Please help: testing the speed on a Thorens TD-125 Mk2

[hallogallo]

Hi All,

I was just wondering if anyone could possibly help me / advise on the following?

I am picking up a Thorens TD-125 Mk2 tomorrow, which I’m really excited about! The previous owner has assured me of the following:

That it’s in very nice working order, has been recently serviced, and has had little use since servicing.
The speed stability was excellent when he tested it last, and as the electronic board was replaced/renewed a few years back, and has seen very little use, wear should not be an issue.
It is fully set up and ready to play with no malfunctions.

I’ve no reason at all to doubt him on the above, he seems like a nice genuine guy.

He’s asked me to “test it for speed etc before departing, although there no cartridge” So my question is: what is the best way for me to test the speed of the TD-125? (without a cartridge to hand!) I am pretty much a novice and have no real experience with this table yet, so any advice on how I should go about testing the speed would be HUGELY appreciated!

If there’s anything else obvious / straightforward I should be casting my eye over before picking this up, please do let me know as well. Although it does sound like it’s in pretty good shape, he’s been very straight forward, and I’ve asked him quite a lot of questions already!

Huge thanks for any help

 

[Scott Ucman]

Hi All,

I was just wondering if anyone could possibly help me / advise on the following?

I am picking up a Thorens TD-125 Mk2 tomorrow, which I’m really excited about! The previous owner has assured me of the following:

That it’s in very nice working order, has been recently serviced, and has had little use since servicing.
The speed stability was excellent when he tested it last, and as the electronic board was replaced/renewed a few years back, and has seen very little use, wear should not be an issue.
It is fully set up and ready to play with no malfunctions.

I’ve no reason at all to doubt him on the above, he seems like a nice genuine guy.

He’s asked me to “test it for speed etc before departing, although there no cartridge” So my question is: what is the best way for me to test the speed of the TD-125? (without a cartridge to hand!) I am pretty much a novice and have no real experience with this table yet, so any advice on how I should go about testing the speed would be HUGELY appreciated!

If there’s anything else obvious / straightforward I should be casting my eye over before picking this up, please do let me know as well. Although it does sound like it’s in pretty good shape, he’s been very straight forward, and I’ve asked him quite a lot of questions already!

Huge thanks for any help

You could download a turntable speed app on your smartphone. I use turntable tabulater. It works pretty well for me.

 

[tnsilver]

The TD-125 has a built in strobe. Use that.

 

[bimasta]

The strobe Tnsilver mentions is in front — a small window which shows the strobe-marks, with a small red wheel to adjust speed.

 

[hallogallo]

Ah, fantastic, I was hoping that just checking the strobe was all I had to do. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything more than that, or that cross-checking with another method was needed?

So in an ideal world, I'd get it spinning and the strobe line would be static both on 33 and 45, right? And if it's not, and I have to use the small red wheel to adjust, that's not the end of the world either?

Thanks so much for putting my mind at ease! Thought I might have to turn up with Stroboscopic Discs etc!

 

[Blue Shadow]

Well if the table is adjusted correctly the red wheel will be centered and the speed as indicated by a stationary image on the strobe will be that way for all three speeds without touching the red wheel.

If you need to adjust the red wheel for 33 to be accurate when 45 was accurate well that is an internal adjustment that can be made as there is a pile of variable resistors to fine tune the speed for each of the three speeds.

As long as the red wheel is close to center for correct strobe on all speeds that is probably good enough for an old table like this. A fresh rebuild will after adjustments center the red wheel and leave it alone for accurate speed on all three speeds. Part of the electrical set up of the machine in the service manual.

 

[hallogallo]

Well if the table is adjusted correctly the red wheel will be centered and the speed as indicated by a stationary image on the strobe will be that way for all three speeds without touching the red wheel.

If you need to adjust the red wheel for 33 to be accurate when 45 was accurate well that is an internal adjustment that can be made as there is a pile of variable resistors to fine tune the speed for each of the three speeds.

As long as the red wheel is close to center for correct strobe on all speeds that is probably good enough for an old table like this. A fresh rebuild will after adjustments center the red wheel and leave it alone for accurate speed on all three speeds. Part of the electrical set up of the machine in the service manual.

That's really helpful, thank you. The 'speed stability was excellent' last time he tested it apparently, so hopefully the wheel will be centre or close for all 3 settings. If not, I've downloaded the manuals for potential adjusting.

Thanks again everyone, I'll sleep easier tonight!

 

[hirscwi]

They're not difficult to adjust. Two versions: Mk I and Mk II are slightly different. The service manual has cleaer instructions. I'd recommend replacing the electrolytic capacitors if you're going to open it up. Only a few.