technics sl1200

[richard l martin]

Hi everyone. I have just got hold of a used technics sl1200. Looks to have had little use as its in superb condition. It sounds great and has no performance issues but. Its tonearm has very slight back and forth play. My question is. Is there a tool i can get to loosen the outer ring of the bearing adjustment screw so i can tweak the bearing? Kind regards Richard.

[chris@panteg]

Hi everyone. I have just got hold of a used technics sl1200. Looks to have had little use as its in superb condition. It sounds great and has no performance issues but. Its tonearm has very slight back and forth play. My question is. Is there a tool i can get to loosen the outer ring of the bearing adjustment screw so i can tweak the bearing? Kind regards Richard.

Hi Richard , I wouldn't mess with the bearings ! It's next to impossible , if they need adjustments , send the arm to audio origami , he can adjust and recalibrate the arm I believe .

[Frankyc2003]

+1
Its is next to impossible to recalibrate the bearings yourself.
Arms are cheap and easy to replace. There are places on the web that sell the whole thing for 34 gpb.
And its a 10m job to swap the faulty arm!
IMHO a no brainer...

[chris@panteg]

+1
Its is next to impossible to recalibrate the bearings yourself.
Arms are cheap and easy to replace. There are places on the web that sell the whole thing for 34 gpb.
And its a 10m job to swap the faulty arm!
IMHO a no brainer...

Good one ! Yeah just buy a new arm , cheaper than fixing it I guess .

[richard l martin]

ok, thanks everyone for the advice. Think i will get a new arm. Only thing that concerns me is turning the table over without damaging anything. kind regards Richard.

[worrasf]

ok, thanks everyone for the advice. Think i will get a new arm. Only thing that concerns me is turning the table over without damaging anything. kind regards Richard.

Get yourself one of these http://connectaudioltd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/technics-1200-1210-service-cradle-jig.html

MUCH safer than using a pile of paperbacks :stalks:

Steve

[richard l martin]

Get yourself one of these http://connectaudioltd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/technics-1200-1210-service-cradle-jig.html

MUCH safer than using a pile of paperbacks :stalks:

Steve

Thanks, thats just the job! Will get one.:)

[Qwin]

If you are going to buy a new arm anyway then there is no harm in trying to adjust what you have.

Are you sure its the bearings - which part of the arm is moving? It could be that the whole thing is loose.

lets asume the bearings have not been trashed and the balls have not come out of their locations.

If it is the vertical bearings this is easy to adjust but needs care.
Get hold of the inner frame in the gimbal and give it a wiggle, if you can feel any play at all the vertical bearing needs adjustment. There is no black art here. you just need a running clearance for the balls running on the conical face of the adjuster.
First fit your stylus guard and adjust the countrweight until the arm is balanced, that is floating over the record. Reduce the anti skate so there is just enough presure to move the arm from the centre of the platter to the outside of the platter when you release it. (presuming table is level). Loosen the lock nut a small amount (less than 1/4 turn) If the centre pin has moved chances are it is loose anyway. I have used a watch makers screw driver to do this. If it wont budge there is nothing you can do without the correct split nut tool, so game over. If it does move you can then take another watch makers screw driver and tighten the centre adjusting screw all the way in. Now I must emphasise this is a precission bearing and needs a gentle touch. Hold the watch makers screw driver by the barrel between finger and thumb only and turn until it bottoms out, it will not need undue pressure. If you put the arm back to the centre of the platter it will stay there or move only a small amount. Now undo the screw a tiny amount and try the arm again. Keep backing off the screw until the point where the arm moves freely. If the arm was baddly adjusted in the first place you may have to reduce the anti skate even further as it will probably be running better than before. Once you have found the point at which it runs freely, hold the screw driver still and turn the locking ring with the second screw driver to fix its position. This is not ideal, but I have not come accross a tool for this size collar. Now check again that the arm swings freely. Reset your anti skate and tracking weight. Double check the inner frame of the gimbal, you should not be able to feel any movement in the bearing. It will sound a lot better as well, much more focused sound.

If its the horizontal bearing this is a bit harder to get right, but I have never had to adjust these, its allways been the vertical bearing, as this is more prone to abuse and accidental strain in use. I have done this on several Dual turntables and on my sl-1200 II last week and I am more than happy with the results. Pro-ject sell a tool, the "adjust it" I think it is called, for their arms but it wont work on a Techie as it is the wrong shape.

Give it a go, if it is the top bearing it is easy and you get a feel for when it is right, you have nothing to looze.
The only problem I have with mine is that it runs so freely that if I turn the anti skate up too high it makes the needle drop in a diagonal fasion and you can miss the record edge.