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Problem with Pioneer PL-530

AnteEB

AnteEB

Member
Hi! I've posted this at vinylengine and thought I would give it a shot here as well. I have a Pioneer PL-530 turntable that works great except one problem. When the tonearm gets close to the center of the record there seems to be some mechanism that kicks in and shakes the tonearm. When the tonearm gets closer to the center it gets stronger and stronger.

You can hear this like "tics" and you can even see the cartridge shake a little, I think it's one "tic" per revolution.
It's only apparent on records that have a small radius on the inner grooves, on most records you don't notice this. It's like this mechanism kicks in at a certain point where the radius is very small.
Maybe it has something to do with the auto-return mechanism?

Has anybody had the same problem or knows what this could be?

Regards
Andreas
 
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You could always take the bottom off and watch the turntable from below and see if you can find the resistance?

That's what I'd do and I'm a dummy. :D
 
Yes I've opened it a day ago and had a look. Didn't see anything that seemed to make any resistance when I moved the tonearm. Maybe I should take another look. :)
 
The problem is in the mechanism that activates the auto-return. There is a brass pin which protrudes from the underside of the platter. There is also a white plastic lever that is linked to the tone arm so that as the tonearm moves toward the spindle the lever does too. At the appropriate point the pin strikes the lever and deflects it to the right, actuating the auto return sequence.

Your problem is that the pin is striking the lever a little too early. The pin just brushes the lever lightly without engaging it fully. That's what makes the "clunk" you hear. Eventually the pin completely engages the lever and the return works as normal.

The solution is to adjust the return point. There is a brass screw down inside a hole to the left of the tonearm pivot. It's accessible with the arm returned to the rest. Turning the screw clockwise moves the engagement point closer to the spindle. Counter clockwise moves it away from the spindle. You want to turn it clockwise.

This is a little tricky since you'll be simultaneously adjusting the drop point of the arm. The two are interdependent on Pioneers and some other turntables. You're aiming for a "sweet spot" where the pin engages the lever just at the point where the arm enters the dead wax but also where the drop still occurs in the lead-in groove and not in the first several "data grooves". Not hard, just a little fiddly.

John
 
Thanks John. I've tried to adjust the drop-point with the screw but the problem is still there. I even adjusted it so that the needle drops half-way into the first song but there is still these clunks at the end of the record.

It has probably something to do with the pin and the lever but maybe there is some other adjustment you can do for the auto-return?
Maybe it's something completely different that causes these clunks?
 
AnteEB said:
Thanks John. I've tried to adjust the drop-point with the screw but the problem is still there. I even adjusted it so that the needle drops half-way into the first song but there is still these clunks at the end of the record.

It has probably something to do with the pin and the lever but maybe there is some other adjustment you can do for the auto-return?
Maybe it's something completely different that causes these clunks?
Click to expand...

I had two PL-560s (same mechanism except the pin was on a nylon collar around the spindle, as I recall). It was impossible to completely eliminate the thunks. Even with the most careful adjustment they would occur on LPs where the run-out was particularly small (long playing time). One of the 560s was so bad that the arm actually got knocked back a groove or two. I was able to get rid of that problem with an adjustment but the thunks were still there (and audible through the speakers, by the way). My PL-530, as I recall, didn't suffer from that problem.

John
 
My PL-530 was having similar problems as the OP and skipping near the end of LP's with long sides. I opened it up and had a look at what was happening below. There is a bracket that moves along with the tonearm and activates the plastic lever under the platter. On this bracket is what appears to be an adjustment screw that is plastic with a metal nut. Unfortunately, the nut was glued to the plastic screw so I just cut the end of the screw until it left a little more room before activating the plastic lever. Auto return works as it should and doesn't try to activate early anymore.

Thought I'd share my solution in case anyone else has this problem. And in case you're worried about cutting the screw too much, you could just replace it with a proper screw and adjust it accordingly.
 
Last edited:
heypeterman said:
My PL-530 was having similar problems as the OP and skipping near the end of LP's with long sides. I opened it up and had a look at what was happening below. There is a bracket that moves along with the tonearm and activates the plastic lever under the platter. On this bracket is what appears to be an adjustment screw that is plastic with a metal nut. Unfortunately, the nut was glued to the plastic screw so I just cut the end of the screw until it left a little more room before activating the plastic lever. Auto return works as it should and doesn't try to activate early anymore.

Thought I'd share my solution in case anyone else has this problem. And in case you're worried about cutting the screw too much, you could just replace it with a proper screw and adjust it accordingly.
Click to expand...

That was spot on! I have now fixed the problem after two and a half years!
Thanks everyone that tried to help! :thmbsp:
 
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