Rega Pulley Wobble

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by RI79, Jun 23, 2022.

  1. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    You have a video of it running the belt installed and a lot of wobble, and a video of the motor alone running without the pulley with seemingly much lees wobble, what did it look like with belt removed and pulley still installed, did you try that? It could be just the belt causing the motor to wobble in it's compliant mount, the frequency of wobble seems lower than the motor speed.
     
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  2. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    1, 2 and 3 you move the belt, 6, 8 and 10 comes with the Neo PSU.

    All the Rega turntables have been fitted with the EBLT belts since May 2020 and whilst the Technics DD will have better wow and flutter specs, the cheaper Hanpin models may not.

    Most Technics SL-1200GR owners would enjoy records played on a current spec Rega Planar 6 and conversely, most Planar 6 owners would enjoy the Technics. They are both well built, reliable and offer owners years of listening pleasure - just different!

    The UK pricing of the Planar 1, 2 and 3 make them excellent value and far cheaper than the Technics 1500C.
     
    The Pinhead likes this.
  3. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    It does seem odd that the top edge of the shaft appears to be so irregular while the shaft itself perfect. While the shaft will compress downward, it is very firmly in place laterally. I cannot move it side to side. When I recently brought the turntable out of storage, a local expert set it up for me, replacing the belt. So the belt's new. After getting the deck home, I noticed the warped spindle on the original subplatter. I then discovered the great products from GrooveTracer and TangoSpinner. Decided in the end to go with the GrooveTracer subplatter and platter, which I really love. Incidentally, after brining the table home from the dealer where it was set up, my seven-year-old touched the stylus, bending the cantilever. That's when I upgraded to the ClearAudio Maestro. Rather than bringing it back to the dealership, I bought the required protractors, etc. and did the work myself. I did notice the wobbly pulley, but felt like it was fine because it was keeping good time, and honestly, I was a bit intimidated by the removal process. Didn't want to get acetone everywhere when it seemed to be keeping very consistent time. My pulley didn't look like those I'd seen in pics and videos (there appeared to be no opening at the top, for example). Anyway, after the conversation last night, I felt confident that I could remove it and it was easy to in the end.

    I ordered a pulley from TangoSpinner last night. After I install it, I'll post an update here. One other aberration seems to be how depressed the pulley was on the shaft. Does that seem odd to anyone else? I'm obviously no expert, but I haven't seen any other pics online in which the shaft is protruding from the top of the pulley. Running my finger over the top of the pulley now, the circumference of the shaft hole almost feels raised, like there's an upward burr around the shaft hole opening. Wonder if someone forced it on at some point, causing the irregularities that are visible on the top of the shaft?
     
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  4. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Good thinking. Unfortunately, it's just as wobbly without the belt. However, I did notice after removing the pulley and cleaning it in acetone, that I could almost rest it down onto the shaft to a point at which it was spinning without wobble, which makes me wonder if the hole within the pulley is damaged.
     
  5. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Well, hopefully the new pulley will fix it up, it should be a fairly close tolerance fit on the shaft to prevent runout. How will you glue it on the shaft, with cyanoacrylate super glue?

    In that first video you can see the belt kind of jerk every revolution of the platter, so I'd still inspect the belt, pull it through your fingers feeling for any imperfections. Also make sure the subplatter is clean on the belt surface and is rotating freely.
     
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  6. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    I think that superglue is the correct adhesive, at least based on what I’ve seen online. I’ll ultimately follow whatever instructions TangoSpinner provide.
     
  7. harby

    harby Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
  8. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    OK, sounds good, still doesn't look like the wobble is happening 5 times per second, which is the motor rotation speed, but might just be an optical illusion. Good luck with it :)
     
    RI79 likes this.
  9. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Thanks, Davey! I appreciate your insights.
     
  10. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Hi everyone, here’s the update:

    I’ve installed the double 33 rpm TangoSpinner pulley and added two Rega Reference EBLT Drive Belts. All looks good now. Apparently the issue was with the pulley itself. Here’s a video. Also, now I’m hearing some motor noise (after all that!) so we’ll see how things go. In the end, I may end up with a new motor. Chugging sounds are a good sign, right? For now, speed is consistent and the motor sound is inaudible when playing music.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Just wanted to update this thread for anyone who might benefit from learning about the solution to my Rega P5 motor noise problem.

    After the pulley wobble issue was resolved, my motor developed a ticking sound. I reached out to the Sound Organization, and received great support from Cole, who advised me on how to add just a bit of 20w50 oil to the motor spindle. I really appreciate the time he took to help with this issue, especially considering this is a 2007 P5 (that I’ve modified!). The Sound Org was still happy to help me get to the bottom of the problem, despite the age of the deck and all of my aftermarket mods. The chances that my next turntable will be a Rega have certainly increased!

    After adding the oil and running the motor for a while, the ticking sound decreased significantly, but was still there. Around the same time I’d reached out to the Sound Organization, I also ordered SRM Tech’s thrust bearing kit. I figured it might fix the problem, but probably couldn’t make it worse. The install was easier than anticipated, and when I turned on the motor, it was dead quiet. To my surprise. I wasn’t exactly surprised that SRM Tech’s product worked, but that it was the right solution to my problem. I reached out to Stuart at SRM with a question, and he responded immediately. On a Saturday!

    I’ve had such great support in getting to the bottom of these issues, I just wanted to share my solution and sing some praises.

    And so, I’m very happy with the results. Reading forums also helped me to get to the bottom of these problems. Hopefully this post can help someone else.
     
  12. Slimpickens

    Slimpickens Forum Resident

    Location:
    Las Vegas
    That’s awesome! Thanks for updating us!
     
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  13. Phil Thien

    Phil Thien Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    What does this thrust bearing kit do exactly, is it for the motor or ?
     
  14. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Hey Phil, here’s the best explanation, from SRM’s site. I’ll add that I didn’t have to drill a hole in the motor cover plate. The SRM thrust bearing shaft fit perfectly and might have actually had a bit more clearance than the old one. Also, my Rega has a Premotec motor:

    This is our very effective motor thrust bearing designed for the Philips / Impex / Premotec motor that powers the superb Rega Planar and Linn Turntables, as well as the majority of other audiophile decks on the market. We also have a slightly different model designed specifically for Thorens motors. These motors have sleeve bearings at the top and bottom and the spindle rides on the bottom sleeve. If you gently move the pulley up and down you will feel a small amount of play between the two. Years ago people discovered that by making the motor ride between the two sleeve bearings (on a pad) improved sound quality by reducing motor noise. Solutions, however, using bits of plastic, springs and grease were haphazard to say the least. This motor thrust bearing is in effect a miniature main bearing, consisting of a phosphor bronze bearing shaft, housing a lubricated 4mm hardened steel ball. This assembly glues on to the base of the motor and the motor spindle rides on the ball, but does not touch the sides of the shaft. The height at which the ball sits in the shaft is adjustable by means of a grub screw, so once mounted you simply tighten the grub screw until the motor spindle is lifted off the bottom motor sleeve. The motor spindle now runs on a proper bearing - and is less noisy! This is an elegant, compact and lightweight solution. It comes complete with the allen wrench needed to adjust it. Any deck using this motor will benefit significantly - even those already fitted with some form of thrust bearing. The quieter the Turntable motor, the lower the noise floor. This is why so many purchasers comment on how much more information they hear after fitting this. You really need to have the deck upside down to fit it (or at least have the motor upside down) but it is very easy to glue it on. Incidentally, my experiments have shown that although the superglue holds it solidly in place, should you wish to remove it, it will snap off with no damage to the motor. It projects around 10mm beneath the motor, so Rega owners will need to drill a small hole in the cover plate. On a suspended sub-chassis turntable there is plenty of clearance.
     
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  15. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    And in pictures, stock motor, SRM thrust kit installed, SRM kit showing the ball and adjustment screw ...



    [​IMG]
     
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  16. Phil Thien

    Phil Thien Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Very clever!
     
  17. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    Very nice work! Must be immensely satisfying to fix that problem. :righton:
     
    RI79 likes this.
  18. plastico

    plastico Forum Resident

    Location:
    ontario canada
    I have one on my setup and I found it made things pop a little more....
    Cheers, Doug
     
    RI79 likes this.
  19. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    What a wonderful name for a band!

    Rega Pulley Wobble? Hmmm, I used to like them before they went commercial.
     
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  20. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    And here are the parts that were replaced. You’ll see the plastic housing (replaced by brass housing), a ball bearing (which is slightly larger than the SRM bearing), and a spring (replaced by adjustable grub screw).

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2022
  21. Randoms

    Randoms Aerie Faerie Nonsense

    Location:
    UK
    Linn glued the thrust pad in position back in 1991, not long after the Lingo was introduced in 1990.

    [​IMG]
     
    RI79 likes this.
  22. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Oh, didn't realize your motor was the type that already had a thrust bearing on the bottom. Anyway, nice that you got it all fixed up, interesting thread, and good luck with it into the future :)
     
    RI79 likes this.
  23. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    Thanks! The SRM thrust bearing seems like a big improvement over the stock parts.
     
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  24. TSWisla

    TSWisla Forum Resident

    How did you get the pulley off?
     
  25. RI79

    RI79 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Rhode Island
    It’s been so long, so I’m not 100% sure. But if memory serves, after surrounding the base of the shaft in a cloth, I inserted a few drops of acetone into the opening at the top of the pulley. Then I used two spoons to apply gentle pressure. When it popped off, I remember thinking that I’m lucky that the release of force didn’t send my arm/elbow into my tonearm. Good luck!
     
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