Mitsubishi LT-30 restoration
- Thread starter kotofei
- Start date
nukemicrosoft
Vintage Good....BPC BAD!
(Edited - My LT-30 issue has been partly resolved, but other problems have cropped up, so it’s heading to a tech for a thorough going-over - I’ll update this post again when and if I have any updates!)
Hello all,
I’ve recently acquired a non-working LT-30 which was described as needing new belts. After my tech examined it, he said new belts have already been installed (by the previous owner, who claimed it needed new belts), and something else must be causing the issue(s).
The main symptom is that there’s no arm lift movement up or down, and no motor noise from the arm lift motor when manually lifting or lowering the arm. Also, the arm movement left/right buttons don’t move the arm, although if I firmly force the arm off the arm rest position, the horizontal movement motor takes over and proceeds to move the arm all the way to the end of the record, then it stops and stays there.
Unfortunately it seems one or more people already attempted repairs, and some hardware is missing, some soldering has been done, and the “tonearm base moving shaft” has been permanently fastened in place so it can’t be removed without a great deal of force and/or complete disassembly of the frame (the bolts that held it in place are gone, and it can’t be moved at all even with great force applied). To those familiar with the internals, you’ll know that this makes it impossible to remove the arm to do any further troubleshooting.
Things that do work: all the arm transport lights seem to work, the only one I haven’t seen light up is the ‘arm lift - down’ light. As mentioned, the horizontal movement seems to more or less work; once it’s forced off the arm rest, manually moving the arm left or right causes the left or right arm movement lights to come on, and the motor seems to move the arm accordingly; leaving the arm centred causes it to stop moving left or right and the center position light to come on. The platter starts turning when it’s supposed to, when pressing the play button or the platter on/off button - which also properly stops the platter.
I realize there will be other work that likely needs to be done with replacing lights and aligning things, but for now my main concern is the arm lift motor seemingly not working, and the inability to access the tonearm internals.
Anyone got any suggestions for how to proceed? I can check the arm lift motor with my multimeter, but I’m not sure what configuration I should have the tonearm in, to make sure I’m testing it properly.
Any help or suggesting are greatly appreciated!
Hello all,
I’ve recently acquired a non-working LT-30 which was described as needing new belts. After my tech examined it, he said new belts have already been installed (by the previous owner, who claimed it needed new belts), and something else must be causing the issue(s).
The main symptom is that there’s no arm lift movement up or down, and no motor noise from the arm lift motor when manually lifting or lowering the arm. Also, the arm movement left/right buttons don’t move the arm, although if I firmly force the arm off the arm rest position, the horizontal movement motor takes over and proceeds to move the arm all the way to the end of the record, then it stops and stays there.
Unfortunately it seems one or more people already attempted repairs, and some hardware is missing, some soldering has been done, and the “tonearm base moving shaft” has been permanently fastened in place so it can’t be removed without a great deal of force and/or complete disassembly of the frame (the bolts that held it in place are gone, and it can’t be moved at all even with great force applied). To those familiar with the internals, you’ll know that this makes it impossible to remove the arm to do any further troubleshooting.
Things that do work: all the arm transport lights seem to work, the only one I haven’t seen light up is the ‘arm lift - down’ light. As mentioned, the horizontal movement seems to more or less work; once it’s forced off the arm rest, manually moving the arm left or right causes the left or right arm movement lights to come on, and the motor seems to move the arm accordingly; leaving the arm centred causes it to stop moving left or right and the center position light to come on. The platter starts turning when it’s supposed to, when pressing the play button or the platter on/off button - which also properly stops the platter.
I realize there will be other work that likely needs to be done with replacing lights and aligning things, but for now my main concern is the arm lift motor seemingly not working, and the inability to access the tonearm internals.
Anyone got any suggestions for how to proceed? I can check the arm lift motor with my multimeter, but I’m not sure what configuration I should have the tonearm in, to make sure I’m testing it properly.
Any help or suggesting are greatly appreciated!
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I am working on getting mine up and running as well. I am not sure what you are referring to above. Can you post a picture? In order to remove the chrome shaft that tone arm rides on, there are two very tiny 2.5mm allen scews that are recessed which need to be removed from underneath. They make look like they are missing but they are there. The two phillps screws that are on the back of the tone arm need to be removed as well.
Have you downloaded the service manual for it?
https://elektrotanya.com/mitsubishi_lt-30_sm.pdf/download.html#dl
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Hi.I need your help! 
I am working on a X-10 (or MC-8000) that uses the same principle as all the other Mitsubishi vertical turntables.
In mine the arm is not tracking.
The light is ok (I can see the reflection of it) and when I move the arm with my hand inner or outer the reflection gradually hides.
Measuring the voltage coming out of the sensor it is very low and varies ex. from around 500mv to 450mv. Is this correct? Is it enough voltage to modify the condition of the comparator which will eventually trigger the motor?
In the pic below you can see that this model uses only one bulb and one sensor for tracking (to the left below) and goes to the first half of IC103 (tracking servo legend):
Any clue?
Thanks in advance!
I am working on a X-10 (or MC-8000) that uses the same principle as all the other Mitsubishi vertical turntables.
In mine the arm is not tracking.
The light is ok (I can see the reflection of it) and when I move the arm with my hand inner or outer the reflection gradually hides.
Measuring the voltage coming out of the sensor it is very low and varies ex. from around 500mv to 450mv. Is this correct? Is it enough voltage to modify the condition of the comparator which will eventually trigger the motor?
In the pic below you can see that this model uses only one bulb and one sensor for tracking (to the left below) and goes to the first half of IC103 (tracking servo legend):
Any clue?
Thanks in advance!
Edit. I was able to figure it out. In my photo it goes around the spring loaded plastic pulley on left and then the stationary one on right. Before the stationary one, it wraps twice counter clockwise on the metal gear just left of the stationary pulley.
And the belt I want to replace is the simple one that drives this gear area shown.
Sorry for bumping an old thread. I can start my own of that's better. Does anyone have the details for how to reinstall the metal belt looking thing? My version of the LT-30 appears slightly different.
I'm wrapping around the spring loaded plastic piece on left and then the metal and plastic piece on right. That side is near the small belt.
Also, I can't see a second belt at all. Where is this located and how can I see if mine is missing?
My issues are it won't track (although I can manually track by spinning the motor. That belt is very weak and should be replaced). And it won't cue or return. All the other functions are working, save for the 33 lamp, somehow.
And the belt I want to replace is the simple one that drives this gear area shown.
Sorry for bumping an old thread. I can start my own of that's better. Does anyone have the details for how to reinstall the metal belt looking thing? My version of the LT-30 appears slightly different.
I'm wrapping around the spring loaded plastic piece on left and then the metal and plastic piece on right. That side is near the small belt.
Also, I can't see a second belt at all. Where is this located and how can I see if mine is missing?
My issues are it won't track (although I can manually track by spinning the motor. That belt is very weak and should be replaced). And it won't cue or return. All the other functions are working, save for the 33 lamp, somehow.
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