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In dire need of help with Tech SL-J2 tonearm dropping to hard

Zodia

Zodia

Super Member
Ok, so i got a Technics SL-J2, in fairly good condition, platter spins tonearm lower and we have audio, it tracks ok with a stanton P mount (forget model) but here is my problem, it is not the cartridge weight, but the tonearm drops like a ton of bricks, i have googled the problem and other owners seem to have the same problem, Can anyone tell me how to go about making the tonearm lower a bit more gentle, and not like a rock?

Now... here's another thing that bugs me, i got the service manual at VE (it says nothing about either "problem"), and in the Service manual this is what the tonearm looks like
Capture-1.jpg

Now this is how the tonearm on my TT looks like
IMG_1338.jpg

Notice something missing?
On the pic it shows a knob with a spring, which i believe is to adjust the VTF, but on mine there is nothing, not even wear marks, where the little knob and spring are suppose to be. Of course this would not make the arm lower slowly, it simply adjusts the VTF.
 
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I now have two of these SL-J2's. From what other people have said and my own observations, this may be normal. I bought a second one because something was intermitent in the carriage on my first one that was driving me nuts. Both of mine seem to have no damping. This didn't seem right at first, but they seem to work ok so have concluded that this must be normal for these. There are other threads where we have discussed this problem if you have not seen them.

They apparently made some changes during production as one of mine has the plastic screw and spring for tracking force adjustment and the other one doesn't. So, I would assume that yours isn't missing any parts.
 
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AAA3330 said:
I now have two of these SL-J2's. From what other people have said and my own observations, this may be normal. I bought a second one because something was intermitent in the carriage on my first one that was driving me nuts. Both of mine seem to have no damping. This didn't seem right at first, but they seem to work ok so have concluded that this must be normal for these. There are other threads where we have discussed this problem if you have not seen them.

They apparently made some changes during production as one of mine has the plastic screw and spring for tracking force adjustment and the other one doesn't. So, I would assume that yours isn't missing any parts.
Click to expand...
Good to know. The one you have without the spring does it have the T4P logo, or do both have it?
I read in the operation manual that, T4P cartridges or something rather meant that they didn't need tracking force adjustments, but since i am using a different cart than the original Technics P mount cart, it may need some for of adjustment.
Still it is scary to see the stylus bang on the vinyl surface (i guess that is what the mute relay is for, so you don't hear the thump everytime :scratch2:), i might just use this TT for junk records, i am not worried about ruining the stylus i have a dozen kicking about so...meh, but i am still going to try and get that operation smoother, probably put some thick silicone grease on the lever that releases the tonearm might do the trick. I'll play around with it for a bit, i just don't want to mess it up too bad, lol, it is a nice sounding TT.

I did see the other threads, one from 2004, but didn't offer much info, so i decided to re-post, if you will.
 
Both of mine use the T4P standard. Any p-mount cartridge should work as long as it complies with the standard. Any Audio Technica or Shure p-mount would be fine. It seems that I read somewhere about a p-mount cartridge that didn't meet the weight requirements for the standard. I think that it was a Grado or something.

On my first table, I tried getting some silicone oil on the pivot like you said. Didn't seem to help, but I didn't put much effort into it either. May just be my imagination, but the second table that I have drops the cartridge fast, but I did notice that the lift arm went down slowly after letting the cartridge down on the record. Would be nice if someone knew for sure if these were supposed to be damped or not. I may try to get some silicone grease on mine too. Kind of hard to get at, but I'll give it another go. Just seems like these arms shouldn't drop so hard.

Here's a good read on p-mount cartridges and the T4P standard:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=281711
 
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Aerobat said:
Here's the cueing action on my SL-J2. Mine seems to drop slowly, so you probably have an issue with yours. I'll take a closer look and see if I can figure out how it damps the cueing.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/370002/SL-J2%20cueing%20002.MOV
Click to expand...

That is what i thought, nice and slow drop. It would be great to know how it works/ where to apply the dampening, i don't want to slap grease on the wrong place, and mess something up, your help is greatly appreciated.
 
Open the lid and pull the tonearm down, then release it. Does it snap back or move up slowly?
 
OK here's a look at mine. It has the aforementioned spring. As you can see, it has a second spring as well. I can't tell if yours has that one.

I ran the cueing up and down several times but it's touch to tell exactly where the damping comes from.

Technics%20SL-J2%20001.jpg


As a bonus, here's a video of the linear motor working for those who are interested:D

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/370002/Technics%20SL-J2%20004.MOV
 
Ok, as far as i can figure, without taking the tonearm assembly apart, is like this (refer to picture below) when you press play the "cart" moves over the record, finds the first track and drops the arm as follows, solenoid (NOID) contracts, this in order makes the lever (circled in red) to move forward, allowing the tonearm to drop (tonearm release),
Untitled-1-1.jpg
I gather that the dampening in somewhere in that area, what i fear is, i may have to disassemble the tonearm "cart" in order to get to it.

Is the other spring the one i marked "spring"?:D
 
Zodia said:
I gather that the dampening in somewhere in that area, what i fear is, i may have to disassemble the tonearm "cart" in order to get to it.
Click to expand...

There's a little arm connected with the solenoid that pivots to lift the tonearm. I assume that's where the damping fluid would go. My biggest problem also is that I think that the tonearm may need to be removed and I'm not real sure how to go about it as it looks like it might be a bit involved.
 
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You might want to retire this one and pick up another. Mine was $20 on CL plus $18 for a new AT cartridge. I'm saving for a better stylus to see what this little thing can do.
 
Nope, can not do that, i am too stubborn to just give up on it. i will figure it out or destroy it trying.
 
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A little update on the current situation, Ok, so i took the tonearm assembly apart found the cueing lever, took that apart and sure enough it was dry, after a few attempts with the silicone grease and other stuff, i got it to drop a bit slower but not quite as slow as Aerobats, but slow enough that i don't fear damage to the record or stylus, the way i did was to actually heat up the silicone grease until it became like "half dried silicone glue" (fish tank silicone), that seemed to do the trick (well sort of).
I am playing it right now, and i have to admit it doesn't sound half bad.

NOTE: i heated up the grease on a spoon over the stove range on a spoon, and i only used very little so it wouldn't spark a fire.
 
Zodia said:
A little update on the current situation, Ok, so i took the tonearm assembly apart found the cueing lever, took that apart and sure enough it was dry, after a few attempts with the silicone grease and other stuff, i got it to drop a bit slower but not quite as slow as Aerobats, but slow enough that i don't fear damage to the record or stylus, the way i did was to actually heat up the silicone grease until it became like "half dried silicone glue" (fish tank silicone), that seemed to do the trick (well sort of).
I am playing it right now, and i have to admit it doesn't sound half bad.

NOTE: i heated up the grease on a spoon over the stove range on a spoon, and i only used very little so it wouldn't spark a fire.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. I'll be looking at mine sometime and this gives me hope. I saw that the service manual tells how to remove the tonearm. Just looks really involved, but maybe it's not as bad as it looks. The little lift arm really does seem to be impossible to get at without some disassembly. Thanks for sharing.
 
It's not too involved, but there are a few things that the manual doesn't tell you, that can slow down the process, so i'll try to explain them the best i can, with pictures :D

Ok first order of business,turn the TT on and move the "cart" about half way, unplug TT with out powering it down, or you can move the "cart" manually, your choice.
Next, remove the dustcover, exposing the tonearm assembly, remove the shielding that covers the tonearm wires, desolder these, as it will make it much easier to move stuff around and it will avoid breaking the wires, of course you'll have to remove the rod that the "cart" rides on, this is the easiest step, remove the white clip, slide the rod to the side where the clip was and it should lift on the opposite side and just slide out, now for the guide rope, you'll have to pry the pulley cover out (the black one that is located on the left side of the tonearm, looking at it from the rear) do this slowly so not to remove the rope completely, as that may complicate things further, once you get the rope free, just let the spring on the white gear contract and note how the rope is wrapped and you'll be fine.


The tonearm is held in place by one screw, loosen it and pull the tonearm out and set it aside
1.jpg

next locate the cue lever spring and pull it out from the top only (DO NOT remove it from the cue lever it will be a pain to put it back on)
Note i did this before removing the tonearm, not really important
2.jpg

Once you have the tonearm out and the spring loosened, flip the "cart" over remove the small screw and plate that holds the cue lever in place
3.jpg

Now here's the tricky part the cue lever assembly is not only held in place with a screw but also with thread lock, why? i have no idea so you may have to use some force here, just try to scrape whatever glue is left where the screw and plate was
4.jpg


with the cue lever out, you're half way there and yet you have one more tricky step to deal with.
The shaft of the cue lever is held in place with a small clip, and i do mean small
6.jpg

I used small tweezers to extract the small clip from the shaft being careful not to loose it, it is not too hard to remove it (mine was already loose, i supect yours may be too), use a upwards motion to remove it, being mindful to keep a finger on top of it so it won't jump.
7.jpg


From here on, do the heat trick on the silicone grease apply it to the shaft of the cue lever, and try it out before assembling the TT, you can do this by inserting the cue lever back in place (remember to use the spring, very important, you will get different results without it), it is going to be atrial and error as to how much grease to apply. once you are happy with it, reassemble everything and give it a spin.
This was my end result. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrcMylfbRY

I think i got it all...
Sorry for the long post, but i hope this helps others looking to fix the cueing on their SLJ2 TT.
Good luck and have fun.

OH yeah i forgot to mention, remove the rubber mat before working on the TT, like a fool i forgot to do it, and got grease all over it, and it was a pain to clean...
 
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