Pioneer PL-630 - From Boat Anchor/Hangar Queen to Beauty Queen

[pustelniakr]

I originally purchased this PL-630, for $32, from Ebay (she came from Hawaii), intending her to be a hangar queen (parts unit). However, the "Restoration Artiste" in me (inherited from both of my parents) would simply not let me break her up for parts. I enjoy a good challenge and this girl provides that, in spades.

She is badly corroded, inside and out, and looks like she has made a couple of passes through a hamburger grinder.

It has taken me a full 10 years to acquire the parts I need to to make her sing and turn heads, once again. So many folks that are parting out gear feel that their parts are made of gold, so patience is imperative.

I want to publicly give kudos to my friend, and fellow AK'r, @CohibaJoe , who refused to sell me any parts. Instead, he prefers to give them to me as gifts, and toss in the shipping as well. I have seen him step up for several others here as well. This fellow is one of AK's finest. Great karma be upon him.

Initially, I did not intend to restore this unit, so I never did an initial assessment. However, after 10 years in my inventory stacks, it is time to effect a resurrection. Here are the assessment results:

• Due to some previous shipping event, the dust cover, plinth, tonearm & gimbal, counterweight, and platter have been badly damaged (likely from the platter and counterweight bouncing around under the dust cover during shipping).
• The silkscreen on the control panel has been almost completely scuffed off
• The plastic of the power and signal input panel has been rendered crumbly and destroyed
• The tonearm rest is crumbly and broken off
• Two feet are missing their pads, and the suspension is completely collapsed
• The foot boots are completely rotted to tiny bits
• The baseplate is badly corroded
• The tonearm internal stop does not limit back rotation
• The headshell is missing
• The tonearm lift function is inop, and no tonearm drive motor activity
• The "Auto" and "Disc Size" selection functions are inop
• The "Speed Select" control will select nothing but "45"
• The "Start/Stop" control is completely inop, and is seized up
  
• The platter is exhibiting "run-away" (rotation at maximum speed and torque)
• The platter wants to start up in the reverse direction 1/2 the time
• The meter is slow to respond, and inconsistent in presentation

In short, this machine came to me as a boat anchor, and, in some ways, looks like it has been used as one.










More to come, as developments develop...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[buildingnut]

Awesome Rich, looking forward to this restoration and renewal. Your posts are always very educational and helpful to so many, Thanks for taking the time and sharing with everyone!!

 

[pustelniakr]

OK. Here is where this girl is right now...

Although I thought I had a need for an unobtainium control chip, the inop tonearm control/drive functions have been cleared up. First, the seized "Start/Stop" button was due to dirt and corrosion. The supporting switch is just fine. I cleaned and lubed the button and housing, and all is well there. The "Auto" switch was badly oxidized, so some patient work there was able to produce reliable operation. These 2 operations freed up the "Disc Size" selection and "Start/Stop" functions to operate correctly.

I thought that I needed one or two additional unobtainium control chips for the platter run-away problem. However, patient work with the badly oxidized "Speed," "Quartz Lock," and "Pitch" controls appears to have cleared up the inability to select other than "45", as well as the platter run-away problem, although I have yet to determine why. I won't be satisfied until I can explain why.

Using wax for a mold, and JB-Weld as a substrate, I was able to fabricate the missing parts of the tonearm rest, and its latch similar to what was done in this post: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/in...er-ct-f900-transport.67191/page-2#post-660705

Adjusting the rotational position of the internal stop, cleared the lack of rotational boundary for the tonearm.

Freeing the seized tonearm drive motor, and installing a replacement for the missing drive belt, has cleared up the lack of tonearm lift and drive.

I installed my OEM headshell, with Shure V15-III with SAS stylus, and was able to optimize the tonearm settings for it. I was then able to accurately set the stylus drop point. Also, strangely, the "Repeat" drop point is actually in a useable spot (very unusual).

Polishing the internal signal connections has yielded a good connection to my phono preamp.

This girl is still butt-ugly, but she is now fully functional and singing sweetly.

I have just purchased a replacement for the badly corroded baseplate, from Ebay. Also, I am waiting for the replacement counterweight that @CohibaJoe is sending me. I believe that I now have all that I need to make this girl into a beauty queen, once again.

Now that full functionality appears to have been restored, actual "restoration" activities can begin forthwith, as previously posted here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/restoring-a-pioneer-pl-630-turntable.92333/

She still wants start in the wrong direction 1/2 the time, but I think that calibrating the motor drive will clear that up. The anti-reverse circuits work and the platter quickly corrects itself, as it should.

More to come...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[CohibaJoe]

This girl could be on "Extreme Makeover". But she is in Very Capable hands. Let me add to the "cosmetic" work.

Besides the Counterweight....also going to send you a Nice Control Panel and Patter.

 

[pustelniakr]

This girl could be on "Extreme Makeover". But she is in Very Capable hands. Let me add to the "cosmetic" work.

Besides the Counterweight....also going to send you a Nice Control Panel and Patter.

View attachment 753126 View attachment 753127

Hi Joe,

Your kind heart is showing again. However, please hang on to the control panel and platter. All I need to make this girl complete is a nice counterweight. I bought a pristine control panel back in 2008, and a pristine platter back in 2009.

I wish I had opened this girl up back then, so I would not have been surprised by the condition of the baseplate, and I would not have had to pay what I just paid for the replacement. I don't know how I missed seeing the condition of the counterweight, but you have stepped up with a nice replacement.

Let the transformation begin...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[pustelniakr]

By the way, due to the initial condition of the internals of this girl, I will be giving her the full-Monte restoration, as well as the full cosmetic treatment, but I could not, in good conscience, sell her to a customer. I have a local customer that wants her, but he will get the fully restored, and cosmetically pristine, machine that is currently occupying the left-hand PL-630 slot in my main rig. The subject of this thread will take its place in the vacated slot, for at least a year or two before I consider selling her. If there are any latent issues, due to her previous storage sufferings, they should ring out by then.

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[pustelniakr]

I thought I had this one fully functional, but I guess I did not. Platter torque is a bit weak, but she does try to regulate speed. I have no idea how, considering that the oscillator board is dead. Neither quartz nor RC oscillators run. How in the world this thing spins the platter anywhere the correct speed is completely beyond me, but it won't stay that way. I will analyze the heck out of this one. Meanwhile, I am on the lookout for an oscillator board for this baby (actually just the oscillator chip (Pioneer PD1003). It appears that the internal chip connection to power is open, since none of the internally pulled up control lines pull up at all. I may have to put this one back on the shelf, for a while, and do a cassette deck or two, while I'm waiting. I've waited 10 years, I can wait a bit longer...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[rcs16]

Nice work Rich,

That is a shame, having a unique Pioneer IC inside. I guess you need a parts unit to fix a parts unit
I will take a look to see the function of the IC and see if there are other possible replacement options = re-design
I see you have some nice old test equipment in the background pics.
A quick answer to the T/T running at close to speed, a PLL consists of a VCO, it has a natural frequency, running open loop it must be within in the capture range of the PLL or it will never lock or be in synch. The phase detector steers the VCO so that the phase diff is 0 or control voltage is steady when the VCO and the reference are in synch.

 

[pustelniakr]

Nice offer, but don't bother. I am a design engineer of 31+ years of experience. I could design such a mod, but I am a strict stickler, regarding "restoration." Keep it stock, as designed. In fact, I might even be able to duplicate the oscillator chip's function(s) using a programmable logic chip, or a dedicated PIC processor, and have it use the original pinout. I'm just not gonna do that.This principle is the reason that I go silent in folk's restoration threads, when they start talking about modding this and cutting off that, and replacing these with those, etc.

Yes, restoring the hangar queen has, and will likely continue to require contributions from parts units. As it turns out, another proprietary chip gave up the ghost last evening. This unit appears to have been left out in the elements for a long time. Plastic parts are fragile and crumbly, evidence of exposure to the sun. Also, There is lots of corrosion, evidence of rain and salt. I have the required tonearm drive chip, connected with a tonearm I purchased a few years ago. The oscillator chip remains outstanding...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[hertzdonut]

The oscillator chip remains outstanding...

Thought I might have been able to help, Rich, but unfortunately, the one chip I have is a PA2005.

Jeff

 

[pustelniakr]

Restoration Update

It has been a while since I have laid hands upon this patient. We have had a couple of monster monsoon rain storms (1.5" in 15 minutes, followed by over 3" in 15 minutes, 4 days later), flooding my home, and revealing the need for roof work. I have had to take my old rear end out and dig in the dirt, after designing some functional surface drainage, and up on the roof in 106 degF @ 85% humidity. Then my car is throwing a code a week before it has to pass inspection for registration,and a myriad of other issues. I returned to my bench today.

The platter drive anomalies were indeed due to a completely dead oscillator chip (Pioneer proprietary, PD1003). Neiither the quartz oscillator, nor the RC oscillators ran at all. I am at a complete loss to explain how she functioned at all, except maybe for the possibility of sneak paths and noise. Our friend, @CohibaJoe, blessings be upon him, stepped up with an oscillator board, which he did not think was functional. As it turned out, the oscillator chip was completely functional, and the motor drive snapped to full functionality, and dialed right in.

While troubleshooting the previous issue(s), the tonearm drive chip (Pioneer proprietary, PM6001) gave up the ghost, causing the tonearm to want to drive back to the rest immediately after the platter was dictated to start turning. The lead-out groove detection circuitry had died. As it turns out, a tonearm that I had purchased years ago for this unit had the circuit board attached, and the chip from that board corrected the issue.

This old girl remains butt-ugly, but she does appear to be singing sweetly once again. I am enjoying some Pink Floyd, DSOTM, as I type this. Here is a well-deserved shout out to our own @CohibaJoe, who made this musical enjoyment possible on this machine.

Now to the standard restoration operations, recap, and the solution of the cosmetic issues (and they are legion)...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[pustelniakr]

Restoration Update

Well, this unit is a good exercise in what can go wrong with these units. The power supply, oscillator board and tonearm and its drive have been fully restored. While enjoying her singing, and verifying that she survived all of that surgery, after several hours of play time, another chip gave out, and the platter took off at top speed. This was a worsening thermal problem, as the day went on, and was traced to the PA2004 chip on the platter drive board. The meter showed that the speed was too high, so the platter frequency generator was functional. The PA2004 converts the frequency generator signal to a speed indication voltage that is compared to a reference voltage. When the problem occurred, the platter drive chip (PA2005) started receiving a floating voltage on the speed voltage line that was lower than the reference voltage, hence, it never saw that the platter was spinning fast enough.

I am beginning to believe that this unit spent some time under salt water, at least a bit. It is the only way I can explain all of the electronic and cosmetic damage.

Thank the Holy One, I was inspired to purchase a platter motor assembly from an Israeli seller on the Bay, just the other day. It only cost me $9 + shipping, and it came in with its circuit board broken, but it did have the chip I needed. I would have paid that amount for just the chip, and now I have several other useful parts as well.

In a couple of days, unless something else lets go, restoration of this unit should be complete. Here is crossing my fingers...

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[hertzdonut]

Rich, amazing work (as usual!) I don't even want to imagine where this would've ended up if it had been in lesser hands. I look forward to updated images!

- Jeff

 

[pustelniakr]

Well, I will have to suspend working on my Hangar Queen again. We had a wind storm a couple of nights ago, and it blew my roof off. I only discovered it last night. I'm glad it did not, and has not, rained since the roof departed. My restoration work would be at an end, since most of my valued test equipment and vintage inventory is under the affected roof areas.

Rich P

 

[tri_pod]

All the best, Rich. Amazing work you do.

I have done something similar with a Micro MR-711 and know the dedication and patience this kind of work take.

Regds

tri_pod

 

[xlbee]

Rich, wow! Are you ok? Is the family ok? Are you able to affect repairs before further damage occurs?

 

[pustelniakr]

Here is the beginnings of fun, shortly after discovery by my neighbor, from his 2nd story window. The roof had folded up over the pitched roof portion, and we had just began the process of dragging it back to where it could lay flat enough to cover it with plastic sheeting. There was alot more sweat before that was possible. We are in the middle of our monsoon season. High wind and rain will likely destroy my ability to restore stereo equipment, since my irreplaceable test equipment and inventory are under the exposed area. They are saying that we are not likely to get a new roof for a week or more. Frankly, I'm terrified.

Enjoy,
Rich P

 

[Overundr1]

Nice work sir. Know about that roofing thing. Katrina and Rita did the initial damage, repaired that. We have had several severe straight line windstorms this year creating more havoc roof wise. I used to run up the ladder with a full shingle bundle on my shoulder, now creak up the ladder with a few at a time, hate this getting old thing for sure. Anyways I also understand the wet gear issue. Lost a portion of the roof over the shop a few years ago and ended up replacing 40' linear of cdx decking and 8 bundles of shingles in 95 degree heat between rain events. Good thing I have a compressor and a couple of nail guns.
-Lee

 

[hertzdonut]

They are saying that we are not likely to get a new roof for a week or more. Frankly, I'm terrified.

You have my best wishes and thoughts for a calm and rainless week! Hang in there, Rich!

- Jeff

 

[pustelniakr]

After many delays, under-staffing, storms, fits and stops, we now have a reasonable semblance of a roof. It took almost four weeks to get the rain sealed out again. Plastic sheeting is not a reliable roofing material. I was taking the internet radar weather images intravenously. I kind of know what it feels like to have incoming mortar rounds dropping around one's position in a fox hole. Watching those radar image fireballs coming from all around the state was exhausting. Such storms lead with high winds (bad for plastic sheeting), when I had to be on the roof, hoping none of the lightning bolts had my name on them. When the rain would start, I would go inside and man the buckets and towels. This was pretty much at any time, day or night...not much sleep or appetite through it all.

We are actively engaged in finishing what the roofer left undone, and digging out from under, indoors. It was touch and go there for a while, and quite a terrifying experience, overall, but we came through with much less damage than was possible. My restoration bench is back in service, and that means a lot.

Thanks for your prayers, and for the grace and mercy of the Holy One.

Rich P