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Technics SL-Q2 Tonearm Problem, it's binding...

J

jamesc760

Active Member
Side to side movement is binding, the tonearm seems to track for a few seconds and then starts skipping back in a loop. At first I thought it was too tight but I took a closer look at the pivot; it's a little bit tilted. If you look straight down, there's a bigger gap on one side and if you move the arm around, you can see the gap move according to the arm's movement. I've attached a picture.

Is this something repairable? Or do I need a replacement arm? If I need a replacement arm, I'm going to need one with the vertical down shaft attached to it (I presume the shaft is bent)?

Only the side to side movement is binding; up and down movement is free.
 

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Underneath this table is not overly complex.
Is this a new to you table? Or one you have been using for a while? The offset in the bearing shouldn't keep it from tracking horizontally.


20230417_190717.jpg

Check that this plastic part has the pin in the slot.
 
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This is new to me, local purchase. I don't know what you mean by "the pin in the slot", so i'm attaching a photo, thanks for your help @SmileyFaceEQ !
 

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Looking closer at the tonearm shaft area, I see a screw that seems to adjust something, maybe the angle? If it is, I may be able to adjust the tilt of the tonearm.
 

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jamesc760 said:
Looking closer at the tonearm shaft area, I see a screw that seems to adjust something, maybe the angle? If it is, I may be able to adjust the tilt of the tonearm.
Click to expand...

How did you set up the tone arm? Has it been balanced? The tracking force has been set? Anti-skate?

Tone arm lift moving up and down fully? Sometimes you need to work the lift a little by pushing all the way down with your finger. Sometimes it will lower enough to let some music out, but is not fully disengaged. You can adjust the height of the lift by adjusting the screw. In this case, turn it clock wise a turn or two as a test and see if it will allow it to play.


20230418_101710.jpg

From the pics the underside looks normal.

It most likely requires the mechanism cleaned of the old yellowed / brown grease. The dark graphite coloured grease is usually not an issue.
 
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Yes, I was able to balance the tonearm since up-and-down movement is free. Tracking force has been set to correct weight. The tonearm lift works well, slow to rise and fall, and it's not impeding the movement of the tonearm. Because the problem is side-to-side movement, I am not sure about the anti-skate. If you look at the picture I posted in my original post, you can see the tonearm is not centered, the gaps aroud the base of the tonearm is not even; bigger gaps around the left side and smaller gaps around the right side, it looks like the vertical shaft of tonearm is tilted slightly to the right side, this is looking from the front top of the TT. The picture in post #1 is directly above the tonearm pivot.
 
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jamesc760 said:
Yes, I was able to balance the tonearm since up-and-down movement is free. Because the problem is side-to-side movement, I am not sure about the anti-skate. If you look at the picture I posted in my original post, you can see the tonearm is not centered, the gaps aroud the base of the tonearm is not even; bigger gaps around the left side and smaller gaps around the right side, it looks like the vertical shaft of tonearm is tilted slightly to the right side, this is looking from the front top of the TT.
Click to expand...
The offset gap is not going to limit it pivoting horizontally. I have a feeling its rubbing on the lift. You can adjust the bearings after.
 
it's not rubbing on the lift, it's the first thing I checked. When lowered, there's a 5mm gap between the tonearm and the lift.
 
I drew green/yellow arrows to point out the gaps around the black round base of tonearm
 

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Have you attempted to loosen the top pivot to see if it is out of alignment? Teal circle.

20230418_120135.jpg

If that is not the case then.......

The silver bracket assembly is held in place by 2 screws. It may be possible to slightly reposition the arm base by loosening the screws of this bracket and repositioning the bracket by a few mm to free up the base as in your photo.

The two screws are under the tone arm mechanism and are brass in colour. I marked the general position in the photo. Some dissasembly may be required to gain access. Take pics along the way. The unit may have taken a knock at some point and shifted it out of position.
 
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Top pivot looks fine. I flipped the TT over, took the four feet off to take the bottom lid out. I've unscrewed the motor and the main board and moved it aside. That's where I am. I don't know how to proceed, the 2 screws holding the silver bracket assembly are hidden under the brass thingie. How do you take it off?
 

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jamesc760 said:
Top pivot looks fine. I flipped the TT over, took the four feet off to take the bottom lid out. I've unscrewed the motor and the main board and moved it aside. That's where I am. I don't know how to proceed, the 2 screws holding the silver bracket assembly are hidden under the brass thingie. How do you take it off?
Click to expand...
You have to remove the antiskate knob pull it off. Release the cue c-clip watch the spring doesn't fly away. Keep removing the bracket screws. You are in deep now. Take photos. You may want to desolder the tone arm wires if you know how to solder / desolder.


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You have nothing to lose if the player was fubar beforehand.
 
Yes, the tonearm needed to be repaired/replaced. A few question (I'm a noob at this, so please bear with me):

1. To remove the antiskate knob, I will have to do it from the top? I would have to flip the TT over to the right side up? Right now it's updside down and I'm looking at the inside of the TT.
2. What's a cue c-clip? I see a couple of springs.
3. Bracket screws? You mean the 2 screws holding the silver bracket assembly?
4. I can solder/desolder, used to be an electronics guy.

Thank you!
 
I circled the cue c-clip in teal. That is the clip to remove to release the bracket from the cue mechanism. The other screws I circled in pink.

The idea is to free up the base bracket to access the two screws i mentioned earlier.

The bearing bracket may be deformed slightly, hard to tell from photos.

​
 
I got the AS knob off from the top; removed the c-clip and the spring, thus freeing the cue bracket; looks like I have to unscrew that one screw partially hidden under a spring, I have circled in red in the picture attached. 20230418_112830 (1).jpg
 
That screw's really tight, can't get it off. I think I stripped it. I have to order an extractor, never seen a screw that tight. Please can you see if it's got to come off or not? I mean, is there a way to get to the silver bracket screws without taking this screw off??
 
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