Another unusual Sony Turntable, the PS-230

Montycat

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Just picked this one up for $25, and snagged a Sanyo DCX 1970K receiver at the same time for $20.

The Sony is a rare one. It's from about 1972, so a contemporary of my PS-2400 and similar in a runt of the litter kind of way.


Sony PS-230 by Buhduh, on Flickr

Stepped lid design, suspended plinth, nice wood box.


Sony PS-230 2 by Buhduh, on Flickr

Unusual tonearm with an integrated plastic headshell.


Sony PS-230 Tonearm 2 by Buhduh, on Flickr

And yes, it is an Idler drive! I checked the speed with my strobe and it seems pretty close. A bit of rumble but not too bad out of the box.


Sony PS-230 idler by Buhduh, on Flickr
 
The cartridge is a Unitron with the code X899e on it I think, the font is very small and hard to read. Does this sound familiar? Mr Google does not have much to say about it.
 
I dont know anything about this table, but its nice. I noticed alot of early 1970's tables have a J shaped tone arm.
 
I have one of these I'm trying to connect to my Kenwood KR-A47 receiver, but I have a problem. Disclaimer: I'm such a newbie that I'm not even out of the egg, so please forgive the sheer idiocy of the question.

When I hook the jacks into the phono jacks, I get no sound. I have moved the jacks into all the posible positions and tried all the possibles (aux, CD, etc.). What am I doing wrong?
 
I have one of these I'm trying to connect to my Kenwood KR-A47 receiver, but I have a problem. Disclaimer: I'm such a newbie that I'm not even out of the egg, so please forgive the sheer idiocy of the question.

When I hook the jacks into the phono jacks, I get no sound. I have moved the jacks into all the posible positions and tried all the possibles (aux, CD, etc.). What am I doing wrong?

What is the condition of the needle/stylus ?

Is the needle/stylus staying in the grove of the LP as the platter is turning? :scratch2:
 
Nice. Similar to my Pioneer PL-6 idler drive table. But the the PL-6 is total manual, Not even an arm lift.
 
It looks like an earlier or later equivalent, or one up or one down the pecking order, from the PS-1100 idler. Same gimbals, same headshell, same or similar platter and an idler too.

The Platter is steel and rings like a church bell so the idler wheel MUST be pristine. I sanded my idler wheel smooth by holding 180 or 220 grit sandpaper against it while the motor spun it. When all the flat spots were gone the table was pretty quiet.



John
 
I have one of these I'm trying to connect to my Kenwood KR-A47 receiver, but I have a problem. Disclaimer: I'm such a newbie that I'm not even out of the egg, so please forgive the sheer idiocy of the question.

When I hook the jacks into the phono jacks, I get no sound. I have moved the jacks into all the posible positions and tried all the possibles (aux, CD, etc.). What am I doing wrong?

Do you get anything from the receiver using the other sources? The tuner, CD player or other input? Maybe you just have the Tape monitor switch engaged. You definitely want it going to the phono jacks, but if the other sources work than the phono section may be shot or there is a problem in the turntable.

Do you have another amp to test with the turntable? Or do you have a multimeter and know how to test for continuity?
 
And yes, Boreas, it is similar to the 1100 which has to be an upgrade. You are right on the platter but the arm is better on your Sony. The 230 doesn't even have anti-skate and I don't recall an easy VTF adjustment. It's not here right now so I can't look more closely.
 
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