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The Sad Fate of Direct Drive Turntables...

don philipe said:
I wonder if this is what's happening to my Hitatchi HT-550.
After I play it for about an hour it will start wavering in speed slightly.Really irritating. Then I'll run it at 45rpm for a while and it seems to clear it up for another 30min. or so. I have cleaned the pots inside that control the speed but it didn't help much.I was wondering if this could be the chip [IC] thats at fault or do you think recapping would solve the problem.I really like this table,It's very elegant looking and plays fine when it plays.Just put a new shure 97 cart in it as well.
Any Ideas?
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Try recapping the elyticaps.
 
I agree with the guys who aver that IC failure is rare.

Problems are almost always caused by something else. Common things like electrolytics as Pio indicated. Or solder connections TO the IC.

Doug
 
Once in-circuit, ICs are rarely damaged. They can be with large static electricity charges but that is much more likely if the device is not installed.

And, BTW, my BICs from the late seventies use an LM377 in the speed control circuit which is still available from more sources than you can flash a strobe at.

:D

Doug
 
You can purchase precision DC motor controls and by-pass the original controls all together. For motors this small they are small and could be mounted internally. They are also not that expensive less then $100 dollars mostly. I would not consider one for a cheapie Technics TT but if it is otherwise a great turntable this might be a solution. Get the spec's on your motor call a rep' at Allied electronics and see what they can do for you.
 
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I wouldn't loose sleep over this. With the vinyl/analog revival there has also been a revival of servicing of the vintage direct drive turntables with a fair number of qualified techs that have been able to locate just about any component or a substitute needed. My guess is most of the well built direct drives if serviced will be still going 50 years from now.
 
I agree.

My Yamaha YP-D4 Direct Drive is solid, and has been since I bought it in 1980. Nothing to service. No issues, no problems.

Have a Pioneer PL-514 belt that has gone through a few belts, AND, it needs to be oiled regularly. I still use is with one of my systems and it is an old faithful, but prefer direct drive.

Just to round things out, I have a MusicHall with an outboard motor. ;)
 
If my Micro DD-8 motor ever konks out, I'll just pop in a contemporary motor

Like the "Langer" DIY Drive Set
Motor + Controller + Terminal in an aluminum housing

The Langer branded turntable is a near copy of the Micro DD-8. Both plinths are a big ol chunk o wood. A bit of wood routing and ... Viola!

http://www.langer-audio.de/Page11.html
 
Five years ago I posted about my PL-570. It's had a lot of use since then but has given no problems other than a slightly noisy arm-return motor, which a couple drops of oil fixed. I suspect it will still be going strong in 2019, when I will again visit this thread.:D
 
SP-10 Mk II and SP-25 the most reliable, easiest to keep alive DD turntables. The most maintainable, the best motors ever made. Designed and engineered to be service friendly.
 
Kent, the SP-10mKII is the model with the motor controller that can go bad and has unobtanium parts. There are loads of controllerless SP-10mKII motors out there waiting for a working controller to pop up on ebay. There is an entire thread at DIYaudio attempting to come up with a new design for the controller to get the old SP-10 MkIIs operating again.
 
dnewma04 said:
Kent, the SP-10mKII is the model with the motor controller that can go bad and has unobtanium parts. There are loads of controllerless SP-10mKII motors out there waiting for a working controller to pop up on ebay. There is an entire thread at DIYaudio attempting to come up with a new design for the controller to get the old SP-10 MkIIs operating again.
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Are you talking about the power supply? There's not really much to go wrong there except for the capacitors, which are bad, even if they test OK.

The SP10Mk.III has a pitch control integrated into the power supply which can go bad. AFAIK, it's possible to bypass that and lock it in so that the speed isn't adjustable.
 
Another question - the hall effect sensors used - they're non standard parts, and sometimes go bad. Any idea what can be done about them?
 
Just about all the responses have centered on the technical aspects of the vintage direct drive TTs. What might of been overlooked is the shop owners financial incentive not to sell the vintage DD TTs. It was probably his decision to instead sell new turntables that would probably have a higher profit margin with less potential hassles for him having a mfg to stand behind any warranty issues. With only a couple of current production DD TTS that would match or exceed the vintage DD TTs the cost of these tables is sky high. HiFiDo in Japan has been selling vintage DD TTs for many years and by the looks of it sales have been booming, not all but many are noted to have been serviced and I havn't seen any dissatisfaction from buyers.
 
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