DECK DOCTOR REPAIR SERVICE OF TECHNICS TURNTABLES SYDNEY ">

All the tricks of the trade to play to perfection

Technics Turntable Service

WHAT IS THE TECHNICS SERVICE ?

I am often asked what you do when you service a Turntable.
The Technics SL1200 Turntable is a very robust unit hence why djs all around the world see it as the standard, even though this is the case they still need a little TLC for them to perform to the standard of the DJ.
I am often asked to change i.e.:the rca cables only I rarely do this as I have a set routine that I go though so I never miss a problem that you might have. With my service I will pick up any faults you might not know exist. After 19 years of servicing turntables for the night club industry and the home dj I know every problem/ fault that the Technics Turntable suffers with and will always gladly give the answer to the problem you might be having even if you want to try and fix yourself. I often help people via email all over the world, I only think is fare, I cannot service decks in Spain for instance.  On my website i give a pdf with the main faults so you know where to look..  With my service I have found ways to combat the problems often found when they go wrong. 

FUSES I always include slow blow fuses on every service, I have found that differences in voltage can blow the fuses. Though our power supply is rated at 230-240 volts 50Hz I have had readings of up to 246 volts and spikes of over 250 volts on a true rms mulitimeter this can blow the fuse, if you have no power the Turntable is useless its not much good.

SPINDLE DRAG  The center spindle must be lubricated with an oil of superior quality,without clogging properties is required. I
have fell in love with such an oil used by audiophiles around the world Once turntable lubricant it's been designed for this purpose, it a super lubricant that has been meticulously designed and engineered for the vinyl enthusiast. "Once" will enhance the performance of your turntable by reducing friction and wear on the spindle housing. You will hear the difference With less drag and increased momentum to the spindle, the result will be better clarity due to less noise being transmitted through the spindle to the record surface and stylus. Its important that once off the quartz lock (green pitch light off)  your relying on a variable resistor for speed control this tends to wear and changes in time but as you normally use 2 turntables they tend to wear together and gather the same amount of dust but with the spindle drag if the turntable is at a different angle or not level this can create a different amount of drag making mixing a whole lot harder, I found a great test for this , start up the turntable on 45 rpm and turn the power knob off (not the start/stop button) pick a point on the platter and count how many revolutions the platter goes round before it stops its usually around 4.5 revolutions , when this is retested and the spindle has been lubricated and leveled  its possible to get 8.5 revolutions this shows less drag and resistance.

THE ARM , The Technics arm has to be one of the most important parts of the turntable from the rca connects to the stylus, jumping out the groove when spinning the record back to find the mix point can be annoying and can make a simple beat mix a nightmare, with every service I always change the rca cables even if they're OK, the constant plugging and unplugging can tend to damage them I use New OFC high resolution, low loss signal cables, 99.99% pure copper, double shielded with gold molded RCA connections and earth wire, these are always blue in color and included in the price of the service. The earth wire can pre earthed inside if requested on the arm assembly but its still there. i would not suggest this if your using serato or other digital systems.

Bearings pivot the pivot bearings are a source of problems and should always be checked especially if the turntable is road cased or transported. Transporting with the counter weight should not be done its the most common source of
damage to the arm and why I devised a way of changing the bearing set rather than the whole arm. The gold contact pins in the arm where the head shell plugs in can also give problems these are always cleaned and checked. my service is always finished with a full clean and restoration. to download the pdf for a more in depth look in to the service. click here .