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Re-wiring an SL-23 tonearm

mr_wetland

mr_wetland

Well-Known Member
Hello AKer's I'm back after a long sabbatical, restoring my old house has given me no time for playing with our hobby, although I still have a main setup and listening to music. Now that the project is coming to an end and I'm moving my collection to my dedicated listening/rotating/repairing room, I have an upgrade I'd like to do.

My brother recently found my 1977 Technics SL-23 turntable stored in his garage in North Carolina. We can't quite figure out how it got there, but he was kind enough to shop it back to me. I've replaced the belt, oiled the bearing, cleaned the pots, etc. I even took it apart and put a walnut veneer on the plinth which I think looks awesome and really gives it some class. However, when I had her open cleaning things out underneath, I pulled a couple of the headshell wires out, and can't seem to figure out what goes where. I soldered things back to where I think they belong, but still get a terrible hum. Trying to fix that I screwed up some other wires, and now I think I'm better off starting from scratch.

I see videos for re-wiring an SL-1200, which is quite a different animal, but nothing for the SL-23 or its cousins. SO, where can or should I get a new set of tonearm wires, where do the different connections go, and why are there five wires instead of four? The schematic in the service manual is no help for this. How do I bend the wires past the pivot point? Etc... Someone out there must have had to do this at some point, and I would appreciate any guidance I can get. I remember that I loved the way this table sounded, and would like to get it back in operation. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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mr_wetland said:
Hello AKer's I'm back after a long sabbatical, restoring my old house has given me no time for playing with our hobby, although I still have a main setup and listening to music. Now that the project is coming to an end and I'm moving my collection to my dedicated listening/rotating/repairing room, I have an upgrade I'd like to do.

My brother recently found my 1977 Technics SL-23 turntable stored in his garage in North Carolina. We can't quite figure out how it got there, but he was kind enough to shop it back to me. I've replaced the belt, oiled the bearing, cleaned the pots, etc. I even took it apart and put a walnut veneer on the plinth which I think looks awesome and really gives it some class. However, when I had her open cleaning things out underneath, I pulled a couple of the headshell wires out, and can't seem to figure out what goes where. I soldered things back to where I think they belong, but still get a terrible hum. Trying to fix that I screwed up some other wires, and now I think I'm better off starting from scratch.

I see videos for re-wiring an SL-1200, which is quite a different animal, but nothing for the SL-23 or its cousins. SO, where can or should I get a new set of tonearm wires, where do the different connections go, and why are there five wires instead of four? The schematic in the service manual is no help for this. How do I bend the wires past the pivot point? Etc... Someone out there must have had to do this at some point, and I would appreciate any guidance I can get. I remember that I loved the way this table sounded, and would like to get it back in operation. Thanks in advance for any help.
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You can try removing the headshell connector. Usually there are screws underneath.

The cable can be forced to enter the tonearm and go through any turns necessary by using a tiny nylon/thread string as a helper. Google pages on tonearm rewiring, they will show you similar info on how to make the wires get past.

Of course this assumes you are dissasembling the tonearm. That is, removing the tonearm bearings so you have full access to the tonearm tube.
 
Thank you Flavio, I do intend to take the tonearm apart as much as I can. Now in all honesty, I had it apart once before and tried using the wires from an old computer mouse (which seemed like a good substitute) and had trouble bending them around that corner at the bearings. Are these wires still too thick? And is there a fifth wire (beyond the green/red/blue/white) that goes to the headshell? A separate ground wire?
 
In general, it is a good think to try to avoid taking arms apart - the possibility of losing, damaging or badly adjusting bearings is not negligible. But too late for that.
You appear to have torn the wires when you opened up the bottom, and then you soldered them back. Unless I don't understand and it was the headshell. Or both.
I was going to suggest looking at the service manual at Vinyl Engine, but then I remembered that Technics manuals treat the arm as a single piece. Still might be helpful for where to attach the wires at the end, but I think you are going to have to look at videos on rewiring tonearms and find one that is similar to yours.
The fifth wire is the ground wire, by the way. It is black.
 
I found the center cap on top of the tonearm pivot was easily pried off; it seems only to be a press fit with a dab of hot melt glue. This exposed the area where the wires pass horizontally from the arm and downward. Made pulling wires through much easier.
Best regards. Jeff
 
Thanks Nat. To be clear, I didn't actually take the whole tonearm apart, just took it off the base to get at the little screws to take the headshell connection off. So the bearings are still intact.

Thanks Jeff, I had no idea that the cap on top of the pivot could come off. I didn't want to break anything there, but will try to gently pry it off, maybe apply a little heat to soften the glue. That would make getting around that turn a lot easier!

Any suggestions for sourcing wire?
 
Cardas seems to be a common choice. KAB probably has something also, since they have a lot of Technics modification stuff. While relatively expensive, wire actually appropriate for tonearms is actually fairly inexpensive since you only need a foot and a half or less.
 
Here is an idea for the you. The SL23 are plentiful and inexpensive. Got one for its motor, $25. Buy a parts table for the arm. Good luck. These are good performers,

Eric
 
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