My Garrard Lab 80 Obsession

[GP49]

My guess without further details and without seeing the machine is that the arm isn't going into its "shut-off" mechanical mode, but only to the 12" setdown position, due to the mechanism being hung up due to old, hardened grease. It will be difficult to diagnose by writing back and forth, but someone experienced in servicing the Lab 80 could probably figure it out, hands-on, in a few minutes.

But it is still possible that the setdown position of the entire tonearm is badly misadjusted.

Without the long spindle, with one or more records on it, your Lab 80 should go back to its arm rest and shut off, after every automatic changer cycle.

 

[jmccanna]

I will take a look under the hood and see if it needs a cleaning. Probably does given its age. Thanks for the reply. Doing taxes now so it will be a little bit. God I love tax season! Not.

 

[efhjr]

I just purchased this beauty for $50US. It's my second Lab 80 (sold the first one to a good friend). It's in very good shape, and included a spindle and instruction manual. Overall, I'm quite happy with the purchase.

There's even a Pickering V-15/AT-2 cart installed; can't wait to hear it!

I'm assuming this is a Mark II table, correct?

It did not, however, include the Amplok cable, so I can't power it up or listen to it. Judging by the diagram, this is a terminal for the power and tonearm signal leads, right? Does anybody know of a source for these things? Or can I just cut the leads and attach my own signal and power cables to the table (although I'd rather not do that).

 

[GP49]

That is a Lab 80, late production with Mark II tonearm turret. The Lab 80 was so popular that Garrard ran out of the tonearm turret for the original model and substituted the Mark II one on the production line.

Amplok plug in the Lab 80 handles only the mains power and chassis ground. Signal is by dual RCA connectors on the chassis, if so equipped (official USA imports were built this way), or by soldered-in wires to the muting switch assembly (many built for the British home market). If you want to rig up your own wiring, the Amplok wiring is shown in image.



Gary at Voice of Music (V-M Audio Enthusiasts) has Amplok cords for sale but I don't know if the V-M ones are wired the same as Garrard. Some appear to lack the ground connection, for one difference.

The Brown (From Switch) is a power feed, if a user wanted to turn an amplifier or other equipment on/off using the Garrard power switch.

 

[efhjr]

Gary at Voice of Music (V-M Audio Enthusiasts) has Amplok cords for sale but I don't know if the V-M ones are wired the same as Garrard. Some appear to lack the ground connection, for one difference.

Thanks for the tip. I just bought one of those cords; may as well give it a shot.

Next I need to figure out where the tonearm's signal leads are. And then to replace the grease; it's black, but the action on the mechanicals is surprisingly smooth and easy.

 

[GP49]

The illustration shows a Garrard Lab 80 Mk II but a Lab 80 (Mk I) is the same for this discussion.

Note the tonearm wiring (RED arrow) going from the base of the arm under the SHIELD.

If you have a Lab 80 with RCA jacks, they are where the GREEN arrow is pointing. This one has stock Garrard cables on
it...GREY - Left channel, BROWN - Right channel.

If you have a Lab 80 without RCA jacks, you will have to solder cables to the MUTE SWITCH, where the BLUE arrow
is pointing. To do this you will have to unclip the SHIELD and move it aside carefully...be cautious because the
tonearm wiring is clipped to it and you do NOT want to break those thin wires. Follow the bottom diagram, to see
where your cables have to be soldered in.

 

[efhjr]

I got under the hood and found that this table does have RCA plugs. Great! One less thing to worry about.

I've got an Amplock cable on its way and hope to get this thing making music again soon.

Thanks again for all your great assistance over the years, Gene.

 

[efhjr]

Gary at Voice of Music (V-M Audio Enthusiasts) has Amplok cords for sale but I don't know if the V-M ones are wired the same as Garrard. Some appear to lack the ground connection, for one difference.

I received the Amplok cord, and you're correct, no ground connection. I've got hum alright. Any idea how to solve that?

After I removed the platter, I was happy to find the hardware's in very good shape. Idle wheel is in good shape, and the motor continues to spin for quite a while after it's powered off.

I cleaned off and replaced old grease but the record-changing action is not behaving, which is weird because it's just a bunch of levers, but hey, another puzzle to solve. More on that later.

 

[GP49]

Find a convenient screw on the Lab 80 chassis, and connect your ground wire there. You will note that on the Garrard Amplok socket, the GREEN wire, which is the ground, is connected to the screw holding the Amplok socket to the chassis. That's as good a place as any to secure your ground wire.

The Lab 80 is about a half-century old; any of the lubricated parts could have dried, hardened grease impeding their motion. What's it not doing?

 

[efhjr]

What's it not doing?

The record-changing functionality isn't functional. So the stacking spindle isn't dropping records, and the tonearm isn't lifting up automatically at the end of an album. The tonearm seems to need some adjustment, as it doesn't want to go down without pressing the cue adjustment (maybe the damping fluid needs replacement?).

And dang, I sure with I could find one of those manual play spindles. They seem as rare as hen's teeth.

 

[charlesdemar]

I think the Lab 80 uses the same single play spindle as the Type A and some others. I could be wrong. When I get home I can verify because I have one for each.

 

[GP49]

The Lab 80 and Type A/A70 manual spindles differ. The Type A (also RC88/98) one will not fit into the hole in the Lab 80's
centrepost. But if you have one, a machine shop should be able to turn it down to a diameter that will work in the Lab 80.

I have had a wood shop turn Lab 80 spindles out of hardwood, which I then finished with epoxy resin.

"The record-changing functionality isn't functional." Does this mean the unit does not enter its automatic cycle, not even when you throw the AUTO control tab? If so:

The two common causes are an inoperative auto trip mechanism, and a stuck main cam/gear. If the trip mechanism operates
(it is serviceable by removing the platter...there are instructions in the owner's manual and the service manual) a lever
that stops the main cam/gear from rotating is lifted and under spring tension from the levers that it drives, the main cam/gear
rotates and the gear teeth on its periphery engage with the pinion gear on the rotating centre hub. The rotating platter and hub
then drive the main cam/gear through the change cycle. But if the fifty year-old lube grease in the
center axis of the main cam has dried out and hardened (actually it's a matter more of WHEN than IF), the main cam cannot
rotate freely under that force, does not turn so its gear teeth engage the pinion gear, and the unit never cycles.

The cure is to dismantle the mechanism (take lots of pictures) so that you can remove the main cam...it may take
some heat from a soldering iron or mini-torch to soften the old, dried, hard grease...which will allow you to clean
all that old stuff out thoroughly with solvent, making sure that both the center bore of the main cam and the shaft
on which it turns are absolutely clean; then reliubricate. White lithium grease is good, and current formulations
are not as subject to drying out as the old stuff.

 

[ipozestu]

Anyone rewired their Lab 80 arm? I'm about to take the MK1 down for some service and rewiring the arm is one thing I'd like to do.

 

[SFBayArch]

I just finished up putting together another Lab 80 from the best parts from a handful of tables and then plopped it on a custom base. I mounted a Stanton 681EEE and now I've fallen in love all over again with this sweetie from Swindon!

 

[SFBayArch]

The Lab 80 Mk I is now parked in my primary listening area along with the Thorens TD-126 MK II

 

[SFBayArch]

Here's a review of the Lab 80 from the April 1965 issue of High Fidelity magazine:




.

 

[SFBayArch]

I have about 2 dozen vintage ads from hifi magazines featuring the Lab 80.
This is a good place to share them, so here goes...








.

 

[Cscarlet41]

I have about 2 dozen vintage ads from hifi magazines featuring the Lab 80.
This is a good place to share them, so here goes...


View attachment 966113

View attachment 966117

View attachment 966118

.

Looking forward to seeing them all!

 

[sberger]

These are great. Thanks Hugh!

 

[SFBayArch]

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