SP10MKII Restore - Start of a long journey

[chris_s]

And so it begins.

I've been fortunate enough to be able to rescue this pair from a certain journey to the scrapheap.

sp10_1.JPG

In rather sorry condition, cosmetically poor and very tatty (one being worse than the other) but essentially sound, important thing is they both appear to spin up. Come with issues though - one which won't select 45rpm, one with brake issues and start/stop switch issues, both with strobe issues.

Both ex-broadcast SP10-MKII's which have been built into purpose-made mdf enclosures (although both falling apart) with cue and remote stop/start for the radio studio (original sh10-e psu's still in place inside the cabinet). What looks like the remains of two peizo pu-402 tonearms (minus the extra counterbalance on each).

Complete strip and rebuild on the cards i think with a planned re-cap in the mix aswell. Plenty of issues to sort and this will likely be a long journey so I will be needing to lean on some expert help from fellow AOS'ers along the way, but looking forward to the challenge to hopefully end up with a decent record spinner!

Chris.

[Tarzan]

Chris, l will for one follow this project with interest- good luck!

[tannoy man]

I love these threads

[DSJR]

The SP10 is a classic and worth every penny of a full refurbishment. Do up an SP10 and you may well get at least all your profit back in years to come.

Good luck

[Tarzan]

I love these threads

x2

[chris_s]

Progress..(well, a little).

So the tear-down of the better looking SP10 MKII started well. Apart from looking like small animals have nested in the case (not really!) and a couple of bottom cover screws and couple of pcb screw heads giving way necessitating using a micro-screw extractor (which worked fine btw), looks very much un-touched since new.

Date of the motor is 7th Nov 1980.

Attached is some of the tear-down pics i'll later use for re-assembly/reference.

SP10_1_before.JPGSP10_1_underside.jpgSP10_1_topside.jpgSP10_1_topside_underneath.jpgMotorDate_SP10_1.JPG

This is the less-corroded one of the two. Cosmetically, it should be pretty straightforward to sort. Not decided yet but likely to get it bead-blasted back to bare aluminium and either polished and clear-coated again or go down the powder-coat/paint route. I have some experience/contacts with classic bike parts and getting them re-painted so should stand me in good stead when it comes to it.

Chris.

[reddish75]

I could put you in touch with someone who may have spare original boards to make one 'domestic' not broadcast, if that's the way you wanted to go.

Other than this make sure you get a conformal coating remover as getting a good solder joint on these is impossible without it. I also have a parts list and some spare transistors for these if you need it.

Regards

Chris

[chris_s]

.... I said this might take a while

I've started collecting some bits and pieces to do the job including:-


Correct "XGE" Service Manual - getting hold of the right service manual that specifically covers the "XGE" variant of the SP10 MKII (which both mine are) proved to be a bit tricky. After doing quite a bit of detective work, I ended up having to risk paying for a high-res digital colour copy of the right one online, which actually turned out to be a good shout (with, as an added bonus, some interesting technical docs on the turntable construction design). Most service manuals on the the web are other slight variants with subtle differences, but not exactly right. Actually the "XGE" version for the UK turns out to be a sub-variant of the "X" version which is covered off by a seperate 2-page service manual addendum detailing the sutble differences (so X + the XGE addendum gave me exactly the right manuals)

Teaching myself to use one of these oscilloscopes http://www.rigolna.com/products/digi...1000e/ds1102e/ to check all the various readings on the main boards match those in the service manual (this takes me back to my electronics courses of a few years ago!)

Details of Power Supply and mainboard CAP replacements (if they are actually required - i'll only replace if found to be suspect on closer inspection)

Invested in a new Bearing Cap from Steve Clarke over at Analogue Depot - http://www.theanalogdept.com/sp10mkii_pad.htm (though it was probably worth doing as a matter of course then it's done as these units are likely to have been used and abused over the years)


However, i've also been having fun working up some ideas on plinth design after reading with interest Steve Clarke's (AKA User510) brilliantly different "Mule" Plinth project over on http://www.theanalogdept.com/user510_sp10_mkii.htm which really caught my eye. After checking he was ok with doing this, i've taken his Mule design and adapted it in my own way.

I've modelled the plinth and SP10 unit itself in SketchUp which is a free CAD package (think it's owned by google) which is brilliant once you get the hang of it! Given it's a layered design, it suits modelling in CAD very well once you've modelled each individual layer!

For interest, my plinth design, which is "inspired by the Mule" (Steve's design), should look like this:-

CRS_SP10_Plinth_Final_30mm.jpgCRS_SP10_Plinth_Final_30mm_2.jpgCRS_SP10_Plinth_Final_30mm_3.jpgCRS_SP10_Plinth_Final_30mm_4.jpg

So this is assuming using 15mm Birch-Bark Plywood layers and a 9" tonearm - so a suitable tonearm platform will be mounted once I come to that. Decided to opt for 9" given my budget is going to have to be fairly limited when it comes to deciding on a suitable tonearm (eg somewhere between Rega and Jelco may be all I can stretch to). (That will probabaly be a seperate thread to guage opinion!)

Next step is to get round to buying some ply to test out the plinth design as a prototype, when i have some time - but should be fun!


If anyone is interested, I'm happy to make my SketchUp CAD file of the modelled SP10MKII turntable and a modelled version of the technics-provided mounting template, available if of any use to anyone?

I'm 99% condfident it's pretty accurate (within minor tolerances) but would caveat it by saying the dimentions will need confirming before relying on them...

Lets see how progress in the next 6-months goes


Chris.

[daytona600]

do like a well sorted SP10

[Ari]

I've always wanted an SP10 - following with great interest !