Hey guys, since yesterday, my Technics SL100C Tonearm is not firmly up anymore when I lift it with the cue lever. It doesnt stay all the way up but instead will drop 3-4mm. It seems like the lever/resting bridge can't handle the tonearm and counter weight anymore. The turntable is only two months old and it seems the cue lever is already worn out? I will post a video later this day when I'm back from work. Since I don't have much experiences with turntables, is there anything I can do to make it solid again? I only tried one screw, but this was for the height when dropping the needle. Not to mention I'm dissapoined since the unit is so new... Thanks a lot
One of these two things to try: - talk to your dealer may be the best approch - put a thick tape on the arm support to see if it stays higher
I had the same issue with a golden 1200M7L tonearm. They share a lot of parts, so the issue is probably the same. Issue looked like this: I replaced it with a black tonearm, because the gold is too tacky for me anyways. No issues on the black one.
Ikr. I just happened to have plans already for replacing the ugly golden tonearm. What I meant was, it’s likely design related.
You could try starting over with the tonearm and counterweight adjustments you do when getting the table ready out of the box, as per the manual.
Yep, I’d return. Shouldn’t be that way. My 1500C had a cueing failure too, though much worse, the auto lift was permantly jammed up after a week of use. I’d get it exchanged now before the issue gets worse.
Before getting a refund as above try rebalancing the arm, do you have a stylus tracking force scales?
I'm guessing 3-4mm drop of cue lever means the stylus is still above the record. During our UK hot spell when indoor temperatures exceeded 30, my SL1500C would self drop the stylus all the way down onto the record. Strange thing is that it only happened when cueing my VM540ML set at 2g but held up with my G1042 at 1.8g. 2g must have been the tipping point. I've posted recently that I have gotten used to cueing with the auto-lift engaged. It's a firm push with my thumb against the spring loaded auto-lift. The action is totally counter-intuitive but it works a treat.
You didn't by any chance make the mistake of locking your arm into its cradle and putting the lever in the up position, did you? That can damage the lifter mechanism.
Hello guys, thanks so much for the answers. I tried almost everything already. Saldy no success, I'm very frustrated and think my only option left is contacting panasonic. Heres the video for reference: Two days ago I had no issues.
Sadly, there is some truth to this. The new models, as good as they may be, don't appear to be as bug-free as the older models. I gave serious consideration to buying an SL-1200GR, but reports of faulty cue levers was part of my decision to get a older Sl-1200MK2 and performance-mod it.
Fekx - have you tried cueing against the spring loaded auto-lift mechanism. It really works well. For nearly two years I would reset the auto-lift before cueing a new record. Now I just reset and cue in one spring loaded motion. Of course it only works when the auto-lift has been triggered at the end of a record.
It looks like it just settles into the same spot. If it's still above the LP, it shouldn't be a problem right?
That's what I was wondering. I understand that something developing an issue like this is not ideal, but if the new lower level still clears the record's surface I don't think I'd bother attempting a return/exchange/warranty repair.