certain positions of the tonearm or when "asked to" by pressing the Start/Stop switch on the deck. The cog on the spindle had sort of fallen off the bottom of the spindle.



I except it might have happened from being knocked around or something being dropped on the top of the spindle. The cog fits on some knurling on the shaft and had dropped off the bottom. With some long needle nose pliers I was able to snap it back on. Cycling through the actions of tonearm and switch confirmed I had fixed it.


I will still be doing more cleaning and lid polishing and will make sure the cartridge is aligned correctly before I give it back. However after less than an hour on it I would say it looks (and works) a heck of a lot better. I'll take a couple of pounds of coffee as payment...and give Jeff a good slap!

Technics Rubber and Dual in a Drawer

I had a Technics SL-1700 MKII turntable in the house for less than a day. It's a very nice table, and one I could easily live with, but I barely even got to sleep with this one. And even less so the Pioneers Pl-518 that was here for only about an hour.



The Technics and Pioneer both belong to Clint at Space Lab and I was just tuning them up. The Pioneer really just got a cartridge and tonearm alignment as it seemed to have no issues.

The 1700 had what is a common failure on this model. This model is essentially an SL-1200 but with auto shut-off. The cueing and tonearm return is done by a small motor mounted horizontally under the right side of the platter. This motor uses a belt to drive a pulley running the mechanism, and the belt crumbles after 20 years or so. That's exactly what I found in this one...plus numerous cockroach carcasses. Yuk!

Anyway the shop vac took care of the roaches and a produce elastic took care of the shut-off, at least temporarily. It worked great but today I picked up a O ring to replace the elastic. I was not sure the size I bought would work as the rubber was a bit thicker than the original (and definitely than the elastic band), but the diameter of about 1.25" and 1/8" thick worked fine.

I meant to take a picture of the inside area with the elastic band but forgot while I was working on it. I spent a good amount of time wet sanding and polishing the lid too. It works great and looks pretty nice now though.



As part payment (or something) for the jobs I am doing for Space Lab, or maybe just because he just likes me, Clint gave me a Dual 1019 turntable the other day as well.

The 1019 is one of the most highly regarded of their turntables. Well built and reliable, or as much as a 40 year complicated piece of machinery can be at least. This one has definitely put the nail in the coffin for the 1219 I have already.



http://www.vinylengine.com/library/dual/1019.shtml

They all have their fatal flaws though and probably the worst of this table is the cartridge mount, sometimes known as the "sled", the TK-11 or TK-12. They can be prone to failure from stress and corrosion and tend to command high prices when you can get them. I bought a knock-off on ebay yesterday that might be better than the original with luck, as I plan to give the sled with this one back to Clint.

I call this the Dual in a Drawer as that is what it was until recently. It came out of a custom made cabinet for a Harman Kardon Citation and Thorens system. It has rollers on the sides for drawer glides as this was the secondary turntable in the cabinet. The Thorens was accessed through the top.



I will remove the rollers eventually and do something around the sides, but the wood is so nice that I think I will try to do very little to modify the base.

I will have to get underneath to clean and lube, and perhaps adjust the idler and a few other things. I think I have a bit of wiring to work on too, but cosmetically it is very nice.

  

Some Empire Solutions And A Problem

The first of the Empire tuntables I worked on is in very good shape now. I should replace the stylus, the tonearm drifts as the cuing lowers it, and I am still waiting for the light bulb but it plays well. There are Gregorian Chants in the background right now on the big sucker.

Empire # 2 is also a 598, this time version II. It's also not yet mine but on loan for diagnosis and repair. It comes with the same tonearm, the 990 I think it is called. It's kind of hard to tell the models as the pictures I see of the 980 and 990 arms both have the VTF adjustment on the inside of the pivot are and these are both outside. The 2 I have here are identical though.

The latest Empire has other issues. It's missing a belt and they are not the most common or inexpensive thing. The length should be about 31.5" but the width can also be a factor as it affects the speed adjustment if it is too wide. I've yet to order one due to the other problems.

The connector on the base of the tonearm for the cartridge leads is an odd one and this table does not have that cable. I've heard of people paying $100 to buy one or have it made. I've got a cheaper solution.



Yesterday I came across this universal connector at Main Electronics. It's designed for the power connection to car stereos and comes with 5 pins that can fit in any of 10 holes in the end. Choose your layout, insert the pins, screw it together. I will either solder and heat shrink this to a an RCA cable, or perhaps add panel jacks so I can use any cables. Cost about $4 plus some wire.

Alternatively I could also use the thing I found in the next pic. It was a random find at a thrift store today, a wire remote control for a Kodak slide projector. Remember those? With digital, they are getting rare but parts still show up. It has exactly the right 5 pin layout I need and also would just need to be wired to some other cables to do the job. That's it plugged in the bottom of the tonearm.



The 598 II also came with another Empire cartridge. I have not yet conclusively identified either of the ones I have but will work on that. The only obvious difference in design between the II and the III is the 45 RPM adaptor in the II is a twist and pop-up thing and the III has an insert that you remove and turn upside down. Both designs are ingenious and simple and I am kind of surprised more manufacturers did not try similar thing. Cheap plastic doughnuts are usually the way.



Other than some cosmetic problems and the missing parts as described, the major problem on the 598 II is the motor. It won't run.

I have tested it in almost any way I can think of and even though it will spin nicely by hand I can get it to turn under power. It's not a common design either so this could be the deal breaker. It operates in a 3 phase sort of mode, with a capacitor used to trick the motor into see what looks like 3 phase power from regular line current.

The motor is German made by Papst. I don't know if anyone used them other than Empire and they are quite different than most around. This motor is one of the reasons the turntables have as much respect as they do. These motors are smooth and steady and are supposed to last forever... until they don't.

I'm not giving up on this one yet though.

AR-XB FrankenTonearm

Another project, another post.

This AR-Xb turntable came home at the same time as the Empire. It's a simpler thing, and easier to fix up in some ways. It has a lot of similarities in design to the Empire but is is almost like the poor relative of the fancy Empire, from appearance right though to execution. It's almost like both makers were given a basic design, but one of them had 5 times as much money to spend to bring it from blueprint to market.



Both tables are suspended belt drive manual devices and they are completely manual in execution.. Speed is changed by turning the table of and moving a belt from one pulley to another. They have an on/off switch and a cuing lever, the headshells are not interchangeable. The platters are 2 pieces and are fairly heavy.

They also quite quirky and are almost of legendary status for their sound qualities, largely as a result of their simplicity. They also have their fatal flaws.



One of the flaws in the AR design is the tonearm. It is not inherently bad, but it does pose some challenges. One issue is that the headshell is again proprietary and on the one I have here it is problematic. As soon as I touched it it practically fell out of the tonearm, and with a little tug it did fall out!

A little research showed me that the glue that holds these in often does fail. In addition, the simple fact that the plastic AR headshell and it's fixed design without cartridge mounting slots is also not ideal led me to think of how I could improve it. Sometimes I am glad I don't throw things out as I was able to come up with some parts to fix this up. It might take a while to finish the job as I will have to source some wire but I made some good progress tonight.



Some months ago, I took apart the Zenith/Garrard turntable I bought with a Zenith receiver and speakers about a year ago. The speakers have been sold and the receiver is still around, and still one of my favourites, while the turntable is still around in pieces. The base and platter come in handy when I am cleaning a batch of records for example. Anyway the tonearm was still here though largely disassembled.

I had read of changes to the AR tonearm wand to add a more conventional interchangeable headshell collet and/or the full arm wand. Usually Technics was mentioned, probably partly because they are common tables but also because you can order spare parts for them because of their widespread use professionally. They also did not sound ideal because of their length and expense too.



My Zenith one looks like it will work well though and it is essentially free. I had to drill out a couple of rivets to remove the arm wand from the pivot end, and was even able to make what was an S shaped arm into the J shape the AR came with. I might have just used the collet end but the diameters did not match anyway. One reason changing the tube can be problematic is that the AR tonearm and counterweight are fairly lightweight. If you change the weight too much at one end you will have to make changes at the other or you will never be able to balance the arm.

I lucked out. Both the length and the weight of the Zenith arm parts are similar to the AR bits and the arm balances easily. I'll weigh the parts later to get some actual numbers. The Stanton headshell ends up in virtually the same spot as illustrated by the AR arm upside down on top of the new FrankenArm. The project is not done as I will still have to order some wire to redo the arm but it looks like it will work out!