Currently I am in the process of restoring a Pioneer PL 514 turntable (220-240V model). It has two capacitors between the AC motor and the on/off switch which is actuated by the tonearm.
The capacitors read MEI, 450V ~, .047 µF, ECN-C4A. If I have done my homework correctly these are paper-in-oil capacitors in a ceramic housing with orange shrink wrap. Since they are over forty years old and I lack the necessary tools to measure their capacitance, I want to replace them.
The closest I can find are these CDE Orange Drops (715P47358MD3 Cornell Dubilier - CDE | Mouser) and these “Nichicon” (PWS2152470KJ Nichicon | Capacitors | DigiKey). The distance between the soldering posts of the turntable is 40mm, so the long leads on the Orange Drops should be easily adjustable to span 40mm.
My questions are as follows:
I would love to hear your thoughts.
The capacitors read MEI, 450V ~, .047 µF, ECN-C4A. If I have done my homework correctly these are paper-in-oil capacitors in a ceramic housing with orange shrink wrap. Since they are over forty years old and I lack the necessary tools to measure their capacitance, I want to replace them.
The closest I can find are these CDE Orange Drops (715P47358MD3 Cornell Dubilier - CDE | Mouser) and these “Nichicon” (PWS2152470KJ Nichicon | Capacitors | DigiKey). The distance between the soldering posts of the turntable is 40mm, so the long leads on the Orange Drops should be easily adjustable to span 40mm.
My questions are as follows:
- What is the likelihood of these capacitors needing replacement?
- Will either of the stated caps be a good replacement parts and if not, what capacitors should I get?
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Are there issues you’re trying to resolve with your proposed component replacements/modifications?
I’m not an expert, but I refurbished a 120v PL-514 earlier this year, and didn’t replace capacitors or modify the built in RCA connectors. Return operation is flawless and sound quality is amazing on the completed unit.
FWIW, my refurb consisted of the following:
I’m not an expert, but I refurbished a 120v PL-514 earlier this year, and didn’t replace capacitors or modify the built in RCA connectors. Return operation is flawless and sound quality is amazing on the completed unit.
FWIW, my refurb consisted of the following:
- New feet to replace sagged existing feet
- oil motor
- clean & re-lube spindle
- new reproduction tonearm rest to replace broken original
- new model-specific belt (this is speed critical)
- ‘welded’ the cracked pickup plate
- adjust slipped pickup actuator (not sure of naming convention on this)
- fresh viscous grease for pickup mechanism
- re-glue some of the original factory veneer
- added spacers between headshell and cart to fix factory tonearm azimuth issue
- new nude elliptical stylus for existing Pickering cartridge
To be honest, I could not fully test the turntable before taking it apart, because the stylus carrier was bent. The bent carrier prevented me from playing a record and test for noise or hum. It was spinning, but the autoreturn did not fully return the tonearm. Possible causes are sticky grease, missing felt on the pusher (though I am unsure if this particular mechanism has such a pad to begin with) or a defective anti-skating mechanism.
The main reason for wanting to replace the caps is because of their age. I do not know why they are there, but I suppose they suppress noise coming from the mains. That is also the reason for want to place the mains and RCA leads further apart.
I will mostly be performing the same work you have done on yours with the exception of the cracked pick up plate (mine is fine), replacing the tonearm rest and re-glueing the veneer. May I ask what feet you use for your PL514? Did you adjust the azimuth visually (with the aid of an azimuth block) or did you measure the output for both channels? What parts of the pickup mechanism (or do you mean the return mechanism?) did you grease and what grease did you use?
The main reason for wanting to replace the caps is because of their age. I do not know why they are there, but I suppose they suppress noise coming from the mains. That is also the reason for want to place the mains and RCA leads further apart.
I will mostly be performing the same work you have done on yours with the exception of the cracked pick up plate (mine is fine), replacing the tonearm rest and re-glueing the veneer. May I ask what feet you use for your PL514? Did you adjust the azimuth visually (with the aid of an azimuth block) or did you measure the output for both channels? What parts of the pickup mechanism (or do you mean the return mechanism?) did you grease and what grease did you use?
The capacitors are inexpensive enough that it's an easy choice to replace them.
I used these feet. Just plain black rubber that were tall enough to allow airflow under the motor cover. Might change to something fancier later, but these work well enough for now.
https://www.parts-express.com/Penn-Elcom-9145-Rubber-Cabinet-Foot-1.5-Dia.-x-1.5-H-260-7710
For azimuth, I used a block. A couple of thicknesses of paper from a business card between the head shell and cartridge leveled it out. I didn't want to attempt disassembling the tonearm to adjust.
Pickup grease goes on the cylinder called "Shaft A" in the service manual. "Shaft B" is mounted inside Shaft A with a tiny setscrew, and is what needs to be adjusted if the auto-return engages without raising the arm. If I recall the outer shaft handles manual pickup with the lever, and the inner shaft is what handles auto pickup.
Took me a while to figure that one out, as it's not in the service manual, and was not obvious.
It takes very little grease to perform the damping. I used 300,000 weight fluid, which can be found online, or locally at hobby shops that sell radio control model cars, as it's used in the differentials.
I used these feet. Just plain black rubber that were tall enough to allow airflow under the motor cover. Might change to something fancier later, but these work well enough for now.
https://www.parts-express.com/Penn-Elcom-9145-Rubber-Cabinet-Foot-1.5-Dia.-x-1.5-H-260-7710
For azimuth, I used a block. A couple of thicknesses of paper from a business card between the head shell and cartridge leveled it out. I didn't want to attempt disassembling the tonearm to adjust.
Pickup grease goes on the cylinder called "Shaft A" in the service manual. "Shaft B" is mounted inside Shaft A with a tiny setscrew, and is what needs to be adjusted if the auto-return engages without raising the arm. If I recall the outer shaft handles manual pickup with the lever, and the inner shaft is what handles auto pickup.
Took me a while to figure that one out, as it's not in the service manual, and was not obvious.
It takes very little grease to perform the damping. I used 300,000 weight fluid, which can be found online, or locally at hobby shops that sell radio control model cars, as it's used in the differentials.