Recent content by ChopperCharles

Awesomesauce. I'll take two! Charles.

Any recommendations on a replacement relay? What kind of amperage should the contacts be able to handle for this (120wpc) amp? I'm thinking of an octal-base plug-in relay and socket, there's plenty of room in the chassis for that. Thoughts? Charles.

I may have to actually replace the relay. Even after a light sanding, the contacts are still not making good connection. If I crank the volume for a second it'll suddenly make connection, and then it'll be good for as long as it's on... but after a few power cycles it'll start not making...

I tried contacting Dean. I called him five or six times. He kept saying he'd email me, wife said she'd give him my messages, and he kept saying he'd provide me with shipping information, saying he could do the work if I just shipped the motherboard and not the rest of the turntable. Sounded like...

No can do. This turntable has been in my family since new. It was my uncle's. He bought it new along with a Series II 700 and 3500, and I've inherited them. I'm not parting the table out. It likely needs a new bias oscillator. I've not had any troubles with this table other than the platter...

My problem ended up being a bad head. Replacing it with a used ALPS head fixed the lack of any kind of hf response. Now I just need to have the deck calibrated. Charles.

There is an adjustment inside, but it doesn't do anything appreciable. There is a long and complicated procedure for checking the operation of the quartz lock circuitry, which requires a scope and a logic probe. I don't have either, nor do I know how to use them. So I need someone who I can pay...

The Quartz lock light stays illuminated regardless of platter speed, and the platter speed is off. Playing a CD or cassette version of the same record, and the record is noticeably slower. I don't want to ship the turntable, and I don't have the knowledge or the test gear to diagnose it myself...

That was it! I cleaned the relay contacts with some fine sand paper and then sprayed them down with DeOxit, and the problem is completely solved! Went back and cleaned the other PLII 200 as well, as it also had dirty contacts. (they still worked, but better to clean them now!) Now all I need...

It's definitely not the preamp. Replaced this 200 with a backup unit, and the new unit works fine. Now I've got it on a test bench, and it exhibits the same problem with a different preamp. It's intermittent too, difficult to repeat. Charles.

I'm having an issue with my 200 series II amp. Relay trips, but often I get nothing out of the left speaker until I crank the preamp way up. Then suddenly I'll get signal out of the left speaker, and I can turn the volume back down and the speaker will stay on. I've cleaned the relay contacts...

I've fixed a PC-5460, PC-4460, and PC-3460 with this same arrangement. I replaced the broken nylon ring with a slightly thicker ring from the hardware store. The original ring is a press-fit, and it's very thin. This causes it to break with time. The new ring is thicker, but it doesn't press fit...

Wow, so that half-assed fix was eventually un-done, and new felt pads were constructed. Turns out the actual problem was with a broken nylon ring in the takeup reel clutch mechanism. The spring pushes against the ring, and gives tension so the clutch works. If that ring breaks, the full clutch...

Tried getting in contact with Dean. Got him on the phone once, but I've left several messages and I just can't get him to send me his address so I can mail him my motherboard. So it looks like I'll be needing another source for my turntable repair. Preferably on the East coast. Charles.

So I've been able to do a little testing with my voltmeter, and I've got a question. The manual says the crystal oscillator should have a 27.78Hz signal of 10V amplitude and 0.66ms pulse width at pin 15 of PD1003. Can I test this with a basic multimeter? In the AC position, I don't read 10v on...