I've had my Technics SL-5 for several years now, it was never very good at playing warped records and is known for high wow and flutter, but lately it's gotten way worse. Even most records in great condition have a lot of wow and flutter warbling. I don't really understand since it's Direct Drive. Any help would be great, It's my fave TT.
Technics SL-5 Repair wow and flutter
- Thread starter JDN1
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Three things:
It's forty years old or better, and electrolytic capacitors of that era really don't last that long. Bad caps in the speed control circuit equals unstable speed. Bad caps in a Realistic table I had caused one coil to be weak, resulting in a momentary speed loss at the same point in rotation each time around. Incredible wow.
You should probably clean and lubricate the spindle bearing.
There are variable resistors for setting the speed, and they can get dirty or corroded (more likely, the board is inverted) and cause erratic speed.
Is the arm moving correctly? I don't think you will get flutter if it's not moving smoothly, but wow is possible.
It's forty years old or better, and electrolytic capacitors of that era really don't last that long. Bad caps in the speed control circuit equals unstable speed. Bad caps in a Realistic table I had caused one coil to be weak, resulting in a momentary speed loss at the same point in rotation each time around. Incredible wow.
You should probably clean and lubricate the spindle bearing.
There are variable resistors for setting the speed, and they can get dirty or corroded (more likely, the board is inverted) and cause erratic speed.
Is the arm moving correctly? I don't think you will get flutter if it's not moving smoothly, but wow is possible.
The bad caps are beyond my capacity to fix. It's not the tonearm, I fixed that when I first got it to get it tracking correctly and the wow and flutter happens right away. I'll look into lubricating the spindle bearing, not sure how to dod that. I have not cleaned the resistors for the speed, but they have both been moved a bit recently when adjusted for accuracy at 33 and 45. Let me know any other thoughts.
felix_katze
Well-Known Member
Drop of oil on the main shaft, de-oxit on trim pots, replace electrolytic caps. Oh, an perhaps a new mat if the old one is stiff and hard.
Hugo65
Well-Known Member
I've never had an SL-5 but I have a couple of SL-10. If you can remove the platter, you can access the main shaft and inject a couple of oil drops with a syringe. I used one with a needle.
The SL-5 can also be oiled like that. Wouldn't be surprised if its the same bearing.
Possibly faulty memory here but I want to say you can take the bottom of the bearing well apart from the bottom side to service it too. I seem to remember flipping over the thrust plate on the SL-5 I had a long while ago to give it a fresh surface to work from. I seem to remember its just a plate with 2 or 3 screws and a pad of some sort of material sitting on that plate that can be turned over. Can oil it from that side too if needed.
Possibly faulty memory here but I want to say you can take the bottom of the bearing well apart from the bottom side to service it too. I seem to remember flipping over the thrust plate on the SL-5 I had a long while ago to give it a fresh surface to work from. I seem to remember its just a plate with 2 or 3 screws and a pad of some sort of material sitting on that plate that can be turned over. Can oil it from that side too if needed.
juliet lima
Well-Known Member
While not my main table the SL-5 is a solid performer.
If it’s never been serviced then it should be. The manual is available online and it’s not rocket science. At a minimum:
Clean up all the sticky gross lube.
Clean everything.
Deoxit and relube.
As mentioned above, any 40+ year old piece of electronics will benefit from a recap. Even pieces that work fine will be drastically improved by doing this.
If it’s never been serviced then it should be. The manual is available online and it’s not rocket science. At a minimum:
Clean up all the sticky gross lube.
Clean everything.
Deoxit and relube.
As mentioned above, any 40+ year old piece of electronics will benefit from a recap. Even pieces that work fine will be drastically improved by doing this.
I have deoxit, what do you suggest cleaning with and what kind of oil for lubing? I should be able to do this
juliet lima
Well-Known Member
Vacuum the insides with the brush attachment. When you take the cover off the tone arm mechanism you’ll see the belt that moves it back and forth. It will be gummed up with old lube. I’m a fan of 90% alcohol, q tips and shop towels. I just use 3in1 oil….the oil points are in the manual. I use lithium grease for the belt drive sprocket…..just the tiniest bit.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
A note: 3 in 1 oil is OK, if the proper version is used. The electric motor safe, non gummy version is in the Blue Can. That oil is OK for turntables, and any AC motor (as it's sewing machine oil, made for AC motor use).
juliet lima
Well-Known Member
Thanks for adding that