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Mitsubishi LT-30 restoration

Pio1980 said:
In spite of this I've been very pleasantly surprized with excellent results from the DL-110 thru the formerly unappealing ESP P-06. So much so that I played a succession of 5 records until I just ran out of evening.
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Playing records is always a good sign of a unit's quality. :thmbsp:
 
Yep. I can think of no other indicator of enjoyment than "# of records played in succession".

My LT-30's been sidelined for a few weeks after moving my Sony 2251 into its place. I think its time to move it back...I miss it!
 
Greetings
I am new to the forum just today. I also have a LT-30 it was purchsed new many years ago and it is awaiting its second set of belts for the tone arm vertical and horizontal movement. somewhere in all of my moves I have lost my manual for set up of the tracking and etc. do any of you folks have the set up procedures for the set screws for this TT. Also this thing is sweet 8.5 out of 10 and after the new belts are installed it's heading for E bay if any of you folks are interested let me know ASAP
 
A question or two for the DIY LT-30 crowd...

Has anyone done an LED swap for the regular bulbs under the table? Would these sensors recognize LEDs? I ask this because I like the benefits of longer life & less heat.

Next, upon breaking down the tonearm assemblies, or general use, are there any lubricants recommended to use safely?


I have had a LT-30 since new. I'm ready to revive it. It was the last table I ever bought new. Heck, I still have my Sonus Dimension 5 on it. I got it after having an LT-5v, then a few other tables (JVC, Thorens w/Rabco & a B&O >Boring & Ostentatious<.
I found the LT-5v a great conversation piece, but not practical for the many import 45s from the 1980s I had. JVC was just OK, the Thorens was sensitive to even slight breezes & B&O's P-mounts were dead sounding to me.
Glad I'm not the only one who recognizes how good these tables are... even as a Punk/ New Wave/ Experimental/ Alternative/ Bluegrass listener.

Cheers! - Gum
 
I've used lithium grease on some of the plastic gears to keep them operating well. Also, sewing machine oil on the metal parts that require occasional lubrication. Never had a problem.
 
The tonearm lift on mine was sticking and needed a few drops of light oil to free it up. It's a spring-loaded vertical shaft that's moved by the nylon gear.

Otherwise, as MRL said, just a general cleaning and greasing of the gears. I assume you're replacing belts.

If you're interested, Pio and I modded the tonearm wiring to reduce the cable run and the capacitance. That thread is here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=405707
 
Wow... you guys really monitor this thread!

I have printed out the tonearm wiring mod already - great stuff! Kudos on everyone's well documented hard work!

I spend most of my hobby time working tiny bench-top repairs/ mods. School age kids limit that time though.

Belts are definitely in my future, as well as a close look at the foot decay & any solutions if so. I assume lubing the moving parts could be essential for smooth micro-tracking that our LT series 'tables perform. I was ready even if I needed a whale-oil type clock gear oil. I'm happy to throttle back on my OCD on that front then.

I am currently refurbing some 70's Marantz receivers and I'm finding LEDs are a lot of fun for me to change out. I won't hesitate to try the LED mod on my LT-30. I do have 6 or so more various turntables, just because I couldn't stand to see a perfectly good 'table scrapped. The LT-30 is my "King's 'table" for sure.

Thanks, - Gum
 
I thought seriously about subbing LEDs when I started my project but decided I needed it done sometime before hell froze over as I tend to overthink and overdo, turning a weekend project into another never-ending 'someday-finished' shelf queen. Nonetheless they will need to be the smaller LEDs to fit with appropriate current limiting resistors.
 
Oh, I am not a fan of the cold blue of LEDs either. But since they run cooler, changing their color spectrum is easier. I use colored straws layered (when I can) to get the shade right. Another trick is the cover an LED bulb in super glue and dip it in baking soda for omni-directional light dispersion.
 
Straws like cocktail straws or some others?
Gum Parker said:
Oh, I am not a fan of the cold blue of LEDs either. But since they run cooler, changing their color spectrum is easier. I use colored straws layered (when I can) to get the shade right. Another trick is the cover an LED bulb in super glue and dip it in baking soda for omni-directional light dispersion.
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Kotofei; Regular drinking straws, about the size of a pencil or pen - like you would get at fast food restaurants. Grocery stores have them in party packs with different colors. I usually only need a half an inch at a time.
 
Good (Fri)day all, today I am in the process of removing the tonearm assembly from my LT-30 in order to bypass the muting switch.

There is one part of the process that has me stumped - step 9 of the "Removal of Tonearm Ass'y" section in the SM says to:

Using a hexagonal wrench (1.5mm) loosen the two screws (G) shown in Fig. 3, and draw the tonearm base moving shaft to the extreme right.
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My problem is, there are no screws where the diagram points to. And no - I didn't remove them! So I assume that a previous owner must have removed the screws. As soon as I opened it I could tell that someone had been in here before me, several of the screws for the bottom cover were missing, and much of the wiring had been routed differently than the pictures I've seen here and in the SM.

So... moving on. Problem two. I find the wording slightly unclear, do I need to slide the pole through the hole so that it clears the rollers at the bottom of the tonearm assembly? That's what I think it's saying but I want to make sure. It's going to take a bit of effort to unjam this thing. I tried moving it with my fingers and it wouldn't budge. I lubed it up with some WD-40 and tried to get it to soak in, didn't help.

Any insight you gents could provide on this process would be amazing!
 
philviral said:
Good (Fri)day all, today I am in the process of removing the tonearm assembly from my LT-30 in order to bypass the muting switch.

There is one part of the process that has me stumped - step 9 of the "Removal of Tonearm Ass'y" section in the SM says to:



My problem is, there are no screws where the diagram points to. And no - I didn't remove them! So I assume that a previous owner must have removed the screws. As soon as I opened it I could tell that someone had been in here before me, several of the screws for the bottom cover were missing, and much of the wiring had been routed differently than the pictures I've seen here and in the SM.

So... moving on. Problem two. I find the wording slightly unclear, do I need to slide the pole through the hole so that it clears the rollers at the bottom of the tonearm assembly? That's what I think it's saying but I want to make sure. It's going to take a bit of effort to unjam this thing. I tried moving it with my fingers and it wouldn't budge. I lubed it up with some WD-40 and tried to get it to soak in, didn't help.

Any insight you gents could provide on this process would be amazing!
Click to expand...

You'll need a 1.5mm metric allen wrench. The screws are tiny set screws down in the holes at the ends of the rod. Once you loosen them, the rod will side out of the way. Here's a tip -- tape the rod in place so it doesn't slide around if you flip the table upright.
 
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