redpackman
Active Member
OK. I just picked up a TP-1000 turntable. Nice. HEAVY!!
It has the same problem as described above. The 33 rpm was a bit shakey, but the strobe marks were pretty still with the speed adjustment knob WAY to one end. That's not good, but it worked. The 45 rpm would look pretty good either when the power was turned on or the 45 rpm button was pressed, but if the speed control was just *touched* the turntable would take off and go way too fast.
I've worked on a number of turntables including direct drive models. I hoped that cleaning out the speed control pots would help. I turned the turntable over resting it gently (did I say it's heavy?) on its dust cover. Gently, gently!! I took off the bottom. All four feet need to be unscrewed (no big deal) and eight small screws removed from the plastic under cover. That revealed the electronics underneath. I immediately saw the pots that correspond to the 33 and 45 speed +/- adjustors. I blasted some DeOxit into the small opening in the pots and worked the controls back and forth eventually. I looked and saw two more adjustable pots on the control board and sprayed them for good measure, but didn't turn them. Many turntables have these too. They weren't labelled, so for the time I left them alone, but noted that there were holes in the bottom cover of the turntable that corresponded to the two pots and hoped they might actually be the key to the two speeds: 33 and 45 but didn't mess with them not being sure if that's what they were. I put the cover and feet back on.
Once the turntable was again right side up I noticed that there were two holes on the top side of the turntable that corresponded to the two pots on the control board. I took the chance that they indeed were the fine adjustors for the speeds like so many other turntables. Having worked the speed adjustment controls one can access the speed was better but even an approximation of the right speed could only be achieved by having the controls way to one end of their range. Using the two holes in the TOP of the turntable that can be seen when the platter is removed (which MUST be done when you flip the turntable or you'll probably wipe out the tone arm when the platter falls off and rattles around the neighborhood). I looked down the two holes with a flashlight and there were two slots just the size of a small flat-blade screwdriver beckoning me. Now having already sprayed those two pots with De-Oxit when I was examining the bottom side, I slipped the screwdriver into the slot and turned it back and forth returning it to close to its original position. I took the leap that one hole on the left was the 33 1/3 pot. I adjusted the 33 1/3 control on the top of the deck to it's midrange position and turned the under deck pot with the screw driver a little one way, put on the platter and pressed the power button and the 33 1/3 button. (You could also adjust the pots from the underside of the deck using the two holes there provided for you, but that seemed a bit precarious to me.) The speed was closer to being right. I tinkered with that internal pot on the left until the 33 1/3 speed was right on *with the above deck/external adjuster right in the middle of its range*. Then I did the same with the right 45 rpm pot after adjusting its above-deck controller to its midrange position. Pretty soon all was well and the 45 could be adjusted + or - from the above deck adjustors with no run away speed performance even when the above deck adjustor was turned.
Note: you need to have the platter ON the "roter" (the thing on which the platter rests) for the turntable to spin properly and for you to get an accurate speed assessment. That's how many turntables work. They need the proper weight/resistance or they just kind of quiver and turn in a very jerky manner.
I'm glad I (thus far) will not have to recap the whole deck. I'm thankful for De-Oxit and for the holes in the deck (bottom side and above) that enticed me to try adjusting the speeds. It worked.
It has the same problem as described above. The 33 rpm was a bit shakey, but the strobe marks were pretty still with the speed adjustment knob WAY to one end. That's not good, but it worked. The 45 rpm would look pretty good either when the power was turned on or the 45 rpm button was pressed, but if the speed control was just *touched* the turntable would take off and go way too fast.
I've worked on a number of turntables including direct drive models. I hoped that cleaning out the speed control pots would help. I turned the turntable over resting it gently (did I say it's heavy?) on its dust cover. Gently, gently!! I took off the bottom. All four feet need to be unscrewed (no big deal) and eight small screws removed from the plastic under cover. That revealed the electronics underneath. I immediately saw the pots that correspond to the 33 and 45 speed +/- adjustors. I blasted some DeOxit into the small opening in the pots and worked the controls back and forth eventually. I looked and saw two more adjustable pots on the control board and sprayed them for good measure, but didn't turn them. Many turntables have these too. They weren't labelled, so for the time I left them alone, but noted that there were holes in the bottom cover of the turntable that corresponded to the two pots and hoped they might actually be the key to the two speeds: 33 and 45 but didn't mess with them not being sure if that's what they were. I put the cover and feet back on.
Once the turntable was again right side up I noticed that there were two holes on the top side of the turntable that corresponded to the two pots on the control board. I took the chance that they indeed were the fine adjustors for the speeds like so many other turntables. Having worked the speed adjustment controls one can access the speed was better but even an approximation of the right speed could only be achieved by having the controls way to one end of their range. Using the two holes in the TOP of the turntable that can be seen when the platter is removed (which MUST be done when you flip the turntable or you'll probably wipe out the tone arm when the platter falls off and rattles around the neighborhood). I looked down the two holes with a flashlight and there were two slots just the size of a small flat-blade screwdriver beckoning me. Now having already sprayed those two pots with De-Oxit when I was examining the bottom side, I slipped the screwdriver into the slot and turned it back and forth returning it to close to its original position. I took the leap that one hole on the left was the 33 1/3 pot. I adjusted the 33 1/3 control on the top of the deck to it's midrange position and turned the under deck pot with the screw driver a little one way, put on the platter and pressed the power button and the 33 1/3 button. (You could also adjust the pots from the underside of the deck using the two holes there provided for you, but that seemed a bit precarious to me.) The speed was closer to being right. I tinkered with that internal pot on the left until the 33 1/3 speed was right on *with the above deck/external adjuster right in the middle of its range*. Then I did the same with the right 45 rpm pot after adjusting its above-deck controller to its midrange position. Pretty soon all was well and the 45 could be adjusted + or - from the above deck adjustors with no run away speed performance even when the above deck adjustor was turned.
Note: you need to have the platter ON the "roter" (the thing on which the platter rests) for the turntable to spin properly and for you to get an accurate speed assessment. That's how many turntables work. They need the proper weight/resistance or they just kind of quiver and turn in a very jerky manner.
I'm glad I (thus far) will not have to recap the whole deck. I'm thankful for De-Oxit and for the holes in the deck (bottom side and above) that enticed me to try adjusting the speeds. It worked.