Finally finished repairing an Ebay instrument im the shop. I'm learning my lesson about these damn online "deals" - they always seem to have stupid random crap wrong with them that I've never seen before. Seriously thinking about adopting an "Ebay surcharge" or something. Grrr...
As far as I'm concerned, ANYthing purchased from some online web service is like a crap shoot....
Crap, being the keyword here.
You take your chances...
A lot of those ebay sellers are only out for the money, selling abused/tampered with crap.
But nevertheless, the lovely "internet" is now a tool to make anybody a full-fledged technician..... all you need is a radio shack soldering iron and a cheap meter, and your there!
Hogwash!
I've seen more messed up crap come into my shop by agitated ebay victims than I can count.
Crap, being the keyword here.
You take your chances...
A lot of those ebay sellers are only out for the money, selling abused/tampered with crap.
But nevertheless, the lovely "internet" is now a tool to make anybody a full-fledged technician..... all you need is a radio shack soldering iron and a cheap meter, and your there!
Hogwash!
I've seen more messed up crap come into my shop by agitated ebay victims than I can count.
A Thorens TD-125 MKII with mechanical and electronic issues. It was in a shop I recommended to the customer and came back not working, and with the belt guides removed (and they are a real pain to install). It just had a new belt put on a a great technician's place (He died recently) and the belt would pop off if you changed the speed, turned on or off or touched the rotating platter. I found the clutch way too tight (it wasn't before) so loosening it helped. Finally I had it go to this other well known tech who I will not name as I suspect he doesn't know these tables. So I'm looking a this thing I I just thought, had it not just had a new belt, I would suspect the belt. So, on it went and that was that, no more popping off. Weird. Okay, now I can't adjust the speed or second servo voltage output. So I replaced most of the film caps, then cleaned the speed switch along with a light silicone coating to protect the contacts. Stuck it together and bang, now I was able to set it up. So I'm very happy, and so is my customer. My record still stands at a 100% fix rate for Thorens turntables.
I sent it to the other tech because I felt the problem was mechanical, and I am not confident that I can do a setup as well as the turntable guys. At the end of the day I guess I'm not as bad as I think I am.
-Chris
I sent it to the other tech because I felt the problem was mechanical, and I am not confident that I can do a setup as well as the turntable guys. At the end of the day I guess I'm not as bad as I think I am.
-Chris
Good job Chris.
Some people really need to stay the hell out of stuff, particularly turntables.
"Backyard Mechanics" I call them...... putz's, oblvious to the finer, critical points of repairing turntables.
There's one nitwit I came across, some old guy, on the internet, who doesn't listen to reason...
He's thoroughly convinced that a belt's thickness is what determines platter speed.
This old coot goes around telling people to grind down belts (get out the dremel!) to adjust the platter speed.
NUTS!
He's got a turntable that is missing a critical part, an idler/tensioner pulley, that is designed to load the motor speed down for adjusting purposes.
This is how the manufacturer designed it.
Without it, the machine runs fast......... so this coot grinds down the pulley till it slips just enough to be on speed.
What crap is that?
And his misinformation and coaching is taken as "the word" by a lot of unknowing others - which is the usual case over the internet.
That crap pisses me off no end.... and when I attempt to add logic and physics to prove otherwise, I get jumped on..
Screw 'em.
Every turntable/record changer that's left my shop over the decades was (and likely still is) in perfect working order - with a satisfied customer.
Some people really need to stay the hell out of stuff, particularly turntables.
"Backyard Mechanics" I call them...... putz's, oblvious to the finer, critical points of repairing turntables.
There's one nitwit I came across, some old guy, on the internet, who doesn't listen to reason...
He's thoroughly convinced that a belt's thickness is what determines platter speed.
This old coot goes around telling people to grind down belts (get out the dremel!) to adjust the platter speed.
NUTS!
He's got a turntable that is missing a critical part, an idler/tensioner pulley, that is designed to load the motor speed down for adjusting purposes.
This is how the manufacturer designed it.
Without it, the machine runs fast......... so this coot grinds down the pulley till it slips just enough to be on speed.
What crap is that?
And his misinformation and coaching is taken as "the word" by a lot of unknowing others - which is the usual case over the internet.
That crap pisses me off no end.... and when I attempt to add logic and physics to prove otherwise, I get jumped on..
Screw 'em.
Every turntable/record changer that's left my shop over the decades was (and likely still is) in perfect working order - with a satisfied customer.
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Thank you wiseoldtech,
This other technician specializes in turntables and is a Linn technician. Given that a Linn was a copy of a Thorens, I assumed this fellow would know the ins and outs of tables like the back of his hand. I guess he doesn't.
My big mistake was assuming that a brand new part was not defective. Assumptions will get you every single time!
- Chris
This other technician specializes in turntables and is a Linn technician. Given that a Linn was a copy of a Thorens, I assumed this fellow would know the ins and outs of tables like the back of his hand. I guess he doesn't.
My big mistake was assuming that a brand new part was not defective. Assumptions will get you every single time!
- Chris
And thank you right back, Chris.
The problem is.....
Lack of diversity when it comes to "knowing" different brands of turntables/changers.
Meaning, the training, the experience, and knowing for sure what the issue is, and how to properly correct the problem.
I stress..... "Properly".
While one guy might know his Garrards quite well, he might be trouble working on a Dual.
Some guys consider turntables to be "just another mechanical device that spins records", without regards to specific differences.
Luckily, I've got many types under my belt - from lowly Voice of Music, RCA Victor, BSR, Dual, Garrard, Technics, BIC, Thorens, Rek-O-Cut, you name it.... I've been "under the hood" of them all, including the higher-end "audiophile" machines.
You gotta know what each one is about, their potential issues, including age-related, weak spots, and critical adjustments.
Otherwise, you're risking performance, reliability, and could wind up frustrated with a heap of junk.
To my knowledge, there aren't too many techs out there that can pass the test.
It's an art, actually.
So spoke Kathryn Hepburn to Spencer Tracey in "Desk Set" -- if you are old enough to remember.
A teacher (cleric) at my sons' high school was quoted as saying "Assumptions make an *** outa you and me." All of the young men of our household came back telling me the story when it was their turn...
By the way, I performed a "modification" on a pristine Dual 1215 that I have stored in the closet.
It concerns the rapid arm drop during automatic cycling.
Normally, the manual states that to have a slower drop, you must pull the cue lever before starting the machine cycle.
My simple mod now uses the viscous damping "full time" every time it cycles now.
Works like a charm! 😀
It concerns the rapid arm drop during automatic cycling.
Normally, the manual states that to have a slower drop, you must pull the cue lever before starting the machine cycle.
My simple mod now uses the viscous damping "full time" every time it cycles now.
Works like a charm! 😀
Jack, I was taught early on....... "never assume".
Best rule to follow, even today. 😉
That may be true, but you also can't be so cynical that you don't trust new parts bought through proper channels. In this case, it was a Thorens belt (a real one) identical to the ones I have that came from Thorens.
But I have to admit. Every time I've been really burned, it has been a new part, or the work of a normally excellent tech that I'm coming in behind. These days I start from zero, assuming nothing. That really helps to keeping me unstuck.
-Chris
Well Chris, I'm not really cynical, though some people I know might think so.
I'm just very cautious about things.....
I'll try things, if good, fine.
If I get a lemon, I've learned.
My friends and customers know me well, they know I'm "picky" about stuff.
But.... not obsessed.
I'm just very cautious about things.....
I'll try things, if good, fine.
If I get a lemon, I've learned.
My friends and customers know me well, they know I'm "picky" about stuff.
But.... not obsessed.
A couple CD players.
We don't play CDs much. Which may be the issue.
The CD changer in the car played but with a scraping sound.
While I was out, the rest of the house had a dance party on the livingroom CD deck. They got 4 tracks into "Dance Hits of 1999" and it stalled, with a scraping sound. Party over.
I took Dance..1999 disk out and put in an audiology disk. Played but annoyed the dog (somebody is talking!!). Went out to the car for Disco Inferno. That played fine, all 11 minutes (and wore-out the dancers). Out in the car, the Dance..1999 CD played all 14 tracks OK, spot-checked.
So my thought is that house-dust or dog-hair got under the laser and it got lost. Swapping a few discs in/out moved the dust around. Perhaps the same in the car CD: it's been on the Dead CD for 10 months, swapping discs may have freed-up stale grease.
We don't play CDs much. Which may be the issue.
The CD changer in the car played but with a scraping sound.
While I was out, the rest of the house had a dance party on the livingroom CD deck. They got 4 tracks into "Dance Hits of 1999" and it stalled, with a scraping sound. Party over.
I took Dance..1999 disk out and put in an audiology disk. Played but annoyed the dog (somebody is talking!!). Went out to the car for Disco Inferno. That played fine, all 11 minutes (and wore-out the dancers). Out in the car, the Dance..1999 CD played all 14 tracks OK, spot-checked.
So my thought is that house-dust or dog-hair got under the laser and it got lost. Swapping a few discs in/out moved the dust around. Perhaps the same in the car CD: it's been on the Dead CD for 10 months, swapping discs may have freed-up stale grease.
The best lubricant grease that I've come across is Super Lube - in the grey tube.
Anything that rubs, slides,... this stuff, just a smear of it, works like magic.
Great for turntables, record changers, tape mechs, CD rails/slides, VCR tape guide slots, etc.
It never dries out, or gets stale (it's synthetic) and is harmless to plastic too.
And it doesn't get "dirty" like regular grease does.
Anything that rubs, slides,... this stuff, just a smear of it, works like magic.
Great for turntables, record changers, tape mechs, CD rails/slides, VCR tape guide slots, etc.
It never dries out, or gets stale (it's synthetic) and is harmless to plastic too.
And it doesn't get "dirty" like regular grease does.
I Don't know, I have the same kind of grease you do, but there are also a bunch of different lubricants used for different situations. Most for various CD players. The slide rail has a special kind of oil, some things use damping fluid and then the different greases.
One thing is common. All lubricants are usually applied very sparingly. It doesn't take much to do the job. The other thing is that you always start with a clean, dry surface.
-Chris
One thing is common. All lubricants are usually applied very sparingly. It doesn't take much to do the job. The other thing is that you always start with a clean, dry surface.
-Chris
I've always had great admiration for the servo system that locks the laser onto the track on a CD. It performs an incredibly difficult task, and does it perfectly almost all the time. Amazing!
DVD and Blu-Ray disks upped the ante, with even smaller pits to be tracked, but that was an evolutionary change. The original CD tracking servo, now that was revolutionary.
-Gnobuddy
Yes, and as amazing as the CD servos are, just imagine what a car mounted transport had to deal with. Later, the personal portable units used a lot of memory to buffer the information. Tracking under those circumstances would be impossible reasonably regularly.
The early transports were works of art and physics combined. As the servos became better, the transports got (much) worse. Just look at the different eye patterns for confirmation of that fact. Today with the cheaper transports, I am completely amazed they can pull any correct information from the really crappy eye patterns you see today. It is both amazing and sad that today's CD/DVD transports are so bad because a good transport could have very low errors, but they compromised everything for a buck and rely on the error correction and concealment circuitry to make it work acceptably.
-Chris
The early transports were works of art and physics combined. As the servos became better, the transports got (much) worse. Just look at the different eye patterns for confirmation of that fact. Today with the cheaper transports, I am completely amazed they can pull any correct information from the really crappy eye patterns you see today. It is both amazing and sad that today's CD/DVD transports are so bad because a good transport could have very low errors, but they compromised everything for a buck and rely on the error correction and concealment circuitry to make it work acceptably.
-Chris
Chrysler Corp. apparently thought audio CDs were state-of-the art in 2011, about a decade after most people started moving to MP3 files, and years after most vehicles manufactured outside North America routinely included the ability to play MP3 files from a USB thumb drive.
So our 2011 Dodge minivan left the factory with a huge and clunky CD player in the dash. It skips. Not infrequently on days like today, cold, and with pebbly ice lumps all over the roads.
I've noticed that, too.
Analogue clocks have gone through a similar evolution (perhaps that should be regression?) When I was a kid, I took apart and fixed dead alarm clocks, filled with beautifully made brass gears, with precise tooth profiles that produced pure rolling contact between mating gear teeth (no sliding contact, ergo no sliding friction.) They were never accurate to better than a few minutes a day, but it took precision manufacture and assembly to get there.
Nowadays, alarm clocks are filled with cheap, crudely made plastic gears. Tooth profiles and tolerances are so poor that the geartrain makes loud noises as the gears rotate - the sound of friction and micro-impacts between gear teeth. But the extremely accurate quartz crystal controlling the microprocess that drives the clock makes it very accurate, crappy geartrain and all.
I'm happy about the improved accuracy, but the crude plastic geartrains are just tragic.
It's not just CD transports and clocks. In may ways, we've improved how well things work, but managed to lose their elegance in the process. In fact the word "elegant" itself is almost extinct in popular culture, along with the corresponding state of mind.
-Gnobuddy
After a long search, and several failures to find the item locally, I finally mail-ordered a replacement motor / blower / mounting plate assembly for the dead ventilation fan in our master bathroom. It was waiting for me outside the front door when I got home last night.
It only took a couple of minutes to remove the old assembly and pop in the new one.
So that's my latest repair. We have a working bathroom vent fan again. 🙂
-Gnobuddy
It only took a couple of minutes to remove the old assembly and pop in the new one.
So that's my latest repair. We have a working bathroom vent fan again. 🙂
-Gnobuddy
Those old alarm clocks were mass produced and the brass wheels were punched out not machined and the pinions were extruded brass rod.
Not everything old is good, take off those rose tinted glasses.