Video covering the two most common faults on a Technics turntable. Cueing / Auto Return not working and faulty pitch control causing speed instabilities. Both are very simple repairs
Thanks for this. I just acquired this model. The previous owner said it would need a new belt. I haven’t powered it up yet I was too intimidated. I was picturing something way more involved. This looks easy enough. Thanks for the video!
Hey Brad. I'm a DJ of some 30 years. I bought a new SL1200 MK2 for playback only using an Ortofon 2M Blue. I also owned a 1700.....until I was moving it to a different part of the house and I tripped and smashed the crap out of it. I kept the platter as a momento on my wall but the rest of it was too badly damaged to salvage anything from it. Gravity and a tiled floor will do that. A club I worked at used 3 1700 MK2s until the SL1200 came out. Yes the slider pitch control was easier to use but the motors were identical and quartz locked. I still kick myself about it. It was in mint condition too. Hey, I love my new 1200 MK2. I first used these as a DJ in 1979....I'm 61 now by the way. Great video. Cheers from Australia. Andrew.
This was brilliant and so well explained. I had the exact issue with the auto-cue belt. The auto-cue bar lifted once I pressed it but now it doesn't lower…anyway, it's progress! Thank you.
I just unpack this exact turntable, and I will follow you. Last time I turn it on, it had a lot of variation in the speed. Today I opened it, and find that the belt you mention for the cueing button is missing, I understand there are replacements for it. I put a pair of drops of oil in the central bearing, and will use cleaning solution for electronic contacts, in the potentiometer of the picth control. Thank you for guiding me in this attempt to repair it.
I am an original owner of this Technics platter. I recently pulled it out of storage, and found need to replace the tonearm belt. I found this helpful video, and purchased two new belts (wanted a spare) from "LP GEAR". They came with the package marked: "Belt Replacement, Technics SL-1700 MKII Tonearm". The exact turntable I own. Installation is simple when following this video. However I found the belt too large and slips. ); I will notify LP GEAR yet I thought I would mention this here.
Thank you very much for deciding to record the simple repairs you did. It helped me a lot to get familiar with this turntable and how to start repairing the one I have laying around for years :)
Just scored one of these in EXCELLENT condition today for $40. Of course, it has the two issues you mentioned. Ill be fixing it tomorrow (while im at work!!) Thank you man! Awesome video
@bradthx thank for you this video. Inherited this turntable and am taking notes on how to repair and operate it, and these 2 exact issues are problems I'm having! I'd have no idea where to start if it wasn't for you, thanks!
Hi. I just repaired one 1700 and knowing your video before was helpfull ! I my case it was a dead logic inverter that caused the arm motor to be stucked in one way... tricky ! Fortunatly i have got a small 40/74 séries tester. Very usefull ! There was also the cable issue you talk about, left chanel was off, even if the continuity was ok with the multimeter... so i completly changed the cable and the problem was gone. Very well built machine ! But good to know 40 séries can fail sometime into it.
My speed has started to drift slightly, I plan on cleaning it very soon to see if it fixes it. There are no issues with the pitch control jumping around, but you can see the strobe is not steady. The light on mine stopped working shortly after I bought it, but it seems too much hassle to fix it. The weirdest thing on mine is the fact that the 33 light is always lit. It fades when powered off, but is still there. I also need to get a proper belt as whatever the seller put in it must not have been tight enough. It drops too fast for my liking. I've had it since 2014 but have not thought to check. I just upgraded from a 440MLb to a VM740ML, I want it hitting my records as lightly as possible to preserve it.
I just finished one of these. No cueing. Yes the belt was broken. Replaced it but still no cue action. The gear that is driven by the worm gear has a clutch action that would slip and prevent full action of the black cam wheel underneath. Cam gear (that activates 2 micro switches and the mute slide switch) was tight on its bearing. There is a smaller white gear engaging with the bid white one on an arm that was tight also . A little wd40 freed that up. But still problems. The plunger that actually lifts the arm was very tight to slide up and down. Again, a little WD. Work manually the arm lift plunger until the wd works its magic. Maybe penetrating oil. Canadian readers 'pas de jig-a-loo!' It attacks plastic. This was done with the bottom plate off and the unit upside down for access to the seized up bearings (bushings really) working great now. A little rubber stopper behind the tone arm pivot hides the adjustment screw for the auto return trigger point. Clean the spped pot while you're in there if the putch control is a little jerky when turned.
Great video. Needed both of these fixes. Also have no LED on speed control and no start/ stop facility using the arm. Permanently running. Oh and great album :-)
This is very educational and very informative as to maintain the turntables mechanism..... I sincerely thank you for sharing this information... By the way, this is a very nice turntable.... I seldom see this model... I have the 1200 models and one belt drive model.... I believe it's a b1 unit...... Needs a belt and some feets......feels.......
When starting any repair I would remove the cartridge first and put it in a safe place. Also check these old elektrolytic caps. Sometimes they leak physically which could damage the pcb. Also I normally replace all led’s because they become weak after time.
Thanks for sharing. I have one of these and I think that one of the optical sensors for the rest position is not working properly. the arm returns but does not lower. Do you know if you can power this turntable without the platter in place so that you can test the voltages? My concern is that the motor won't have the magnet which might mess up the drive coils. Maybe Technics is smart enough to include circuitry to prevent possible over current issues. You did it in the video so it's probably okay. Thanks,
Hello Brad!! hopefully you read this comment!! I have the same 1700Mk2 just picked up today. Just like you, I am having a problem with the cueing system. The difference is my TT came without catridges (so only headshell mounted). Do you think this can also cause the cueing system to be non function? Also, even if i manually move the tonearm towards the platter, it would not spin :( so I was just wondering if this is because the catridges are not mounted. With my short knowledge, I expect those functions to work even without catridges mounted. What do you think?
I have this same TT and this was exactly the fixes my TT needed but, I was wondering if there is any way to clean the Cue, 33 and 45 switches with cleaner/lubricant? Mine feel a little gummed up.
I repaired that you don't put the screws that join the top to the bottom. And I saw suspension works "loose". I've two 1700mk2 and both, don't have this kind of suspension. Even if you screw the top, suspension still work like in the video? Tks for sharing your knowledge.
Bonjour, Je recherche un moteur, stator [(pour les bobines, une HS)] de Technics SL1700 - (1979) ou auriez-vous une vieille Technics SL1700 en rébus pour choc ? Je suis en France (78). Merci de vos réponses Chris
Thank you for the good video! I got mine since 1979. Now, the autoreturn at the end of the record doesen't work. The motorized lift and stop-funktion is still working. is this fixable?
Great video! Very helpful! I have a question you might be able to answer - where does the ground cable attached to the tone arm go, should it be connected somewhere? Mine seem to be cut close to the chassie... Thanks! -Sven
I liked your video. Have you ever work on the suspension? I haven’t seen any video on it! Or how to fix the spring since there is no springs of the kind. Thanks!
Brad - great video - well done. I have the SL1700MK2 that's been in storage for 15 years. It was barely functioning so i took it to a local electronics guy to bring it back to life. Good job, bit I think it needs a few more tweaks. Problem now is when the tone arm is cued down, it comes to rest nicely on the LP and as it begins to play, the tonearm skates about 1/2 inch, then plays normally. I have properly adjusted the tracking weight, anti-skate and leveled the tone arm, turntable is level left to right, front to back. Any ideas? Thanks! DV
Great video Brad. I have a 1600mk2 that works fine except the auto-return doesnt drop onto the tonearm rest and just bounce off of it and then the platter would spin up again. Do you by any chance know of this problem and how to remedy it?
Hi Brad, nice repair video. Has been incredibly useful to me with those same problems on this very deck-now sorted thanks to you! I have one other problem relating to the suspension on this deck that I wonder if you have any knowledge of. The platter is slightly in contact with the non floating deck surface and the front left suspension spring is suspected to be broken or out of action as turning feet gains no adjustment. I have no idea how to access this and wonder if you think this would be a complex teardown? Have you ever accessed this part of the internals? Deck is otherwise almost mint and I think this likely happened in transit. Thanks for any advice in advance.
i have a denon dp-55m, it’s fully manually and i absolutely luv it. do you think i should get it get capped or should i just continue using it until something if something goes wrong? i’m thinking i should at the very least inspect them. what do you think? thanks so much for any help!.
Thanks, been wondering how to repair the cue switch, have had no other troubles, where did You obtain the belt for the cue mechanism. Thanks for the great info
Hi my name is Tom I have a Technics SL-1300 that will power up the strobe light comes on put it will not spin. I have check all of the fuses and have cleaned all of the pots with Detoxit.I love this turntable and would love to get it going again. Can you think or know what is wrong with it, Thanks
Exactly what I was looking for. My cue lift has not worked for years. Do you have a part number or link for sourcing the belt for the cue lift motor? Thank you very much.
bradthx I replaced the belt/ring but the cueing mechanism still doesn’t work (neither does the ‘stop’ button). Do you have any idea why this may be and how to fix it ? Thank you
I have a problem with my 1700mk2. When I drop the needle via the cueing button it works as it should, but when the needle hits the vinyl it Jumps to the left and scratches the first song....