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Thread: Newbie questions - Technics SL1210mkII

  1. #1
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    Question Newbie questions - Technics SL1210mkII

    Hi all, newly registered on here so pleae be gentle

    I have owned a 1210 mkII for about 10 years; originally with an Origin Live/Rega arm replacement, but recently have upgraded to a newer Origin Live tonearm instead. Deck has never seen heavy use and never been used in any real anger!

    After fitting the tonearm, I decided to break out some of my old vinyl and was happily playing at +2 when after about 25 minutes, the pitch started dpping and changing - almost like the poiwer had been cut, and then carrying on. At first i thought there was a problem with one of my old club vinyl (some of them have come from discogs and are a little worn) - but it started doing it with some perfect discs as well. then i noticed that at 0% it was perfect, but the pitch fader was jumping all over the place, as soon as off 0% it would go spinning off at +6%. the moment it cooled down, it was ok again.

    So after some reading, i decided the best starting point would be the 5.1v zener diode and the pitch fader. i sourced the fader from technics-service.co.uk (a -2 variation) and also sourced the genuine technics diode from him as well (I know i could source for a fraction elsewhere but thought i would rule out any possible issues). Also bought some oil for the spindle.

    So - last night armed with my scope and multimeter I got to work on the deck. I replaced the zener diode, then replaced the fader and set at 0% I set the pot to exactly 2.7KOhm, then used the scope to set the frequency to exactly 262.08KHz. I also stripped the spindle and cleaned, re-oiled and re-assembled. this is where the problems started!

    Problem 1 - While cleaning the spindle, the brass bushing came out of the housing completely. It appears to have some sort of adshevice substance at the top of the sleeve to hold it up, but now when i take the platter off, the spindle and bushing come with it! From what i've read, this is an issue with a damaged seal on the underside and only solution is a new spindle. Is that correct?

    Problem 2 - The strobe dots now seem a little "fuzzy". although they lock and are readable they seem to almost phase a little in and out of focus - anu suggestions of is this normal (Can't say i've noticed it before but never been looking that closely)

    Problem 3 - The pitch and fader calibration result was a perfect 0%, +6 at about 5.5% and +/-3 at approx +/-2.4%. i rechecked everything and still the same. I notice a few people saying to try the "double zero" measurement way of calibrating, but it seems strange the official technics service manual way isn't accurate - particularly as I used the "near original but improved" fader. is this common/accepted behaviour or am i missing something?

    Quite happy to play around with this myself but would rather be armed with the collective knowledge of the experts on here first

  2. #2
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    Anyone offer any advice?

  3. #3
    Deez Beats! KLH's Avatar
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    We usually have quick responses to 1200 questions. I wonder if people are on vacation???
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    BanHammer™⚒️ Manu's Avatar
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    I had a quick read through, it seems that you somehow may have damaged the spindle assembly.

    The strobe dots now seem a little "fuzzy"
    The motor is losing consistency because of the spindle, and struggles against it because there may be a little play due to the damaged seal. Your fader calibration may be correct, but a spindle problem will result in inconsistent speeds outside of zero. Because the deck is sending the exact current to the the motor, but he mechanical problem will slow it down. I'm afraid there no way to get an accurate reading until you solve the core problem.


    Anyway I'm moving the thread to DIY, see if that catches more attention.
    Last edited by Manu; 08-21-2020 at 01:51 PM.

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