My Technics 1200 project
- Thread starter Montycat
- Start date
I've got a cold one waiting right now!
The speed issue I have been having goes away after the table is on a few or several minutes. It leads me to believe it could be either circuit board related like a cold solder joint, or a component which is flakey until it warms up. A bit odd, but it is rock steady after that first warm-up.
The speed issue I have been having goes away after the table is on a few or several minutes. It leads me to believe it could be either circuit board related like a cold solder joint, or a component which is flakey until it warms up. A bit odd, but it is rock steady after that first warm-up.
I have been playing a few sides every day on this table and the speed instability seems to get better every time I use it. I even exchanged a couple of emails with Kevin at KABUSA asking him his opinion on it.
When I first turn it on it has a tendency to run erratically, a bit fast, a bit slow and sometimes quite a bit fast. If I move the speed pot a touch, it can be made to run at the right speed. Before long it stabilizes at the correct speed and is rock steady after that. The suspicion for both he and I was that maybe the caps or IC in the speed control circuit are failing. But the more I use it the less time it seems to take to run at the correct speed. Today it took only a few, maybe several, seconds before it ran perfectly. Once it does run at the right speed if I don't turn the power off it runs flawlessly. Weird...
If I don't turn it off, and just use the start stop button, I would probably be good forever. :scratch2:
When I first turn it on it has a tendency to run erratically, a bit fast, a bit slow and sometimes quite a bit fast. If I move the speed pot a touch, it can be made to run at the right speed. Before long it stabilizes at the correct speed and is rock steady after that. The suspicion for both he and I was that maybe the caps or IC in the speed control circuit are failing. But the more I use it the less time it seems to take to run at the correct speed. Today it took only a few, maybe several, seconds before it ran perfectly. Once it does run at the right speed if I don't turn the power off it runs flawlessly. Weird...
If I don't turn it off, and just use the start stop button, I would probably be good forever. :scratch2:
drillher
Super Member
Great job on the Technics! Let us know how the speed control problem plays out.Would it be not too difficult to just replace the caps.to see if that solves the problem or not?Having to take it down and go back in is always a bummer.What is thrust plate way and where is it used?
Dave
Dave
Been there, done that on the control cleaning. This morning the speed was perfect as soon as I turned on. If it does not resurface I will call it a successful exorcism. I must not have been holding the rubber chicken the right way.
The thrust plate wax you can get at KAB. It goes under the spindle assembly in the well in the body. In KAB's words:
It's not expensive and since I had it apart and was ordering I might as well get some.
The thrust plate wax you can get at KAB. It goes under the spindle assembly in the well in the body. In KAB's words:
It's not expensive and since I had it apart and was ordering I might as well get some.
Zodia
Super Member
From the top, you have to remove the spindle and place the chunk of wax in the spindle well, then place the spindle on top of the wax and press down gently until the spindle assembly rests on the plinth, you can then secure it with the screws.
John
Correct. The wax goes in easier if you warm it up to soften it, perhaps with a hair dryer or hot air gun, so you can press it into the well first. I just gave it a couple of seconds shot with this:
I finally got around to a couple of other things that needed to be done on this project and it is essentially complete. 
At the moment the 1200 is out of rotation but it will go back to it after I give an SL-1300 a few more spins. When I do I will be able to check out my momentary speed problem which I think I have fixed.
For one, I finally got an arm rest re-installed. I have had it a while but never got around to it. The nice thing about these arms is the offset foot always sits above the tone arm lift so it acts like a rest, though of course has no lock.
Also, underneath where the Cardas wire I got from Kab comes out to his interconnect box has bugged me because it was unsupported. Out of the way but perhaps snaggable. I installed a little cable clamp to hold it up against the rubber bottom. I just used a small screw straight into one of the ribs where the rubber is about twice as thick.
I also changed the pitch slider. I think this will solve the wonkiness on first startup which still happens sometimes. Indications that it might have been faulty were the "double zero" spots just above and below centre where the strobe would stop. Also the pitch LED was always on and I did not know at first that it was not supposed to be. Now the LED is only only at dead centre and the strobe is only dead still at that point.
At the moment the 1200 is out of rotation but it will go back to it after I give an SL-1300 a few more spins. When I do I will be able to check out my momentary speed problem which I think I have fixed.
For one, I finally got an arm rest re-installed. I have had it a while but never got around to it. The nice thing about these arms is the offset foot always sits above the tone arm lift so it acts like a rest, though of course has no lock.
Also, underneath where the Cardas wire I got from Kab comes out to his interconnect box has bugged me because it was unsupported. Out of the way but perhaps snaggable. I installed a little cable clamp to hold it up against the rubber bottom. I just used a small screw straight into one of the ribs where the rubber is about twice as thick.
I also changed the pitch slider. I think this will solve the wonkiness on first startup which still happens sometimes. Indications that it might have been faulty were the "double zero" spots just above and below centre where the strobe would stop. Also the pitch LED was always on and I did not know at first that it was not supposed to be. Now the LED is only only at dead centre and the strobe is only dead still at that point.