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Technics SL-BL3 Linear Tracking Turntable question...

drjohnnyfeva

drjohnnyfeva

Well-Known Member
So, the first table I ever had was the Technics SL-BL3. It served me well, but when I went to use it - after years of not - as a 20-somthing in the early-90's and it didn't work, having no internet and most places not knowing sh!t about TT's, I fixed it with with a rubber band. Sadly, the wobbly pitch and not knowing where to go or what to do, I put it on the shelf and eventually got rid of it. Fast forward a couple decades and I found one that needed some adjustment, but it was cheap, so I got it and an album in the deal.

Worked pretty well. Cleaned it with DeOxit. Changed the old belt. Got a new cartridge. Sounds great, but rides the vinyl real lightly and there are lots of pops. I thought it could be dirty lp's... cleaned them. Small improvement. Tried a couple static reducing techniques. Again, small improvement.

Finally, today, I taped a small stainless steel washer on the linear arm above the cartridge. The sound output was NOTICEABLE! And a terrific improvement.

So the question... I have no idea what to call that adjustment on a linear tracking TT. I know that you can increase the needle pressure on an arm TT by dialing in or out the counter weight at the end of the arm...

Is there such an adjustment on a linear tracker? Idon't really like the idea of leaving a washer taped to the top of the cartridge, but the experiment was successful, in that it dramatically improved the sound of each LP I played on it.

Help, guidance, and friendly, "You're a dumbass! Get that washer off of your TT!" are all acceptable forms of assistance. :beerchug:
 
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The tonearm and the cartridge need to be a match in terms of effective mass (of the tonearm + cartridge) and the compliance (of the cartridge). Most of the time this matching is forgotten. I have no idea about this particular turntable, so a couple of questions:

Is it possible to adjust the tracking force by any means?
Do you use the original cartridge and stylus?

It might be that the tonearm and cartridge did not work together properly. Since you added mass on the tip of the headshell you increased the tracking force and the tonearm effective mass.

Another thing that could happened is that the cantilever became stiff because of age and it needed that extra tracking force to work properly.

I am glad to hear the washer trick worked for you :banana:. The extra weight on the headshell is a pretty common tweak people use to match the tonearm effective mass to the cartridge compliance.

Now since you have a P mount cartridge, I would be a bit more careful since you might damage the contacts. But on second thought if the mass of the washer is not too high it should be fine. That screw on the cartridge should take the extra weight.
 
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I've had a number of LT's. My best guess is that there is some dried grease that is causing the problem. LT's have more sliding parts that must move freely.
Most LTs are not adjustable for tracking force. Clean and re-lube all sliding surfaces and get rid of that washer. It shouldn't be to hard to do.
 
I didn't get into the drive mechanism of the tone arm, but I did do the suggested cleaning of the platter and flywheel when I changed the belt. Also, I have what I think is the original cartridge, but I did switch it out for a new AT cartridge. The needle on the old one was completely worn and I didn't see a way to change just that. So maybe it wasn't the original, because I recall reading that just the stylus could be changed.

Honestly, the thought of taking the cover off of the tone arm mechanism is a little daunting. There are a ton of little screws. I did spray some DeOxit on connections that I could see and it did resolve the initial problem of the LT arm returning before playing to the end of the LP.

It sounds far better now, so I'm inclined to wait a bit and do some more fact finding before getting into the guts. I'd still appreciate any more feedback, however, and I do thank you for the insights so far.

edit: The cartridge that was on it when I got it off of ebay is an empire op 215. And to my surprise, the stylus slipped right out. I'll have to do some research to determine whether this was the original.
 
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Because it’s a p-mount cartridge, it’s set for the standard p-mount 1.25g tracking force. With some Technics p-mount turntables slight adjustment was possible. According to the manual, it is possible to adjust the SL-BL3 tracking force up by 0.25g, which may help, but how you do so isn’t mentioned in the user manual, one of the worst Technics manuals I’ve seen, which assumes everyone is a dummy, so gives them the minimum info and nothing else. However, other similar Technics linear trackers, such as the SL-DL1 (a similar direct drive), had a screw adjustment at the rear of the lid underneath the tonearm, with a mark to indicate the maximum 1.5g, and another at 1.25g, so adjusting that would increase stylus pressure (see https://www.vinylengine.com/library/technics/sl-dl1.shtml for the user manual showing it). So check it out to see if yours has a similar screw to turn.

It’s also the case that some (strange) manufacturers of p-mount cartridge didn’t follow Technics recommendation for 1.25g for the tracking force – some can require 1.5g or even up to 2g, so don’t meet the accepted Technics standard, and may mis-track at 1.25g. Chuo Denki (aka Red Ed etc), Grado and Ortofon were repeat offenders. Audio-Technica usually followed the 1.25g standard exactly, so should only require 1.25g. However, in some cases, faults are possible with a new stylus.
 
Thanks for this. I was mistaken about the cartridge. It is a needle from turntableneedles.com. I was looking at an Audio-Technica, but erred on this less expensive model until I could determine in what kind of working order the table was. With it working, perhaps it's time for a better cartridge and stylus.

I looked for those adjustments that you mention ETI. There are a couple unidentified screws, but not one that looks specifically like the one in the specs. There is a tone arm height adjustment that I might experiment with a little.
 
Some p-mount and/or LT Technics had a VTF adjustment, some don't.

If you can find one, you might look into the Stanton L-680EL. This is a p-mount with extra weight already attached.
 
The cartridge that came with the tt was an Empire op215. I've found exactly no info on that other than it was a 1.25 gram cart. But I did find that some think pretty highly of Empire. I'd love to know more. I was able to find a sylus to replace the one on the cartridge I received with the tt. That was was completely gone. The one I found is a diamond tipped elliptical for about $30. I'm going to order it to see if there is much of a difference to the turntableneedle model without any additional weight.

I did toy around with the washer - and without a little more. It plays well without it, but the sound lacks depth. With it, the sound is more full. I've tried looking at it with magnifying glasses and the needle sits at about the same level, but the sound IS different... better. I guess it'll go in the shop when I get the dough. Or not. ;)
 
The Bl3 looks a lot like a bunch of other Technics LT's.
Way in the back, back, past the arm mounting point, there might/should be a tracking force adjustment screw (phillips head). It should have +/- near it.
As I remember, it has a very small range, like 1/2 or 1/4 each way from center, and I believe center is 1.5. grams
Easiest to access with the lid as far open as possible, 90 degrees if you can. If you can't (mine is in a stand with limited space to open the lid) a short stubby screwdriver may be needed.
At least that's what my SL-QL1 has, and the BL3 seems to use the same lid.
Again, if I am remembering correctly, tracking force is the only adjustment possible with many (not all?) of those Technics LT's.
 
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