Akai AP-D30 counterweight issue

[hnash53]

I just had this Akai AP-D30 given to me.

As you see in the pics, there's an issue with the counterweight.. it's just hanging there.

What's going on? Can I fix it myself?

I wanted the turntable since I'm going to give vinyl a spin.

Any suggestions/comments/condolences welcome and appreciated.

Thanks !

Hal

 

[12ax7]

I was going to say that hopefully the counterweight stub had just come unscrewed but the stub looks broken. That could probably be repaired with some disassembly and careful use of some epoxy like J-B Weld.

There are a couple of things that would concern me more, hopefully they are just illusions. 1. Is that a crack in the plinth behind the tonearm? 2. The whole tonearm gimbal assembly appears to be too far forward as if it got bent somehow. It doesn't seem to be centered over the molded raised area of the plinth. See attachment.

Perhaps all the issues are related (?).

 

[hnash53]

Hey man... thanks. I looked and looked and learned some of the turntable "lingo" you used, but I don't see any of what you mentioned were concerns. The "crack" was a hair... but easily looked like a crack. The other things must be, as you said, "illusions" of photography. Probably the angle of the pics, the lighting contributed to what looked like were issues.

Regarding the broken(?) counterweight... do I need to remove the tone arm from the base (plinth?)? Any suggestions would be helpful. I've looked for the service manual online but all I found was people wanting $15 on eBay for them. Can you steer me to a link that has downloadable manuals?

Thanks again.. really appreciate your comments.

Hal

 

[Balifly]

Remove the counter weight and replace the rubber stub with something suitable.

The stubs in that series are mostly like that.

Here is a link to the owner's manual.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/akai/ap-d30.shtml

Use the Akai AP-D33 service manual for the time being.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/akai/ap-d33.shtml

 

[hnash53]

Rubber stub... dissolved, sticky mess

OK... got the counterweight off, and the rubber stub has just turned to... mush.. sticky. I dug all the old rubber out of.. what would I call it? ... a black bushing tube about 2 inches long that at one end held on the counterweight.

Something suitable? There is (was) a bolt and nut running thru what once was a rubber stub, as you called it. Got all that out. So... what would qualify as something suitable?

I have the original owner's manual... doesn't help much with disassembly.

But thanks a lot for the D33 link.

Coupla pics attached.... Next?

 

[Balifly]

Try a stack of rubber washers- large faucet type.

For example: http://www.lowes.ca/washers-gaskets...JKoroyOh74CFZNhfgodmKYANA&linkloc=reCanonical

 

[12ax7]

Glad I was wrong about that.

The washers aren't a bad idea. Maybe some stiff thick walled rubber hose.

 

[hnash53]

pitch control doesn't go far enough

I've managed to mount the counterweight and now play some LPs.

But the pitch control via the built in strobe doesn't go far enough. Instead of playing at 33 1/3, it's playing at something slightly less... maybe 32-33 rpm.

Is there an adjustment that I can make to correct this?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[janikphoto]

Yes, many tables have an adjustable pot inside. It'll look like it can take a standard flat blade screw driver and there is usually one for 33.3 and 45rpm. Also, deoxit works well on your speed adjustment pots to keep them working correctly. And, look for a thread on using mini scales to verify your tracking force is set accurately.

 

[ETI_5000]

There are two trimpots underneath for 33 and 45 speed adjustment, on the circuit board – see page 23 of the service manual for the Akai AP-D33 for details (see above for the link).

If adjusting them doesn’t fix it (chances are it won’t, because an electrolytic capacitor will probably have drifted off-spec!) replace all the electrolytic capacitors – although it’s only one that affects speed, all of them will be in a similar state, so you may as well replace them all to stave of future problems. I can’t guarantee that they’ll be quite the same values as in the AP-D33, so check the capacitance and voltages values directly in your turntable. It should cost less than $10 in parts to replace them all.

 

[kanter]

can you please share how did you manage to fix the counterweight back to position. what did you use? and is it still holding?

 

[Inca Roads]

Yes, please. I’m in the same boat and would appreciate any insight on repairing this specific issue. Thanks!

 

[Markoneswift]

I had one of these with the drooping weight. I resolved mine by removing the stub and then taking a small bunch of cocktail sticks, chamfered so they would slide into the end of the tone arm. I then snipped them to approx the length of the original stub and slipped on the counterweight. Worked perfectly.

As far as the pitch control goes, on mine the adjustment pots wouldn't pull it down far enough so I deoxited the pitch control itself and replaced the capacitors involved with speed control. Dead on after that.