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Hitachi SD-3120; Any information out there?

Y

Yahn

New Member
Hello everyone,

I have recently come across a Hitachi SD-3210 turntable/receiver combination and can't find any information out there except a basic service manual that lists parts and electrical diagrams. I have taken it apart and connected some loose things. A few light bulbs are burnt out but the turntable holds speed and the radio plays well. It was abandoned in an alley outside of my apartment. Wondering if anyone here has an information about it.

"Manufactured in Japan" is on the back, and "Precision Crafted in Great Britain" is written on the top. Came with two Hitachi 8ohm speakers.

As I sold my previous turntable and receiver (used to have a Marantz 6300 and 2220B) this is my only way of playing records. I think I'll keep it.

Anyone have any actual service recommendations on this? I reached out to a stereo service shop that claimed they do no service combination units so I might just take on this little project myself. I've re-capped several units in the past and know my way around receiver innards.

Cheers!
 

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Styling dates it to the mid 1970s. The turntable appears a bit better than the standard BSR you'd see on most compact systems of the era, since it has a magnetic cartridge and a tonearm with a counterweight rather than a spring. It is idler driven, though, and there's a decent chance the idler is dried out after so many years. The inner rim of the platter might do with a cleaning as well. Platter should be held on with a removable E clip. Generic idlers can be found if a replacement is warranted.

Output power is probably on the order of 10-15 watts per channel.

I'd look up the specs for the cartridge, then rebalance the tonearm. If everything else plays OK then I'd just leave it. IMO it's not worth putting much effort into unless you really like the looks. What, if anything, is wrong with it?

Finding an exact replacement dust cover will be next to impossible, but's possible that there are generics out there that will fit more or less.
 
Initially the function switcher was not working. This was a simple fix as a part inside was disconnected.

All but one light in the tuner display is burnt out. These are soldered in place so removing them would be something I have never done before. Probably will be easy once I try and will improve the look greatly.

The platter is indeed held in place by a clip so I'll look into a idler replacement for this and I'll look at the service manual for the BSR C142 turntable but I haven't found on yet. Know of any generic idlers fitting for this model?

Currently I've played a couple 45s and 33s and the speed is holding well but it probably does need replacement as when the speed switches the platter is slow to spin but something inside sounds like its spinning. So there is a delay between switches speeds and when the platter begins turning.

I also thought I needed a stylus replacement since it was angled off, but I managed to set it back to normal with a pair of tweezers.
 
Which part should be cleaned from here for maintenance or recommendations?

I am assuming just the bearings since after a few plays the speed is accurate. Any other tips?
 

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Yahn said:
Which part should be cleaned from here for maintenance or recommendations? I am assuming just the bearings since after a few plays the speed is accurate. Any other tips?
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My guess is that the old lubrication on the bearing is gummed up. This video shows how to do maintenance on a BSR similar to the one you have. Hopefully that will give you enough info.

 
So after cleaning the turntable levers and re-greasing everything I found that it has a prominent hiccup when rotating. Attached is a graph showing the repetative dips in speed. any tips for solving this?
 

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The period of the speed change suggests a misshapen platter rim (i.e. one slowdown per revolution). Both the motor and idler turn much too fast to have an effect like that.
 
Yes that was definitely the cause, when removing the plate that was stuck from the dried up old grease it acted like a glue that probably made the plate a little misshapen. I tried my best to shape the rim and got it to go from 33.3-33.7 rpm and now it isn't dipping below 33.3 but instead it's periodically going up to 33.7 so more improvement exists.
 
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