Ok, please be kind. I have a potentially stupid question. I have a Yamaha YP 511 turntable and it seems that the direct drive motor has failed. The correct replacement is basically unobtainium. Could I find a replacement generic DC Servo motor that has the correct dimensions and substitute it? If this is possible what would need to be considered?
Potentially stupid question...
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mkane
Lunatic Member
Here is the thing with many turntables with electronics. They have circuit boards. Many are over 40 plus years old. Boards fail. Bad capacitors and or chips. Doubt your motor is bad. Personally I don’t use them for that reason. My Duals are mechanical. Biggest issue is dry grease that slows or stops them. Once serviced with new grease and motors cleaned they run a long time. My 1219 << pictured ran 4 yrs then serviced the motor 4 years later. Since I had it apart 8 yrs ago the second time took 20 minutes! Just got these two. A 1219 and 1019 my bench turntables. Really didn’t need the 1019 on the right but had to have one!
Eric
Eric
Here’s the pic of bench Duals
Yeah I hear you, I have a Dual CS510 in the bedroom and it's great but the Yamaha is special and it belonged to my father.
Has it been cleaned and lubricated?
Right, since its a direct drive with power off or unplugged spin the platter and see if it spins freely and for a decent amount of time, if not it needs lubrication .
AudioFeline
Super Member
Don't worry about asking a basic (or advanced) question. Every audiophile starts at some stage or another without any audio knowledge, and built it slowly by asking questions and gaining experience. And it is such a complicated (and evolving) field that it's impossible to know everything.
Multiplex
Appease my earhole.
I would definitely be inclined to suspect electronics rather than the motor itself. I'm not sure about Yamaha specifically, but most direct drive motors have quite a lot of poles. If the windings were fail on just one, it seems unlikely that it would quit completely, but who knows... If the motor can easily be disconnected from the board, perhaps you can test each coil individually? If the platter spins freely, besides a bad coil, or dislodged/cracked magnet, I really can’t imagine what could go wrong with the actual motor.
I’m sure you’ve checked already… but before going through all of that, I’d start by double checking that all of your switches and pots are good and clean. Look for obvious stuff like bad traces and solder joints, or swollen, leaky caps. Make sure power is switching on to the motor circuitry when you start the turntable, and that speed control switches and coarse fine pots are making contact/working. Also, if you can find a schematic, make sure that the power supply is fully functional. Make sure that it is producing all proper voltages, since most will supply several different outputs. Make sure DC is clean. Bad filter caps could introduce ripple that could affect operation. If that all looks good, I would still be more inclined to suspect drive circuitry, or maybe some kind of feedback circuit. DD turntables usually have hall sensors, optical sensors, or even what looks like a tape head to read a magnetic track on the platter, and correct speed. There can be a lot to check there. But start with the obvious simple stuff.
The easiest solution would probably be to wait until you can find a beat up donor turntable for parts, and maybe try swapping the power supply, boards and/or motor. Maybe see if different models in that line could possibly share some common parts? That could broaden your search.
I’m sure you’ve checked already… but before going through all of that, I’d start by double checking that all of your switches and pots are good and clean. Look for obvious stuff like bad traces and solder joints, or swollen, leaky caps. Make sure power is switching on to the motor circuitry when you start the turntable, and that speed control switches and coarse fine pots are making contact/working. Also, if you can find a schematic, make sure that the power supply is fully functional. Make sure that it is producing all proper voltages, since most will supply several different outputs. Make sure DC is clean. Bad filter caps could introduce ripple that could affect operation. If that all looks good, I would still be more inclined to suspect drive circuitry, or maybe some kind of feedback circuit. DD turntables usually have hall sensors, optical sensors, or even what looks like a tape head to read a magnetic track on the platter, and correct speed. There can be a lot to check there. But start with the obvious simple stuff.
The easiest solution would probably be to wait until you can find a beat up donor turntable for parts, and maybe try swapping the power supply, boards and/or motor. Maybe see if different models in that line could possibly share some common parts? That could broaden your search.
T68
Super Member
I agree with previous posters that it most probably is something in the buttons, switches or electronic wizardry that is causing the problem and not the motor itself.
And I am also with Eric. This is why I tend stay away from vintage direct drives from the seventies/eighties and stick with turntables that run directly on mains AC.
It is easier to clean and relube than chase electric gremlins. But that´s just me. If one is comfortable and competent with schematics, multimeter, scope and soldering iron it is of course not that hard to fix electonic stuff either.
But back to OP: good luck, I hope you can get your yammy running again!
And I am also with Eric. This is why I tend stay away from vintage direct drives from the seventies/eighties and stick with turntables that run directly on mains AC.
It is easier to clean and relube than chase electric gremlins. But that´s just me. If one is comfortable and competent with schematics, multimeter, scope and soldering iron it is of course not that hard to fix electonic stuff either.
But back to OP: good luck, I hope you can get your yammy running again!
Crab33
Super Member
I do hope you get it sorted, as the YP-511 is a lovely turntable. I had one in the late-70s/early-80s and the motor failed within the first year, although I'm not sure the problem was the actual motor. After being fixed, it worked well for years until I eventually sold it. I now have another example but because of my previous experience with this model, I use it sparingly and am careful with the On/Off switch. Since this turntable has sentimental value for you, I would get it fixed but use an alternative turntable as my main workhorse.
kyle
Super Member
You can get the service manual at Vinyl Engine:
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/yamaha/yp-511.shtml
It has the parts list for the whole table and schematic for the controller board.
I think you're screwed if it's the motor.
If you look on HiFiShark, there are a few for sale. One for $260 which would be less than the cost of getting a tech to check, clean and replace 5 caps.
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/yamaha/yp-511.shtml
It has the parts list for the whole table and schematic for the controller board.
I think you're screwed if it's the motor.
If you look on HiFiShark, there are a few for sale. One for $260 which would be less than the cost of getting a tech to check, clean and replace 5 caps.
The thing is that there are a few things that can be checked or done before deciding that the motor is dead. And without a specific reason to suspect it, the motor usually isn't dead, or even the source of the problem. Like many other direct drives from the era, this Yamaha should have a good chance of being repairable.
electric motors are one of makings most reliable inventions, definitely more likely some electronic part that's failed.
kyle
Super Member
That was the "if"