S-Ruddy's Executive IV Restoration Thread
- Thread starter sruddy
- Start date
Thank you!
I originally thought I fixed the amp hum but still have a bit coming after warm up and appears to be going in and out. Nothing real loud like before yet.The only cap left in the power section is the can. Could the safety cap have anything to do with it?
Plugging away on the Tuner. Take a look at the power cord shield job. Does that look stock? I have not come across any Fisher tuners with this type of power cord. For now I have removed the cord, cut out the worn part at the strain relief, and reinstalled without the metal shield.
I'm not sure if I mentioned how bad the lead attaching and soldering job was on the amp. So far the tuner isn't looking much better.It is cleaning up really nice though. I will post photos of the cleaned chassis later.
Plugging away on the Tuner. Take a look at the power cord shield job. Does that look stock? I have not come across any Fisher tuners with this type of power cord. For now I have removed the cord, cut out the worn part at the strain relief, and reinstalled without the metal shield.
I'm not sure if I mentioned how bad the lead attaching and soldering job was on the amp. So far the tuner isn't looking much better.It is cleaning up really nice though. I will post photos of the cleaned chassis later.
Ha Ha it's gone, Thanks.
I am getting closer to completing the tuner. While I'm waiting on a few coupling caps I neglected order I hooked it up and immediately noticed distortion. I played with the output pot on the back of the chassis and after turning it way down I think the distortion is gone. I am under the impression that this level adjustment was for matching levels and should not effect performance, am I wrong? If so what part of the circuit should I check? I haven't checked any voltages yet but will soon.
I have purchased a Miracord 50H to replace the butt ugly brown Garrard RC88. It took me over a week to free the speed control lever. It has cleaned and shined up very nice.The motor grommets actually looked good and the wheel is turning the platter at the correct speeds but I can hear the motor running through the speakers. Do you think drive wheel and or motor grommet replacement will fix this noise issue? I have installed an old Shure M97xE cart I wasn't using but not certain if this is the best choice for this setup.
I haven't found any god replacement material for the back speaker cover yet but am going to try another place this week.
I have purchased a Miracord 50H to replace the butt ugly brown Garrard RC88. It took me over a week to free the speed control lever. It has cleaned and shined up very nice.The motor grommets actually looked good and the wheel is turning the platter at the correct speeds but I can hear the motor running through the speakers. Do you think drive wheel and or motor grommet replacement will fix this noise issue? I have installed an old Shure M97xE cart I wasn't using but not certain if this is the best choice for this setup.
I haven't found any god replacement material for the back speaker cover yet but am going to try another place this week.
Take off the platter and visually check that the motor is NOT contacting any part of the phono chassis. Even tho the grommets look good they can be bad inside. Also check that the shaft on the motor is not contacting the chassis or the platter. On a bad one, the outside will look nice and formed like regular rubber, but the inside will be a gelatinous mass and have the consistency of extremely thick pudding. I've seen this in Garrards and a couple Miracord 10F and my 50H. Grommets are available for it @ http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/
Last edited:
I thought you had already replaced all the can caps in the power supply of the amp?
Dave
Dave
Looks like the grommets are good and the drive wheel feels nice and pliable. Spinning the platter by hand is noisy. I can't find anything wrong with the bearings but doesn't mean there isn't. I'm going to check and make sure the break is not dragging causing noise but I don't suspect it is as the speed is dead on. I removed the platter and turned it on and the motor is very quiet by itself. Using my finger to bring the drive wheel in contact with the motor spindle created a good deal of noise. After inspection I noticed the bottom of the drive wheel was touching the top of the motor spindle step . Centering it on the step lessened the sound quite a bit but didn't omit it. I have tried lithium grease and oil on he drive wheel spindle and noise is the same with either. I just found a service manual but it's in dutch and I haven't been able to translate it but at least I can see the exploded view of the parts. I see I have the brass and plastic washers in the wrong order so I will fix that today and re check the position.
Yah Dave the amp is pretty much done. I have been listening to it using a decent turntable and my Fisher X-10's. The loud hum I was getting is gone. I'm getting a bit of low level hum that I can live with if I can't find the source. Last night I pulled out my SPL meter and the hum measured 55db on the left speaker and I couldn't hear or measure anything from the right speaker. This is different than when I had it hooked up to the console speakers, Hum was coming from both speakers. Before I put it back into the console I plan on opening it back up and testing all the voltages listed in the service manual and check some resistors I didn't check during the rebuild.
I have it sitting on top of the console right under a fluorescent light so I can really appreciate the beauty of it. I'm contemplating putting a dimmable led strip above it as when it's in the console it's hard to see it well.
The turntable is a beauty. Thanks Larry for suggesting it.
Stick your hand underneath the TT while it's running in the console. Find the motor and lift very slightly UP on the motor. If the noise dies off the grommets are to blame.
Also on the periphery of the platter underneath the platter, may be a screw in the rear right quadrant of the chassis. I can't remember if it was on the 50H or the 10F but it would contact the platter every revolution. File it down flush with the chassis. And look for divots in the idler wheel from it being in contact with the drive wheel for long times. You'll hear a slight thump everytime one passes the drive spindle. Sometimes they come out with a continuous run of 24 hours, but most cases you'll need to have it re-tired.
Also on the periphery of the platter underneath the platter, may be a screw in the rear right quadrant of the chassis. I can't remember if it was on the 50H or the 10F but it would contact the platter every revolution. File it down flush with the chassis. And look for divots in the idler wheel from it being in contact with the drive wheel for long times. You'll hear a slight thump everytime one passes the drive spindle. Sometimes they come out with a continuous run of 24 hours, but most cases you'll need to have it re-tired.
Last edited:
The TT drive sound that was coming through the speakers (or at least that's what I thought) is gone now. The solution was centering the drive wheel. I can hear it running from across the room though. There are three things are generating noise. First is the motor, however it's level seems totally normal and is as quiet as the motor on my Empire 298. Second is coming from the platter spindle and or bearing. I cleaned the platter bearing with contact cleaner and wiped the shaft. I didn't take all the bearings out of the race but pulled the lid off and applied some synthetic oil to them as well as the shaft. It definitely sounds metallic swooshing when I spin the platter by hand. That is with the break pushed out of the way. IMO it should spin very quietly but I'm not sure what to do. The third noise is coming from the drive wheel when it is held against the motor spindle. I have quieted this noise with the alignment but haven't eliminated it. It also soinds like a bearing binding thing. I can't get a long free sin out of the drive wheel.
Also the amp hum is still there but intermittent. It's only coming out of the right speaker. I'm not sure if this is the way it was before. I should have taken notes. I tried swapping the output tubes but it's the same. I have had it on today, and while playing with input switch to give you all more info, it went away completely. I'm fairly sure it didn't have anything to do with the switch as it has gone away by itself before. Last night when I hooked up the Miracord to test was when I noticed the amp wasn't fixed. For the heck of it I switched the phono input from RIAA 1 to RIAA 2 and it got much better, maybe coincidence since it is going in and out. It doesn't matter were the input switch is set as the hum is always on the right in varying degrees of loudness. This is assuming it's in a humming state! I did notice when I touch the rumble switch once it got much louder. I cleaned the crap out if that switch but didn't open it. It also gets louder if I turn on the loudness but I guess that's expected. So I'm still stumped on the hum. All caps in power supply have been replaced with high quality parts and I replaced the R63 resistor.
Also the amp hum is still there but intermittent. It's only coming out of the right speaker. I'm not sure if this is the way it was before. I should have taken notes. I tried swapping the output tubes but it's the same. I have had it on today, and while playing with input switch to give you all more info, it went away completely. I'm fairly sure it didn't have anything to do with the switch as it has gone away by itself before. Last night when I hooked up the Miracord to test was when I noticed the amp wasn't fixed. For the heck of it I switched the phono input from RIAA 1 to RIAA 2 and it got much better, maybe coincidence since it is going in and out. It doesn't matter were the input switch is set as the hum is always on the right in varying degrees of loudness. This is assuming it's in a humming state! I did notice when I touch the rumble switch once it got much louder. I cleaned the crap out if that switch but didn't open it. It also gets louder if I turn on the loudness but I guess that's expected. So I'm still stumped on the hum. All caps in power supply have been replaced with high quality parts and I replaced the R63 resistor.
Last edited:
On the spindle bearing, pull the bearing. Clean the bearing race of all the old concreted grease and oil. Pack the bearing race with 3 parts lithium grease to 1 part sewing machine oil. Give the spindle shaft a light coating of this mix. Assemble the bearing. A swooshing sound is probably the platter skimming against something on the chassis like a screw, or something else sticking up. you may need to find another washer and install it to raise the platter up. It's possible that it was lost sometime in the past. Find another turntable in the pile and find a washer with the same I.D. and same thickness or slightly thinner than the stock one. Visually check that the Motor shaft and the idler wheel shaft are parallel. If the drive idler shaft is off, it will rub or slow down.
As far as the drive idler, Hold in one hand and run your nail around the edge. If you find a divot or pothole you have a couple choices. Rubber rejuvenator (which works about 10% of the time for divots you can feel) or having the wheel re-tired. Also make sure that there is a fiber washer on the drive idler shaft under the idler wheel. No washer underneath will give you a rubbing sound. A divot or pothole will give you a rhymic thumping.
The 50H should spin down on shut off for about 30 to 45 seconds or so, if it's lubed correctly, with the brake off.
As far as the drive idler, Hold in one hand and run your nail around the edge. If you find a divot or pothole you have a couple choices. Rubber rejuvenator (which works about 10% of the time for divots you can feel) or having the wheel re-tired. Also make sure that there is a fiber washer on the drive idler shaft under the idler wheel. No washer underneath will give you a rubbing sound. A divot or pothole will give you a rhymic thumping.
The 50H should spin down on shut off for about 30 to 45 seconds or so, if it's lubed correctly, with the brake off.
Got the platter bearing disassembled and cleaned. Looking at the exploded view on the service manual it shows one type of washer below the bearing and a different type above. Mine had two felt washers below the bearing and none above. I'm assuming the one above is metal? I'll check my pile as you suggest.
It's interesting about the lube mix you recommend. I use both types and always thought it maybe good to mix them. There are definitely scratches in the platter bushing from dirt. I'm contomplating using some 15500 wet dry on it. I hope this quiets it down I'm not sure why I didn't clean the bearing in the first place. It definitely had crud in it.As for the drive wheel it has no flat spots and drives at the proper speed. I have the height proper by putting both of the nylon washers on the bottom. I had to do this as the adjustment for the drive wheel height is in the highest position. I should take a closer look at the motor mounting. Two mounts are grommeted but one is an adjustable plastic mount. I'm fairly certain it is to adjust the spindle in parallel with the wheel edge. Could be the reason I'm maxed out on the drive wheel height and have to shim the wheel with the extra washer underneath.
Wish I could translate the service manual or find a copy in English.
I still have a noisy TT. I'm nearly shure it's due to worn spindle and or bushing. My game plan is to look for a parts unit or better just the spindle, bearing, and bushing. I will also look for a used drive wheel and have it rebuilt. I'm fairly certain the original wheel is fine and I have had rebuilt wheels be noisier than the original so I don't want to take any chances. Until then I will be installing it. For anyone interested Larry has taken a great amount of time documenting the removal cleaning and greasing the platter bearings. FWIW I was able to remove the bearing by pulling it straight up. I thought I may have lost a ball bearing in the process but after putting my photo in PS and duplicating a bearing there was not enough room for it. Here is a photo after cleaning but before lubricating.
On to the TT swap. First was to remove the old Garrard RC88 then the drawer. I didn't find any mice turds or money or anything else interesting. So the compartment got a good vacuuming and wipe down. The drawer had a nasty scrape which the seller said couldn't be removed. One good thing is the furniture has a good bit of clear coat so a lot of light scratches and mares can be removed. I have no experience finishing furniture but I do a good job with car finishes and I use the same materials and experience on furniture with good results. See photo for the products I use. In addition for areas where finish is damaged through top coat and stain I find Wood Medic Revitalizer works miracles. My biggest job will be making a new mounting surface. I decided not to try and remove the original plinth as I may destroy the drawer sides trying to break the glue. So unfortunately I had to cut it to clear the Miracord. I have ordered a piece of 3/8" Black textured ABS and will use my template for the cut out and mounting holes. This will be sandwiched on top of the original plinth. If I ever want to put the Garrard back in I should be able to modify the cut out and drop it in.
Well after all the work to install the Miracord it doesn't fit. I was all excited, took photos, hooked it up and installed the integrated amp in the cabinet. Then about half way through the first record it started skipping. While checking the tracking I noticed the tone arm hits the side of the cabinet half way through the record. Crap I can't believe I didn't think of that!!!! I'm not sure what to do. If I can get the drawer to slide out another 4" all would be good except I wouldn't be able to close the drawer when playing a record. What did most people do? Seems like it would be isolated from the sound pressure resulting in less rumble if you could play with the drawer shut. The only way to achieve that would be to move the TT off center to it's extreme left. This would require more destruction of the original panel and purchase of another ABS sheet. If I can find new or modify the drawer guides so it will pull out further I wouldn't have to move the TT over but won't be able to play it with the drawer shut. Here are photos of my work. Let me know how you all think I should proceed. BTW Tuner sounds great. All I have to do to it is replace two more caps, clean and replace the dial glass, clean and replace the faceplate and knobs, and finally take photos and install!!
If moving it to the left doesn't work, you could notch out the right side of the interior cabinet with a router if you want to play it closed. You may not have to go completely through the side. Or you can install full extension acuride hinges and play it with the turntable fully extended and centered as it is now. Best of luck. The Elac is a perfect turntable to use with your console.
Vendo has my thoughts exactly --
Dave
Dave
Can you post a photo showing just the drawer so I can see how the offset looks and do you play it with the drawer open or closed. Beautiful console BTW!!!!
Last edited:
I had thought about cutting into the cabinet but I'm pretty sure it would put a hole into the speaker compartment. Then if I sell it I will have to explain that it can only be played open or closed depending on were I put the hole. So I'm left with the hinges you are referring to or move it to the extreme left. I guess I have to decide if I want to be able to play it closed. I need more feedback on that. Thanks for the hinge name as I had no idea how to figure that out!