Trekkie4
Retired Member
Felt like I needed a project, something to distract me from daily worries & covid pandemic, so I picked up Sharp RP-30 for what it seemed like a fair price, which needed some TLC ... not to mention repairs & upgrades. Picture below is obviously from the internet, maybe I will take my own tomorrow 
It was missing the cartridge/stylus, had non-functional auto-return & tonearm leads are unfortunately breaking up, I could barely even hook up the cartridge (had to solder the terminals for both L+ & R+ channels. Also found the evidence of previous patchwork, even cuts & dents in the insulation to the point where one of the wires is exposed, which isn't going to work in the long run.
Sooo, long story short - the auto-return is now fully operational (had to improvise with some serious DIY methods), AT-95 is in place (still not calibrated though, might eventually get upgraded to 95EX) and cartridge terminals temporarily soldered until I replace the entire arm wiring, all the way from the headshell to the PCB terminals inside the unit.
What are your thoughts on this thing, perhaps someone owns one & would like to share the impressions & feedback? The actual unit is fairly light, but the platter (driven by DD motor) has some serious weight to it, kinda reminds me of those older flywheels inside the cassette tape mechanisms.
It was missing the cartridge/stylus, had non-functional auto-return & tonearm leads are unfortunately breaking up, I could barely even hook up the cartridge (had to solder the terminals for both L+ & R+ channels. Also found the evidence of previous patchwork, even cuts & dents in the insulation to the point where one of the wires is exposed, which isn't going to work in the long run.
Sooo, long story short - the auto-return is now fully operational (had to improvise with some serious DIY methods), AT-95 is in place (still not calibrated though, might eventually get upgraded to 95EX) and cartridge terminals temporarily soldered until I replace the entire arm wiring, all the way from the headshell to the PCB terminals inside the unit.
What are your thoughts on this thing, perhaps someone owns one & would like to share the impressions & feedback? The actual unit is fairly light, but the platter (driven by DD motor) has some serious weight to it, kinda reminds me of those older flywheels inside the cassette tape mechanisms.