Issues with my Technics SL-1200 MKII

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Octavian, May 10, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. The FRiNgE

    The FRiNgE Forum Resident

    Is that how you found it? One wire is missing!!!! The solder splatter and mess can be cleaned up with a Q tip and isopropyl, but the burns will remain. As long as the burn isn't between any two traces, the board is usable. If you are not experienced with soldering, the turntable should be returned to the seller, or ship it to a technician. Even some techs are poor at soldering. :( Sorry to convey the negatives, but much better to know in advance, and ask about the tech's soldering skills, and send photos if possible. Shipping the turntable presents another great challenge, as it is a heavy but fragile item. They often arrive seriously damaged.

    The arm resistance near the rest position is not a worn bearing problem, but it could be a damaged bearing race from previous disassembly. Another cause as mentioned here by other members, can be a malfunctioning anti-skate mechanism, or tone arm wire in contact/ hung up on a mechanical part. There is also the possibility of a botched attempt to service the turntable, and a part may be out of position, a cycle (arm return) pawl out of position that interferes with free movement of the arm.

    The SL-1200 is one of the most reliable turntables ever built, very sorry you are having these problems.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018
  2. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Thank you for your help.

    I took off the other wire as the solder was so bad it basically came off.

    I ordered a new circuit board with the rca already soldered on.

    I’ll probably still try to fix this one myself so I can get it working now though.

    What are the chances that replacing the tone arm doesn’t fix my resistance problem?
     
  3. druboogie

    druboogie Maverick Stacker

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I’ve repaired tons of those tone arms, and I think the resistance problem is that either the anti skate spring is hung up on something (under the circuit board) or the tone arm bearings were adjusted wrong and the gimbal bearings are tilted towards the platter which would make it resist staying near the arm rest. But I would need you to take pictures of both to make that determination.
    You can look at the gimbal (tone arm pivot) and see if the bearings are all evenly spaced, or if the whole gimbal is perfectly straight. That can be fixed but it takes a lot of adjustment time.
     
  4. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Actually, I think I found the problem.

    There this little thing on the tonearm, not sure what it's called, here's the picture:

    [​IMG]

    This part is very bent. Because of this, it ends up hitting the white part. Once it hits that, I start to feel that familiar resistance.

    [​IMG]

    I probably could fix it, but the new tonearm is here and I might as well replace it.

    I wonder what caused this... Someone clearly didn't care for this table. I'm happy enough though to bring it back to life.
     
    The FRiNgE, displayname and Davey like this.
  5. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Just installed the new one. Sure enough, that was the problem.
     
  6. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Is that the locking mech?

    A lot of times those get torqued down too tight and mangled.
     
  7. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Soldering went great, except for the left rca and ground. No matter what, the solder won't stick. I believe it's because they are so messed up. I used a qtip with some alcohol to clean it but no luck. Any advice or am I better off just waiting until the new board comes in?
     
  8. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm

    There is probably no copper on the PCB.
     
    The FRiNgE, Octavian and 56GoldTop like this.
  9. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    So no use even trying? Sorry I am new at this
     
  10. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    It´s fixable, but I think You should wait for the new PCB.
     
    The FRiNgE, Octavian and 56GoldTop like this.
  11. 56GoldTop

    56GoldTop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhere, Ok
    Someone went through a great deal of trouble to screw up this tonearm. Either that or the worst tech in the world had his hands in there. Amazing.

    But, despite that person's best effort, as we all know already... ...replaceable and/or fixable... ...and the table lives on... ...and not for a huge outlay of money.
     
    Octavian likes this.
  12. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    One thing, make sure the AS is working.
     
  13. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    How?
     
  14. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    If you can get a signal through, it's fixable.
     
  15. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    The trace is missing at the point where you'd solder the wire. You could remove/scrape the coating from the remaining trace and solder the wire to it if you're good. The previous tech obviously wasn't.
     
    The FRiNgE likes this.
  16. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    So just scrape off where I was soldering until I get nice clean copper? (Obviously making sure the copper plates don't touch) And then solder the wire to that clean copper? I'm willing to bet I can do that. I'll post pictures of the finished product to make sure it looks good.
     
  17. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    Follow the trace you were soldering on back until it is undamaged. Scrape and solder, there.
     
    timind and Octavian like this.
  18. missan

    missan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockholm
    When You mount the arm the AS dial must be on zero.
     
    Octavian likes this.
  19. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Oh okay so the trace (particles) that I scrape off, I use as a kind of adhesive to allow the solder to stick to the original spot. Sorry for so many questions just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly
     
  20. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    The trace is the pathway you can see on the board. Where your board is burned, the trace is damaged / no longer conductive.
    If you follow the trace back from the burn, it is possible to lightly scrape the coating to reveal the undamaged trace / still conductive path.
     
    Octavian likes this.
  21. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Got it!
     
    timind likes this.
  22. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Success! Thank you.
     
  23. Octavian

    Octavian Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Louisiana
    Here is the finished soldering product. Far from pretty but should get the job done.

    [​IMG]
     
  24. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    You getting signal?
    If so, success!

    Though the replacement will be an improvement...but no reason not to improve your SolderFu.
     
  25. 56GoldTop

    56GoldTop Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhere, Ok
    I can't really tell from the picture; but, I would make sure you still have enough insulation on those leads so that if they flex during re-installation, they won't touch. If they do, you won't like the result and will soon be pulling it back apart. It doesn't take very much bare wire and solder at all to make a good (electrical) connection.
     
    Guitarded likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine