Hot Rodding the Miracord

[voltcontrol]

Open up the bugger and 'do' all the switches.

Follow up the advice given here on de-oxit;
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207005

If you have grease available grease up the bugger (rotating non electrical points) while you're at it. :thmbsp:

 

[WCFR Jock]

There's a switch on the arm operating cam. It disconnects the cartridge output when the stylus is not on the record so none of the mechanical motions (clicks, thunks) of the arm get amplified. That may be where your problem lies.

Bill

 

[davidguilbault]

Muting Switch

Yep, the general consensus here on AK (http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4491116&posted=1#post4491116) is that my problem is a defective or shorted muting switch. After the sound went away, the stop button actually popped out. So, gonna have a buddy here in Seattle (Resound) who has worked on a Miracord take a look. Thanks for the help. Cheers for now. David.

There's a switch on the arm operating cam. It disconnects the cartridge output when the stylus is not on the record so none of the mechanical motions (clicks, thunks) of the arm get amplified. That may be where your problem lies.

Bill

 

[monkboughtlunch]

To reduce rumble, make sure your plinth, motor mounts, idler wheel, and all parts are in top form.

Did you the replacement part number for Elac motor mounts? I wan't to change out the motor mounts on my 10H.

 

[kirk57]

Hot Rod you say? There are beautiful restorations of these old classics in this thread, like pristine old Harleys. I went full-on chopper/bobber since the arm on my Elac model 10 was trashed anyway:

No automatic functions remain, of course. Plinth weighs about 30 lbs without the TT. Ceramic bearings, new idler wheel by Terry DeWick. Very very quiet.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Did you the replacement part number for Elac motor mounts? I wan't to change out the motor mounts on my 10H.

ELAC has not made turntables nor cartridges for many, many years. You have to have mounts made, or find NOS mounts.

 

[malden]

Hot Rod you say? There are beautiful restorations of these old classics, like a pristine old Harley. I went full-on chopper/bobber since the arm on my Elac model 10 was trashed anyway: No automatic functions remain, of course. Plinth weighs about 30 lbs without the TT. Ceramic bearings, new idler wheel by Terry DeWick. Very very quiet.

That's awesome!... How does it turn on and off?

 

[kirk57]

That's awesome!... How does it turn on and off?

Switch on the left turns the motor on. The one on the right engages the idler.
The motor switch is lighted so I don't forget to turn it off.

 

[JFRACE]

I know I'm late to the rodeo, and I'm sure the issue with the arm was taken care of. I've used the cork mat with the raised ridges and that has totally leveled out the arm, as well as used the angled cartridge spacer made for Shure cartridges for the Dual tables and got the same results.

My table was also in shambles when I received it,and I was going to send it back to the seller, but he refunded me the money and told me to keep the table.So I glued the head shell back on with super glue, rewired some of the table, cleaned and relubed it, and sanded the idler wheel and oiled the motor after cleaning it.The plinth was also in bad shape with black paint over spray on it, so I just sanded it down and painted it. I'm contemplating a custom plinth with a thicker wood as well and now use a MM cartridge for changer duties without the mat, and a MC cartridge for use in single play mode with the mat. So it is in I'd say 98% restored condition and is used as much as my Dual 1019,although the 1019 is quieter than the table. I do notice you can hear the motor running (electric current sound). I'm wondering if that can be fixed by new motor mounts or not. If so, where does everyone go to get theirs redone?

I'm attaching a few photos of the before and after,as well as the arm and cartridge running parallel to the record. The first one is the day after I got it up and running

 

[mshepard]

Kirk,

I agree with Malden.....that's great! How is the chassis plate supported on the base? It's hard to tell from the photos but it looks like there is a gap which would indicate that there are still springs under the chassis plate.

 

[janikphoto]

I use my miracord as a dedicated 78rpm player. I love that table!

 

[kirk57]

Kirk,

I agree with Malden.....that's great! How is the chassis plate supported on the base? It's hard to tell from the photos but it looks like there is a gap which would indicate that there are still springs under the chassis plate.

The top plate is bolted directly onto the plinth, in the same manner as the Lenco plinths I've built. The photo does make it appear otherwise, but there is no gap at all between the top plate and the plinth, by design. This is only possible with all the auto function mechanism removed.

I also cut the top plate and added the rounded part back on so the top plate is pretty much square. I used bondo to fill the gap. This took a while to do!

 

[mshepard]

I can see that the chassis plate has been modified to square dimensions. Did you "section" it and then mig weld it back together? Looks good in any case. Well done. So, did you weld nuts or female threaded pieces on the underside of the chassis plate and run machine screws up from the bottom side? I have been trying to come up with a way to do this that doesn't require me to have to completely refinish the chassis plate and of course welding or brazing would mar the finish making refinishing necessary. I thought about using epoxy to attach the threaded pieces underneath and that's the path I am currently on. Not great in tension but there doesn't need to be much torque on those machine screws anyway.

I don't know anything about Lencos except that they have a loyal following. How does your "hot rod" compare to the Lenco tables you have or have had?

 

[kirk57]

I just bolted it down from the top through holes I drilled in part of the top plate that is recessed for the platter.

Yes, I cut the end section off with a metal blade on my table saw (boy was that a noisy operation!). SInce I have no access to welding equipment I used epoxy and some re-enforcing metal plates to reattach the sections. It seems solid enough and tolerated aggressive use of an orbital sander without cracking... I was worried about that I can tell you.

As far as comparing the ELAC with the Lenco, they have completely different tonearms so I'd hesitate to say. But the ELAC is very quiet and rumble free, and that was the goal.