I have tried to measure pivot to spindle as accurately as possible and seems to be exactly 215mm. Have not tried to measure tonearm length yet. Stylus to pivot is difficult to measure, maybe just tube length?
The Official -Technics SL-1600/1700/1800- Owners Thread
- Thread starter Roivas
- Start date
Balifly
Listening
According to the published Technics specification:
Effective length: 230mm
Overhang: 15mm
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/technics/sl-1700.shtml
It's been a while now since I have talked about my funny alignment issue. Going back to this aforementioned Technics specific arc protractor, I set stylus exactly at 52 mm from mounting, seems to match exactly to Ortofon's recommendation for OM where front edge of upper mounting part just lines up with the end of the headshell slots. The stylus would track the arc precisely (so the effective length should be exactly 230mm) but whole headshell appears to be angled inwards at both null points. Since I want the cartridge being straight in the headshell because of aesthetics I would align stylus for inner null point only. Outer null point would then fall more towards edge of the record.
Elliot1217
New Member
Hey all, new to the thread, and didn't have time to read all the posts, but I recently acquired an sl 1800 mk2 on ebay. Grew up listening to my dad's 1700 and wanted to find something close, anyhow. I took it a local engineer and had it tuned up after I got it. Took it apart, oiled it up, deoxified the pots, cleaned the components, and when we fired it up we couldn't get the dots to remain on the strobe, every .5 to 1 sec it would jump a bit and come back...has anyone experienced this before? If so, how did you fix it?
I recently got a SL-1600 for only $50. I already have a bunch of TT (SL-1300, SL-1301 and SL-1600MK2), so I'm getting this one as a gift for a good friend. It is in good cosmetic condition, but I cannot get the speed to lock. I've already cleaned up all of the pots with Deoxit, but the problem still persists. The speed fluctuates up and down and the same rate (in both 33 and 45). I've also lubed and cleaned the contacts on the motor. I doubt that it is the motor as these rarely go bad and I'd suspect it is related to the motor control board. I've read people suggesting re-caping the board. Before I go that route, I wanted to check is somebody has advise on how to better diagnose which components on the board could have failed. Thanks in advance!
sunvalleylaw
Addicted Member
Thread watched. Learning about turntables to upgrade to from my old Technics SLB-350 belt drive. I am in no rush. But definitely considering the 1200-1800 series and thinking my budget is in the 1300 and up range.
Hi, I picked up a SL-1600 Mk2 recently. Fairly rough shape. Something like cola was spilled into the power button, and the brass plunger is frozen inside the bushing. Trying to free it without destroying. Soaking it in PB Blaster etc. Anyone ever have a problem like this?
Hi all. I recently purchased a dual voltage SL-1600MK2. (Already have SL-1600MK1 from before).
The cue button did not work at all so i glued a little rubber washer onto the cue button on the pcb which was badly wornout and it works like new again.
There is another problem with using auto start.
When autostarting from the tonearm rest the stylus is lowered onto the record waaay too much forward in the record grooves but when autostart is used from the repeat then it is lowered in the right place and it is same for 12" and 7" records. In other words the start point for normal play and for repeat play is not at the same position.
I suppose it should be something to do with optical sensors but something tells me it is better not to touch those sensors.
I haven't noticed anyone ever had this problem here??
EDIT: The cueing belt is still the original yellow one and surprisingly still in great shape!
BTW, anyone knows hiw to permanently disable the muting switch? I guess desoldering the yellow wires is one way to go but that looks so barbaric
The cue button did not work at all so i glued a little rubber washer onto the cue button on the pcb which was badly wornout and it works like new again.
There is another problem with using auto start.
When autostarting from the tonearm rest the stylus is lowered onto the record waaay too much forward in the record grooves but when autostart is used from the repeat then it is lowered in the right place and it is same for 12" and 7" records. In other words the start point for normal play and for repeat play is not at the same position.
I suppose it should be something to do with optical sensors but something tells me it is better not to touch those sensors.
I haven't noticed anyone ever had this problem here??
EDIT: The cueing belt is still the original yellow one and surprisingly still in great shape!
BTW, anyone knows hiw to permanently disable the muting switch? I guess desoldering the yellow wires is one way to go but that looks so barbaric
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Roel Welters
Member
Did you remove all of the old grease from the mechanics? The gears get sticky through the years...
Yeah. There are only 3 plastic gears. 2 round ones and one long one under the tonearm and they were all very clean and lubed. I cleaned them and relubed again with lithium grease as usual.
It seems like there is something inside like an interrupter that tells the tonearm when to stop moving and lower the stylus. And these seem to be separate for normal play and repeat play as it stops in different positions.
It seems i would need to sneak in under the tonearm base as it moves to see what is going on but that is just impossible.
Other than the autostart set screw by the counterweight there is really nothing to adjust. Still although there is a very good turntable repair guy in my city i am very stubborn man and determined to find a way to fix this myself.
Airjmax
Active Member
I’m in the club! Lucky garage sale find a couple blocks from me. Extremely good condition, with the exception of the dust cover, which has some marks on it. I polished most of them out and it looks much better. Really impressed with this table. Definitely high quality, with the possible exception of the headshell. Does anyone recommend an upgrade from the plastic stock one? I’ve cleaned the unit since these photos were taken, and put it in service. The thing works flawlessly.
We have the same salt and pepper shakers....
justjed2
Super Member
I bought an SL-1800 in that condition a couple of years ago. The headshell was designed to be idiot-proof, and it pretty much is, since even I could do it! Single screw adjustment, just set your stylus distance. I have a 35yr old Shure/Realistic R47XT cartridge with hyper-elliptical stylus installed in the original headshell, and it sounds very good. When I want something different, I have an Ortofon 2M Blue in an Ortofon SH-4 headshell, which also sounds very good. Not as easy to set up as the original Technics headshell, but not difficult. The SH-4 is about $35-40....
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Airjmax
Active Member
Thanks for answering my query about the headshell. Not looking to mod this table, but it seems that the headshell might be a tiny bit below the quality of the other components. I bought the SL-1700 with a Yamaha CR-620 receiver and some ADS L-700 speakers for $100. Everything was in tip-top condition. The previous owner laid something on top of the 1700’s dust cover, and it reacted with the plastic, leaving some marks. Otherwise, the thing is in near-mint condition. It has an AT cartridge, but I can’t see any numbers on it. I examined the stylus with a loupe, ani it is in fine condition. Super happy to have this unit. No wonder this thread was started and keeps growing.
justjed2
Super Member
The original series SL-16/17/1800 are great decks, and kind of a sleeper. Most people want quartz-locked speed control like the MKII decks, and look down on the servo-controlled models. Mine is plenty stable. I wish it had the adjustable-height tonearm, but that's my only gripe, and it's a small one. She's a keeper!
That was a darn good deal .... firmly in scroe territory. I find those head shells to be perfectly fine ... not plastic by the way.
The cartridge is going to be one of the variations of the AT11e, AT12e, etc. Model # will be on the top. Unfortunately you can't assess stylus wear / condition with a loupe ... you need much more magnification.
MacNoob
dazed and confused
Yes! These are cast metal of some sort, and no troubles with them at all unless you want to use some alignment other than factory (since you can't twist the cart in the headshell).
Technics DID have plastic headshells later in production... but yours isn't one of them.
I have both 1600mk1 and mk2.
Yes mk2 has VTA, better tonearm and quartz control but it does not autoshutoff and no memo repeat like original 1600 does.
Plus mk1 is dead easy to modify for shellac playback.
Airjmax
Active Member
Thanks for the info. The loupe I used is 45x magnification. That's not enough to check for wear?
