Please Need Help, Technics SP10 mk II

[hallcon83]

Hello, I'm a newbie with turntables and I am buying an Technics SP10 mkII . . . the gentleman shipping it to me from England does not not have the Motor Lock Down Plate that is used for shipping, instead he will secure the motor with " alternative pads and tape " . . . . this REALLY worries me becouse the literature seems to say not to ship without it, AND it is a long way from England to the USA. Am I over-reacting ? . . .. . . . is there another way to ship this safely ? ......... I looked at the service manual thinking that he could take the motor out of bearing but thy seem to be one unit --- I couldn't find a diagram of how the motor seperates from the bearing, THANK YOU for any help you can give, Sincerely, hallcon83

[kevinkr]

Not very familiar with the TT, but I assume he could make a motor lock down plate out of very stiff cardboard, thin sheet of plastic, etc.. The motor and bearing cannot be separated to the best of my knowledge.

Others more knowledgeable than me hopefully will chime in with more useful comments. I've seen the results first hand of incompetent packing of expensive turntables - I have an SME 20 at the moment precisely because it was badly packed and damaged during shipping. (The purchaser never used it for this reason amongst others.) The damage is mostly minor cosmetic stuff, but the control box was damaged - fortunately I was able to repair it. The threaded portion of the spindle snapped off because it was shipped with the record weight attached, this is not so minor and terribly expensive to repair, but doesn't actually prevent me from immensely enjoying the TT.

Tape is USELESS.. The motor assembly must be properly secured as stated in the manual.

Nothing should be free to move during transport, and it should be extremely well padded and double boxed. The platter should never be shipped in place. Should be packed in its own separate and well padded box at the bottom of the main carton. The arm (if present) should be packed separately in its own box within the carton. The package should be clearly marked as fragile, but not marked as to actual contents except in the customs paperwork. Cover should go in its own separate shipping carton.

Dealing with damaged goods from overseas can be a nightmare.