Technics SL-BD3 Linear Tracking Turntable

[drjohnnyfeva]

...so to exercise my demons after throwing away my non-working but likely repairable original Technics SL-BD3 Linear Tracking turntable, I ebayed my forgiveness... hopefully. It arrived today.

It's running, not real well at first, tho. Replaced the cartridge and needle from turntable needles dot com. I'll do the belts tomorrow. Sprayed the crap out of all the contacts I could see. For the meantime, it's running and sounds as good as the other. There's some odd rubbing along the edge in the back I'll have to figure out.

I hope that the AudioGods will absolve my sin. I wanted her back as the dumpster guy was pulling it onto the deck to go dump it. Reminded me of an old girlfriend...but she drove off on her own, she didn't get hauled off in a dumpster.
Turns out I'm better off not having her back, maybe it will be different with the TT. One can only hope.

 

[spark1]

I hope that a linear tracker is not a requirement for the exorcism....the SL-BD3 is a standard/pivoted tonearm model, with a straight arm and P-mount cartridge. Not a linear tracker.

Might be a good idea to deoxit the pitch control potentiometer....you will need to remove the bottom plate to get at it. If speed is holding well (use the strobe to check), I wouldn't bother with it, unless you have to open it up for another reason.

Regarding the rubbing....there are three prime suspects (and a few other less likely candidates):

1. The platter spindle is bent, or has been forced downwards. These problems could occur as a result of shipping with the platter in place, although that is not a heavy platter, and is therefore less likely to have enough weight to bend or otherwise damage the spindle. In any case, these problems could/would cause the platter to rub on the base.

2. The motor....it may need to be oiled. You can usually get a drop or two of sewing machine oil in at the top of its shaft (below the belt pulley). Otherwise, you would have to see if you can access it from underneath. Or maybe this TT has an oiling hole...normally located near the belt pulley, if there is one.

3. The spindle bearing....lubricant may have dried out or allowed for metal to metal contact. In this case, the platter would come to a stop fairly quickly after giving it a good push by hand (with the belt removed). Ideally, it would come to a stop very slowly. But if lubricant is dried up (or the bearing is worn), it will come to a stop much more quickly, and will make noise

Use a cardboard tube or something similar to help isolate where the sound is originating.

 

[lini]

s1: Indeed. The SL-3 was a linear tracker, though - so maybe just a little confusion...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[drjohnnyfeva]

Yep, the fingers weren't working in conjunction with the brain... It's an SL-BL3.

I'll try the suggestions for the rubbing. The pitch control was very spotty initially, but with some contact cleaner on it, it resolved. The rubbing seems to have something to do with the lid, almost like the clearance is too low. When I lift the cover with a couple 1/4 shims, the rubbing is gone. I still intend to put a couple drops of oil on the motor and change the belts. We'll see how that goes.

Otherwise, I compared the sound to the same digital music... Tom Petty songs... and the vinyl sounded great. Just a bit fuller, but noticable. But that could be chalked up to digital player too, perhaps. Either way, it was fun to spin some LP's. It was purchased as a non-working unit, so I was happy to get it functional with just a few quick troubleshoots.

 

[goodolpg]

If it's similar to my SL-QL1, there are a couple small rubber "bumpers" on the front corners of the dust cover.
They aren't 1/4 tall though.

 

[quaddriver]

im doing a J machine personally...they are good machines when working. change the belt on the indexing motor fer sure, when they loosen up a lot of rpms are wasted slipping and the needle yaws around true 0 too much.

goto vinyl engine and get the SM and all the revs. I know my J has like 4 majors - very involved.

 

[drjohnnyfeva]

...so now the old girl isn't running. Received the new belt, cartridge, ground wire, and needle, so I removed the bottom again, gave it the once over and found some corrosion that I missed the first time. Gave a couple more squirts of the connections again, put some oil on the belt drive spindle and the tt center spindle. I think that was actually the rubbing sound. Worked it in well and initially felt that roughness. After a few minutes and another dot of oil, no more rubbing. Put the bottom back on. Removed the platter and old belt. The belt was definitely a bit stretched. Replaced the belt. Put the platter back on.

Powered it on... pressed cue...nada. The control buttons are now not working. The power is on, the strobe is on, the repeat button goes on and off between presses every 10-20 times being pressed. The rotation is not initiating from any of the controls.

Luckily, I bought a protection plan with the unit, so I guess I'll just send it out, but WOW! How frustrating. Have no clue what happened. Could it be the contact cleaner? Too much? To little? I used the WD-40 Contact Cleaner brand because it was the only thing I could find locally.


EDIT: I got it running. The new belt was too tight, so once it started it was very wobbly even after adjusting the pitch. I removed the board and sprayed the contacts for the control buttons. I repositioned a part looked wedged in. It looked like someone had tried a fix in the past... I took that apart, cleaned it, and replaced it so that it sat better. I might have to post a pic of it, because it looks odd. Anyway, it's running for now, but I'm probably still going send it out for proper service.