Ariston RD11 Motor and Pulley

[avole]

If you have the RD11 then it's an early one, preceding the LP12 in fact. The RD11S if memory serves came later and was produced by Ariston after the company had been sold to Dunlop and is a significantly different turntable.

The RD11 was largely made by Castle Precision Engineering (Linn) and will have the same main bearing as the LP12, which means it's difficult to get better quality. Also means you could apply the Linn upgrades, too, it is the same as the first LP12. It'll have a better bearing than the 11S, too, so you have been lucky.

 

[vsop4me]

Thanks Avole, I did not know about the earlier models having better bearings. I have cleaned it up and it is running extremely quiet considering how old it is. I ma building a new plinth for it but keeping the original boxed up in case. The new plinth will be just a bit more robust but I am keeping it as a boxed plinth instead of making it too solid as I would like to improve the sound but hopefully keep the "musicality" of the original. Good to be lucky every so often.

I am currently missing the 45 adapter that goes over the pulley but not a huge issue since I only have a few 45s and have another turntable that will play those.

I'll post pictures when done.

 

[melvsals]

Here it is

I have also just purchased the rd 11 the pulley on mine is plastic, I need to replace it as the belt seems to sit on the bottom, where can I get a replacement, thanks first time on here hope it gets out there

 

[19joey58]

I have a 1973 Ariston rd11 serial number 0000499cdn

It is an early one and appears identical to first lp12 as mentioned all over the forum

I recently purchased it and restored it putting it all back to original but I am having a problem with the pulley / motor

The motor runs smooth quiet and spins true but the pulley wobbles excessively and is impossible to set true

It appears to be aluminum and looks like the dual 33.3 / 45 pulley seen on the web in all brass
These appear to go in later rd80 or rd11 superior and have a spring and c clamp on top to secure and shaft is much thicker with a notch on tip

I think I have this pulley ...BUT the previous owner put a brass shaft in the hole trying to make it smaller to fit the shaft of the current motor with SIX little set screws to centre which is IMPOSSIBLE to get true


What should I do?


If I buy linn motor it comes with fixed pulley that would work ...kinda

BUT I would apparently have speed problem when I put the belt on because the platters on Ariston and lp12 are not the same inner and out diameters

Then I have the whole 50hz vs 60hz motor and pulley size thing to keep in mind

I am at my wits end...as the title says...please help
Thanks
Joe

 

[tube-a-lou]

If you indeed have a early RD11 some parts are exchangeable with the linn LP12.
The later ones like the one I had with the button on the right side under the
tonearm did not, is there any stickers on it say where and when it was made ?

Tube

 

[melofelo]

You can also try lowering the suspension a few mm..adjusting each spring in turn not more than 1/4 turn at a time. It should help the bass response and overall sound quality somewhat.
As you lower the plinth..make sure the belt does not come into contact with the underside of the platter or touch anything during normal rotaton. Also check as you lower the platter that the armboard is free to bounce along with the sub chassis without touching the plinth or coming into contact with anything that would interrupt that vertical bounce. A gentle tap is all that is needed to check this.

It helps to ensure the platform the table is on is level first..front to back and side to side...then the plinth is level to the turntable support..(sometimes a thin shim under the feet will compensate for any compression of the feet over the years if they are made of rubber,foam,etc)
Finally, lower the platter with a record in place to also be level front to back and side to side. and relative to the topside of the plinth.
This is called suspension tuning...with a rough objective of achieving approximately 4-5 hz vertical bounce when just right Once set, it should work most effectively at filtering out external resonances and also recover from any physical or acoustic disturbances as quickly as possible when the entire suspension is set in motion and come to rest within a couple of seconds at most.
Tip:
Rotate each spring so it is vertical before you commence lowering...and hold each spring steady to stop it rotating as you adjust the bolt in the middle...
Hope you get it working properly again..
The three point suspended Aristons can sound excellent when in a good state of tune..so persevere :thmbsp: