Denon DP-40F Revision

[mazzel]

Hi everyone,

as mentioned in the introduction thread I would like to revise my newly purchased Denon DP-40F and make it fit for the next 40 years
Since we listen almost exclusively to vinyl these days, I like to keep my gear in working condition.

Testing the TT at the seller showed that all functions are given. However, I think some parts should be changed to avoid some collateral damage later on.

Therefore I would like to get some hints what should be done on this TT.
I guess changing some capacitors would be a good start, since they might got dry over the years, especially the ones near the cooling plate (the U-shaped thing).


Also, there are some capacitors on the power unit which I cannot identify, maybe someone has a hint what to look for, since the outer shell seems to be a little broken.

Here are some pictures of the Boards, maybe someone sees more candidates for changing!

I will keep posting more questions along the way, just want to start with ordering spare parts now

Thanks a lot,
Marcel

 

[mazzel]

I hope it's fine to mention some of the members here that have experience with the Denon DP-40F. Just want to make you guys aware of this thread and hopefully get some of your valuable experience if needed

@Marcham93
@RobertoP
@TrevorBarten

Thanks a lot in advance!
Marcel

 

[TrevorBarten]

I changed out all the capacitors on mine which made the capacitive touch work again. I think that that was mostly caused by the caps on that front pcb. I would suggest just carefully recapping the entire thing as there really aren't that many caps in there. Just be sure to go board for board and don't do everything at once in case something goes wrong. I would also suggest maybe replacing the quartz lock potentiometers with some modern more sensitive once and going through and readjusting the entire thing to spec. It's quite fiddly.

 

[mazzel]

Hi Trevor,

thanks a lot for your reply!
If you say caps, you mean the electrolyte caps, right? Did you also change the big candy-like capacitors for the power unit? I have no idea what kind of capacitor this is or how to read the specs...
In another thread I also found the hind to replace black legged Transistors and it seems I have quite a lot black legged ones.

 

[TrevorBarten]

Hi Trevor,

thanks a lot for your reply!
If you say caps, you mean the electrolyte caps, right? Did you also change the big candy-like capacitors for the power unit? I have no idea what kind of capacitor this is or how to read the specs...
In another thread I also found the hind to replace black legged Transistors and it seems I have quite a lot black legged ones.

Yes the electrolytic ones. Idk about the transistors. I didn't go that in depth with this record player so I may be wrong but if it's working right now I wouldn't change those. The caps you show in the picture are probably functionally fine even if the housing is damaged.

 

[mazzel]

So, I'm back, sorry for not writing anything for almost 6 months.
The truth is, the Turntable was stored away disassembled since I had no time and passion to start, yet.

So, the last 2 days I decided to first assemble the turntable and make sure it works properly before starting to replace any parts. Otherwise I would get crazy searching for the cause of potential errors and not knowing if I caused it or it was faulty before.

So, here we are, the turntable is assembled and generally working. Just some issues which I have no idea how to solve, yet. Maybe someone has an idea

Let's start!

1. Speed: 33 is working, 45 not. This issue I probably caused, since I moved the magnet detector below the plate and it took me some tries to adjust it back to make 33 work. Also, in the service manual, it's mentioned I need and oscilloscope to adjust the speeds properly, which I don't have... Any way to do it without an oscilloscope?

2. When starting the record with the touch control, the motor only starts when the needle is going down. Unfortunately, the motor does not speed up fast enough to reach 33 rpm before the needle touches the record. If I start from the beginning of a record, that's not mich of an issue. however, if I change the track with touch controls, it does not sound nice. shouldn't the motor start spinning when the tone arm is above the record?

3. the touch control/locate button does not match with the record size. I repositioned the button so that it fits 30 size records, but if I turn the button/knop to 17, the tone arm will hit the motor shaft in the middle of the record. I did not adjust the relevant VRs according to the service manual, yet.

4. sometimes, the tone arm will not go back to tone arm rest when finished playing a record. the tone arm lifts, I can hear a rattle sound, tone arm drops again. This seems to be a mechanical issues, since it does not happen all the time.


I think that's it for now
Thanks a lot for support in advance!

Greetings from Beijing,
Marcel