45 Setting Spinning Too Fast Technics SL-D2

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nickseman

New Member
Hi all, first post here.

I've just picked up an SL-D2 which is working great. I adjusted the pitch control and it is calibrated perfectly on the 33 setting. But when I switch it to 45, it seems to be spinning too fast. I have to wheel the pitch control down a bit to make it calibrated. Any ideas? I'm pretty new to adjustable turntables.
 
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nickseman said:
Hi all, first post here.

I've just picked up an SL-D2 which is working great. I adjusted the pitch control and it is calibrated perfectly on the 33 setting. But when I switch it to 45, it seems to be spinning too fast. I have to wheel the pitch control down a bit to make it calibrated. Any ideas? I'm pretty new to adjustable turntables.
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You can clean the speed pots to control everything better, but as for what you're talking about...as long as you can get it to 45, I don't think there's a problem per se. Might be something you'd have to open the table up to fix.

Does someone with a little better knowledge want to tackle this one?
 
Even with clean pots I almost always have to adjust my D2s pitch right after changing speed.


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RamblinE said:
Even with clean pots I almost always have to adjust my D2s pitch right after changing speed.
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I guess you have already done it, but just in case, also clean the pitch pot and speed switch - especially the switch, if what triggers the problem is operating the latter. Remember that cleaning a switch (or pot) means applying a contact cleaner on the contacts, resp. the track, not just the case, and then actuating it a number of times to spread and work the cleaner. Often times unsuccessful cleaning is caused by forgetting these two requirements: apply the cleaner where it's needed, and operate the damn thing.
 
jlb2 said:
I guess you have already done it, but just in case, also clean the pitch pot and speed switch - especially the switch, if what triggers the problem is operating the latter. Remember that cleaning a switch (or pot) means applying a contact cleaner on the contacts, resp. the track, not just the case, and then actuating it a number of times to spread and work the cleaner. Often times unsuccessful cleaning is caused by forgetting these two requirements: apply the cleaner where it's needed, and operate the damn thing.
Click to expand...


Check and check on my part but recommend OP do this just to be sure.


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RamblinE said:
Even with clean pots I almost always have to adjust my D2s pitch right after changing speed.
Click to expand...

+1...and definitely clean that pot. Might be best to just take the bottom cover off and clean from inside. I like to use Deoxit D5. Spray into the speed adjustment's openings and work it back and forth a number of times. Repeat once or twice. Then you can pack about 6lbs of modeling clay into the table while you've got it open!
 
The bottom panel is the only way in to my knowledge


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RamblinE said:
The bottom panel is the only way in to my knowledge
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Yes, you are correct.

Re-reading the OP, another thing is that on the SL-D2 the 33 and 45 rpm adjustments are independent so it is perfectly normal to have one speed slightly off when you have adjusted the pitch knob for the other speed. Slightly adjusting (one of) the trimmers will do the trick if the difference is enough to be a nuisance, but as long as both speeds are steady and not too far apart it is not a problem. If you clean those trimmers the right way you will need to adjust them anyway.

Thinking about it even more, it is normal for the 45 rpm stroboscope to be slightly off, because - unlike 33 1/3 - 45 rpm doesn't yield an integer number of dots on the stroboscope disc at any usual mains frequency. If your turntable was factory set using a frequency reference record instead of the strobe (which I don't know) you will always find a slight difference between 33 and 45 when using the stroboscope.
 
Thanks for all the help guys!! What a helpful bunch of folks on this site. I'll try to clean out the switch and the pitch wheel, but it's not even that big of a deal to recalibrate when switching speeds. I suspected it might just be the way the turntable is.
 
One clue that the controls need cleaning is if the speed wavers sort of randomly. When you rotate the external control is the speed changing smoothly or is it jumpy?

Cleaning won't hurt regardless but is especially important if the control acts like it's possessed.
 
vinylengine.com has a service manual for the SL-D2 (free download after site registration). It's circuit diagram seems to indicate that there are two circuit board pots for individually adjusting playback speeds. The front panel pot is paired with either the 33rpm pot OR the 45rpm pot to control a platter speed. For this model turntable it wouldn't matter which speed you adjust first. It probably wouldn't hurt to remove the unplugged turntable's bottom cover, spray the two speed control pots with Deoxit (or other safe electronic cleaner), and work them back and forth with a plastic screwdriver before putting them back close to where they were before cleaning. The manual will tell you which pot controls which speed.

The manual recommends setting the turntable up on supports so you can access the speed control pots from underneath with the plastic screwdriver. Next, set the front panel speed control to the center of it's left/right travel and then let it where it is until after the adjustment process. Then, with the platter running, (a small flat mirror helps with these steps) select a speed and adjust the corresponding circuit board pot until the strobe pattern stops drifting front or back. When satisfied with the first adjustment, select the other speed and adjust the same way with the other pot. These circuit board pots are coarse adjustments. They may or may not end up perfectly adjusted, but this process will at least greatly diminish the difference to be corrected with the front panel control, providing another factor elsewhere isn't messing things up.
 
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