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Technics SL 1200 serial # = date ??

lilwing

lilwing

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Just picked up this MK 1 and wondered if any of you 1200 people can tell the date of mfg. (supposed to have been originally purchased in Australia in early 70's and has changed power cord.)
This is the sticker on the bottom of the tt. (again with the cell phone blur. sorry). This is what it says:
MODEL SL 1200 xal
A-NO. TR3J171
SER. No. 000092
2012-07-21172725.jpg
 
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"Determining the age of an SL-1200

It is possible to tell the year (and the month) when the SL-1200 was manufactured from the serial number on the back or bottom of the turntable. SL-1200 serial numbers are in two different formats, depending on the date of manufacture. It isn't exactly possible to determine the decade in which the SL-1200 in question was manufactured, as the serial number contains only the last digit of the year. If the year digit is 8, the turntable may have been manufactured in 1978, 1988, 1998 or 2008. If the year digit is 0, the turntable may have been manufactured in 1980, 1990 or 2000. One rule of thumb is that old-format serial numbers belong to SL-1200s manufactured during the 1970s and 1980s, while new-format serial numbers belong to SL-1200s manufactured during the 1990s and beyond.

Old-format serial number: NHOJF20765 (SL-1200 manufactured 1982)
The first digit shows the year when the turntable was manufactured. These serial numbers contain no indication of the month of manufacture. It should be noted that serial numbers in this format contain no letters following digits.

New-format serial number: GE4FB001154 (SL-1200MK2 manufactured June 2004)
The first digit shows the year when the turntable was manufactured, while the month of manufacture is indicated by the letter following it. Months are coded as letters between A and L inclusive; A indicates January, B indicates February, and so on, so F indicates June.

There are also at least two other serial number formats that were used by Technics on early SL1200MK2 models. "DA22 17D142" and "MJ7821F287" are examples of serial numbers seen on early production units that both lacked mounting provisions for the internal "bottom base" (Technics part # SFAU122-02) and possessed a different style of dust cover hinges.

In addition to the above, all the SL-1200MK2s from the 1970s and early 1980s have a 4-inch-diameter (100 mm) plate where the RCA and ground wires enter the chassis in the rubber base of the unit. The later models have a smaller hole through which the wires enter the unit."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technics_SL-1200
 
He has an original 1200, not the newer mk2's, so I don't know if all that info applies. I bet that is the first year of production since the serial number is 000092, so I am guessing 1971.
 
The SL-1200 was not being produced yet in 1971.

A few years ago I contacted Panasonic customer service in the US, and they were able and willing to give me the date for my first gen SL-1200, which apparently was one of the last ones made!

DO NOT use your Reply button to respond to this e-mail.
To reply to this e-mail, please click the link below.
http://www.pstc.panasonic.com/epartCC/comments.asp?k=664918560962887500120081001032010043

Dear MR BEATCOMBER

Thank you for contacting Panasonic.

The exact release date of the unit is 8/15/1979.

We hope this information is useful to you.

Thank You,
Panasonic Consumer Support
Click to expand...
 
Right I had read that WIKI and I wasn't confident about it. It didn't seem definative for these numbers and not much mention of MK 1. Looks like a LUNAR LANDER with those legs. Not as heavy as a MK II. Real tidy / Sounds fine / decent cartridge.
2012-07-22054454.jpg

2012-07-22054821.jpg

2012-07-22054638.jpg
 
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In Asia, Australia (where yours was originally bought), and Europe, where the Matsushita's National brand was better known, early Technics products were branded "National Technics." In the USA, where Matsushita's Panasonic brand was better known, it says "Technics by Panasonic."

This is what mine looks like:

79-1200-c.jpg
 
I'm not quite getting the code for the Mk ll. in Zodia's post. My serial # is GE8DD01164R. Does that mean it was made on April 2008???
 
And you can always contact Panasonic customer service through their web site. Give them the serial number and they'll send you the month and year of manufacture. I did that with my MK2.
 
I have one just like this, except...

lilwing said:
Right I had read that WIKI and I wasn't confident about it. It didn't seem definative for these numbers and not much mention of MK 1. Looks like a LUNAR LANDER with those legs. Not as heavy as a MK II. Real tidy / Sounds fine / decent cartridge.
2012-07-22054454.jpg

2012-07-22054821.jpg

2012-07-22054638.jpg
Click to expand...

:banana:
 
I've been trying to find one of these somewhere. Mine looks exactly like this one, but mine says "Technics by Panasonic", and it doesn't have that little black icon box right next to it. I purchased mine in Japan, probably around 1975, maybe 1976. Is this worth anything?
 
twoweeled said:
I've been trying to find one of these somewhere. Mine looks exactly like this one, but mine says "Technics by Panasonic", and it doesn't have that little black icon box right next to it. I purchased mine in Japan, probably around 1975, maybe 1976. Is this worth anything?
Click to expand...

You'd be better served putting this in Dollars and Sense as that's where these type of questions are to be posted.
 
My serial # is GE6DS17425. Based on post # 3 and the articles linked, that says 2006, April, or maybe 1996, or 1986? Does anyone know when the numbering system changed? I don't have the 100mm diameter plate, but is there another way to narrow it down; 20 years is a wide range.

I used to be under the mistaken impression that the MK2 was not made after the introduction of the MK3 or 5 which came out in the 1980's but I now know that is not the case.
 
I have an SL-1200MK2 with one of the odd Serial numbers:
CG9309F124
It's also marked as: SL-1200MK2-M above the serial number.

I know from the "M" that it was manufactured for the American market.

I also know from the "9" and the "F" that it was manufactured in June of 1979.

I know for an absolute fact that the year is 1979 despite the lack of a "7" before the 9 because I bought it new in the box from a stereo store prior to 1989.

Sure would have been nice of Panasonic/Technics if they had used two digits to signify the year; it would have made life a lot simpler for those purchasing used equipment...
 
Bumping this thread to ask a related question. Does the same serial number scheme apply to other Technics products? I've never seen any discussion on this topic that doesn't relate to the SL-1200. Thanks.
 
Acquired during the demise of vinyl at major market radio (1993-4)

Serial - MJ7508F061

No idea when this was made - but it's a trooper.
 
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