beginner help - thorens td 125 mk2

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Hi,

I have just aquired a td 125mk2 and am looking for some help.

Firstly there is no plug on the end of the twin grey wire from the unit. It is a uk player so im assuming i just need to wire one on?

The arm has been replaced with a linn basik plus and im unsure what the cartridge is. I took everything apart and everything seems connected and nothing looks damaged inside.

I am a little confused by the cartridge however. I cant seem to see the needle? Do these 'move down' when the player is turned on? On my current cheap player the needle is visible all of the time.

I also need to purchase a new plastic cover and where the arm is attached the wood is a tad damaged so would like to replace this too if there is a good parts retailer.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Hi

The twin grey lead you mention sounds like the power lead. If so, and if the voltage is the same as the UK where you are, you just need to attach a mains plug, as you say. The Basik Plus arm should have its own lead with phono plugs, of course.

An 'invisible' stylus (needle) normally means it has gone for good! You need to buy a new stylus for the cartridge. If it isn't clear what the cartridge is, try to see whether there is a descriptive label on the top surface that contacts the headshell. You may need to dismount the cartridge to see.

The alternative is simply to buy a new cartridge with stylus, and these would range from the Audio Technica AT95E, which works well in these arms, up to some quite expensive models.

For a replacement cover, you'd need to look for a second-hand one (people sometimes sell the individual parts of these decks). Alternatively, a plastics fabricator could make one up to your measurements quite cheaply.

HTH

Mark
 
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Hi

The twin grey lead you mention sounds like the power lead. If so, and if the voltage is the same as the UK where you are, you just need to attach a mains plug, as you say. The Basik Plus arm should have its own lead with phono plugs, of course.

An 'invisible' stylus (needle) normally means it has gone for good! You need to buy a new stylus for the cartridge. If it isn't clear what the cartridge is, try to see whether there is a descriptive label on the top surface that contacts the headshell. You may need to dismount the cartridge to see.

The alternative is simply to buy a new cartridge with stylus, and these would range from the Audio Technica AT95E, which works well in these arms, up to some quite expensive models.

For a replacement cover, you'd need to look for a second-hand one (people sometimes sell the individual parts of these decks). Alternatively, a plastics fabricator could make one up to your measurements quite cheaply.

HTH

Mark

Great thanks for the help.

Are the cartridges expensive? I have never bought one before. The arm has its own phono cables which i have cleaned up.

The cartridge on there almost looks as if the arm and needle fold up inside?

I have a spare but this seems to definitely be broken as the arm is present but there is no little needle attached to the end of it. This one i know is a ortofon however?
 
you need to post some photo to identify the type of cartridge you had and you mention ortofon they aren't cheap I would say

1 or 2 amps I think will do it's only to power the motor, to distinguish you need trace where the two leads goes if it go thru transformer then doesnt matter either way if not you need to wire (L or HOt ) means live is connected to fuse and the other to ground
 
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Manuals for this table are on Vinyl Engine | The Home of the Turntable, you need to be a member to access them. Lots of helpful people over there as well.. Please make sure that the power transformer is actually wired for your local mains voltage if it did not come from a UK/European seller.

You should plan on having the electroytic capacitors in the power supply replaced fairly soon if they have not been done already. Further service may be required if the motor is not running properly.

Do you have a belt on your table and when powered up does the motor actually run?
 
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It was meant to be a reply did it wrong sorry.

The motor doesnt seem to do anything? The belt is brand new so im wondering if something is causing the motor to stick. Is was working fine before going into storage

It's a forty year old table with a bunch of electronics that deteriorates over time so the switches probably need to be cleaned and all of the electrolytic capacitors replaced. The motor does not run directly off of the mains, it has its own oscillator and amplifiers. Unless you are good with electronics this is probably a job for a good service tech or a nearby electronics savvy member.
 
i own one of those. it has a number of buttons that make it turn. which one did you press?

more importantly: have you read the manual?

the 125mk2 with its original arm will lower the arm at the push of one of its buttons and raise it at the end of the record. you will have to figure out how much of the electronics related to that are still in use or else have been removed/bypassed.

post pictures!
 
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i own one of those. it has a number of buttons that make it turn. which one did you press?

more importantly: have you read the manual?

the 125mk2 with its original arm will lower the arm at the push of one of its buttons and raise it at the end of the record. you will have to figure out how much of the electronics related to that are still in use or else have been removed/bypassed.

post pictures!

The ones I have worked on have no electronics associated with the arm at all, and all switches are slide type switches with exposed wipers that oxidize over time. This table was sold both with and without a Thorens arm, and even in a case where a Thorens arm may have been fitted the arm board is easily replaced.
 
Here are some photos.

The arm has the phono cable running from it and a small thin cable connected to the body of the player too, im guessing earth?

Ive tried turning te unit on with the sliding switch and adjusting the speed but this hasnt made any difference.

I have a nice stainless plate on order for the hole in the arm board to cover the hold.

Ive photographed the cartridge that i cant identify as well.

02012012263.jpg

02012012264.jpg

02012012265.jpg

02012012269.jpg
 
Hi

The cartridge is a Linn K5 or K9 (probably a K5). Unfortunately, replacement styli are no longer available for either of these. A simple solution might be to buy an Audio Technica ATN95E stylus, which ought to fit (the bodies of these Linn cartridges were made by AT). It's just possible that the stylus assembly would need some plastic trimmed off it to fit (though the body shape does look very like the AT95E cartridge, so maybe not). Something like a Goldring 1012GX might be a saner choice!

This is all for after you get the deck rotating, of course! I believe Dominic Harper of North West Analogue offers turntable servicing, so that might be an option.

Mark
 
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Just to add, the thin wire you mention is almost certainly an earth, and should be connected to the earth terminal on the amp/phono amp (whichever you are using).

As the deck worked before it went into storage, it's quite possible a switch contact has corroded in that time, and is no longer passing current. It might be as simple as that. I take it the mains plug is wired correctly. If the mains lead is like my old TD160, there are two cores, live and neutral (brown and blue).

Mark
 
Ok thanks for that. :)

I think i will buy a new stylus for the ortofon if i can put this on the linn arm? This cartridge seems to have very good reviews.

I would ideally like to get the table working myself, i do have some electronics knowledge. Would taking the unit apart to have a look be of any use, are the components clear to see? Im also struggling to find a guide of how to take the unit apart, it seems pretty well together.

The mains i have fitted a new 3 pin plug connected with a 3a fuse. The earth from the arm is earthed to the table itself. I am using a marantz amp.
 
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Ok thanks for that. :)

<snip>

I would ideally like to get the table working myself, i do have some electronics knowledge. Would taking the unit apart to have a look be of any use, are the components clear to see? Im also struggling to find a guide of how to take the unit apart, it seems pretty well together.
<snip>

The full manuals for this table can be found at Vinyl Engine | The Home of the Turntable as I mentioned in a previous post. You must however be a member. The table is fairly easy to take apart - I've worked on several MKI and MKII.. The motor, electronics, and main bearing differ significantly between the two versions and are not interchangeable if you end up needing parts.
 
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