View Full Version : Aiwa Turntable Restoration
I was browsing E Bay the other week (as you do) !! Speakers ,then Amps , then turntables ;)
Spotted an Aiwa turntable that just interested me, and after a bit of reseach , got to thinking it might be an adequate replacement for some of the other stuff I use (or dont ) :)
Cut long story short , I paid neigh on sixty pounds , post included for the example on the bay. Yes post included :rolleyes:
I was a bit windy about that but credit where its due ,the double boxing and mass of bubble wrap made sure she arrived in as near perfect condition - which suprised me !!
https://i.imgur.com/7VVhpoPl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/rCG18hYl.jpg
It transpired that the arm had gone over to the right side more than it should ,( May have been me pulling the bubble wrap off ,and it hooking in the lifting lever on the headshell !! )which caused it to not want to swing back over to rest position !
But after removing the base , I saw that the metal runner on the underside of the arm had gone past the end of the microswitch and then caused it to lock behind the plunger fo the switch ! A quick push in with a small screwdriver and it swung back over
https://i.imgur.com/xmCKlvOl.jpg
Solid solid heavy base , and adjustable feet as well .
Whats the cart ??
https://i.imgur.com/sdgZUH5l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MQpLAWWl.jpg
Only down side - the original square headed Aiwa shell has been replaced with this - no probs , I have a Shibata AT 95 E I had from Grant that will be going on it hopefully ! Will need to scour E Bay for the right square headshell :)
Sexy looking arm ,I thought !!
https://i.imgur.com/Vvp9m6Cl.jpg
Lid is really good too , a few faint scratches but nothing that will not polish out !!
Going to switch cleaner the pots , and set her up later , but in all the internals look very clean and the caps in good condition , although I shall aim to replace them .
Audio Al
10-07-2018, 11:00
Nice find , I like classic TTs , have fun with it :)
Jac Hawk
10-07-2018, 12:30
Aiwa actualy made a few decent TT's more in the 70's than in the 80's
This was my old AP2600 which had a composite plinth which weighed a tonne
http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb371/jachawk9000/IMAG0051.jpg
Nice one Mike !! Hope you are keeping ok mate??:)
The AP 2200 was a 1977 made TT . I think the 2600 was more into the 80's??
Jac Hawk
10-07-2018, 17:04
I'm doing well mate, i'll be starting a couple of hifi upgrade projects myself over the course of the next month or so, i'm looking forward to it.
Someone has fitted one of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cartridge-Diamond-Stylus-for-AIWA-AP-2500-AP-2200-AP-D50-LP-3000-AP2060N/291972887285?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.M BE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D52543%26meid%3D3880e4a614ce4e3 4b6aa7a75a7b88374%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D 5%26sd%3D301490703718%26itm%3D291972887285&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
I wonder who makes that cart and stylus? The one one the Aiwa looks new to be fair , so even though I will find it a home on my Ferguson belt drive TT ,( that I shall now let go !! ) I havent done badly out of the purchase :eyebrows:
Beobloke
11-07-2018, 11:43
If the caps look OK and aren't bulging, and the deck spins reliably at the correct speeds, then I'd leave them alone.
Nice deck - welcome to the Aiwa TT Owners' Club!
If the caps look OK and aren't bulging, and the deck spins reliably at the correct speeds, then I'd leave them alone.
Nice deck - welcome to the Aiwa TT Owners' Club!
Yes , perhaps a good idea . To be honest I havent had time to check how it all works ,but the 2 big 1000 uf caps look clean and tight , with no obvious bulging. Must deoxit the 4 pots again ,and oil the centre bearing! Put it back together and see whats what !!
Well tonight (after the footie disaster) I decided to fire her up.
Put the bottom back on and checked the tracking weight , and without setting anything else tried it.
The neon strobe light does not work but is the least of my problems , Speed seemed ok and the platter will spin for ages after I clicked the arm off (Auto return on this TT )
But the arm refused to drop enough , the lift bar would not drop all the way into the base !
After I removed the bottom again , I decided to remove the micro switch that is attached to the Rec Syncro socket on the back. I take it this is a function that I dont need , and after adjusting the bracket it sat on and the small pad that must lift the lift bar up , It seemed all ok .
On retesting the one channel sounds dull, quiet and the audio is shyte :(
I did put my continuity tester on the end of the RCA's and the connectors inside the headshell plug and all pos and negs were A OK.
Not sure if this is the way to do it , but I tried another headshell,same result !!
Could this be the wiring in the arm despite my test? I feel slightly confused
Oh , and an annoying hum :doh: lol
Going to refit my other tt in a minute to check the inputs on my Yamaha amp are good !! Then go from there .
My other Fergie TT sounds fine !
Off with the bottom and take the metal plate off from under the arm , that covers the larger RCA wire solder joints to the tonewire arm.
Putting the multimeter at 200 ohms on the red wire and out to the point of the RCA plug , and it never goes down to 0.35 , whereas the other 3 do,( two earths and the white) . In fact if you move the plug about it goes from 1 to 13.00 Bad connection
The RCA plug is a moulded one ,but in a minute its getting cut off and redoing it with a new one:)
Easy fix if that's all it is.
Hmm, I hope so Martin :)
I have just ordered a few solder on RCA plugs and a new neon lamp with resistor and solder on legs.
Conrad electrical
I hope its bright enough!!(the old legs had burnt off when the lamp overheated I think!! )
Today , my rca plugs came from CPC . (I ordered some from them as well, as they deliver next day )
On examination ,I think there was one wire out of 7 braids still connected .
Soldered in the new plug and now I looked at the neon lamp (the new ones not come yet)
Its legs have burnt off (got a bit hot ) It runs through a bit of rubber for support?? Not sure .
Anyroads , you cannot test one for continuity , because its the reaction of the 2 poles that creates the light , and they sit side by side but apart ! For now , as a bit of fun , I have soldered some more legs onto the small bits sticking out and will solder it into the board ,so I can test the whole thing again:)
The manual says the neon light is a NL 1 ??
I think I am talking to myself but hey ho !! :eyebrows:
Tonight I had a really wierd expeirience ! No , Marco didnt come by in his lederhosen :D but after soldering another RCA plug so as to match up the 2 sides , I forgot about the strobe bulb till the new one comes ,and refitted the base and put her hurriedly onto my cabinet above the stack.
RCA's in and earth lead to the amp and fired the TT up!
Both channels working this time but grainy and quite frankly shyte again. Bear in mind not really had the protractor card out , but I thought it would be a guide :rolleyes: This with the Aiwa cart supplied with it.
Swapped it out for another headshell with Grants old AT95 Shibata -not much better :doh:
Sat and thought about it ! Dipped into my old jewellery box with silk lining that doubles as my headshell store and took out a Shure M75-6S ,and fully expecting it to be turd, but it sang :eek:
Out with the final headshell and an ordinary At 95 and back to one channel and dim.
Very odd , but apart from the strobe ,, things coming togther nicely (I think :cool: )
Something amiss at the tonearm me thinks Anto
Yes Grant . I was not convinced it was purely an RCA plug issue because the louder channel in the outset was grainy.
Last night I switch cleanered the gold contacts inside the arm and worked them in and out a few times !
Possibly an issue in there ? Spring loaded plungers I assume ,without really knowing how they work :)
It certainly explains why maybe someones passed this TT over .
Yes Grant . I was not convinced it was purely an RCA plug issue because the louder channel in the outset was grainy.
Last night I switch cleanered the gold contacts inside the arm and worked them in and out a few times !
Possibly an issue in there ? Spring loaded plungers I assume ,without really knowing how they work :)
It certainly explains why maybe someones passed this TT over .
its possible Anto, or there could be a wiring issue. insulation wear-through maybe or just a bad connection at back behind the plungers
Still very odd . 3 headshells , all set up with the protractor and all sound gritty and rough. An AT 95 Shitaba , the Aiwa type headshell that came with it , and an AT 95 E (all work fine on the other tt )
The headshell off my Ferguson belt drive , (which has an earth wire from the lift arm, which is metal ,back to the ring where the wiring plug dissappears into the back of the shell) sounds loads better - but not actually perfect ! maybe 95%
I was amused to see another poster on another music forum ,was asking about the tonearm lift rest,sticking on its way down , on an Aiwa 2200!
Exactly like mine did when I got it !! This was in March this yr ;)
Looks like you are going to have to work through this thing methodically from the cartridge pin inputs all the way through to the RCA outputs. You could be dealing with multiple faults here.
If your anything like me you hate working methodically but sometimes there's no option.
Anyway good luck with it. Anything can be fixed with enough effort.
Yes . I have an vintage Aiwa headshell coming in a day or 2 . Will be interesting to see if that makes a difference , although those universal fittings should all be the same ?? Or not maybe !
When the strobe bulb comes ,I shall strip the armbase back again and check the resistance in the tonearm wiring ,with the headshell attached (I tested the spring loaded pins through to the solder point on the arm bottom . Not sure what can be done if those spring loaded pins are faulty!
Cheers Martin
Well if you already tested them they should be okay. I guess you have tried looking for a service manual? I must have missed that if you already said.
Have you checked to see if the arm wiring is shorting in the armtube etc, as if the insulation has broken down it could still be making full connection down to base but could be shorting to either part of the arm or against another wire.
Good thinking Grant .
The arm has a scale ring on it . I take it its to adjust VTF . I have read somewhere that you set the scale at zero, then get the weight at the back adjusted so that its see sawing , or around zero VTF, then adjust the ring to add the relavent gramm weight ie 2 will mean 2 grammes .
Trouble is ,the ring doesn't make any difference at all , my little weight unit shows no difference ,wherever you adjust the ring to . In fact to get a vtf of about 1.6 grammes , I have to set the weight nearly all the way in !!
So difficult to get anything higher (should you possibly need to )
I think the ring has broken inside maybe ?
Its a bit of an obscure Japanease arm apparently
https://i.imgur.com/Vvp9m6Ch.jpg
Yeh , downloaded the service manual ,but cant find an instruction manual
Here she is after a bit of polish :)
https://i.imgur.com/KE9sXZfh.jpg
And the service manual is no help.
Re the VTF thing it could be that is by design? Isn't that TT from an era when a lot of cheap cartridges wanted very low tracking weight, like 1.2g? Seems to me it is just weight on a pivot, it can't not work, can it?
Also on the Technics sL1200/1210 stock arm a lot of carts need the additional weight that screws into the rear of the arm.
And the service manual is no help.
Re the VTF thing it could be that is by design? Isn't that TT from an era when a lot of cheap cartridges wanted very low tracking weight, like 1.2g? Seems to me it is just weight on a pivot, it can't not work, can it?
Also on the Technics sL1200/1210 stock arm a lot of carts need the additional weight that screws into the rear of the arm.
Weight to the back of the arm means less force on the stylus? I am having to take the weight all the way in , so looking for more force . I will study the service manual again tonight , perhaps a few beers didnt improve my reading skills and concentration :D
By the way - I really really like the front cueing lever !! I thought - Whats this c**p , but it is so precise and also idiot proof ,in that instead of hovering your hand near a little cueing lever close to the arm , (where pissed people can make mistakes ) , the front lever is well out of the danger zone ;)
Well , I have the afternon to myself in the mancave ,and after a few more applications of Servisol Switch cleaner to the inside of the headshell , and moving them in and out a few times ,we now have normal service resumed !:eek:
The Aiwa headshell sounds a bit less refined that the other 3 but thats probably down to the limitations of the cart ?
Feeling chuffed .:cool:
Had some Marillion on,and Status Quo , and Mike and the Mechanics - Nobodys Perfect seemed quite apt really !!
Hopefully if the strobe light replacement goes well ,I can have a keeper ;)
https://i.imgur.com/3cerZowh.jpg
Good job. So just dirty contacts in the end then? What a result.
Good job. So just dirty contacts in the end then? What a result.
Can only assume so Martin. I wondered if the contacts on the different headshells had interacted with the plungers in different ways , and bear in mind its been sitting without a headshell for some time maybe!
Strange one !
Back of the net -unlike England :eyebrows:
Jac Hawk
15-07-2018, 17:58
Pleased you got it working Anto, btw if you can't get enough weight at the cartridge end then a blob of blutak in the short term and in the long term a heavier head shell will do the trick and if you haven't got one i'd suggest a set of cartridge scales to get everything bob on.
Pleased you got it working Anto, btw if you can't get enough weight at the cartridge end then a blob of blutak in the short term and in the long term a heavier head shell will do the trick and if you haven't got one i'd suggest a set of cartridge scales to get everything bob on.
I have got a set of precision scales Mike !! They are what I use to check tracking weight . (I pop the stylus on the scales attached to the arm )
I also weighed each headshell today and they vary of course, with the 2 modern common type coming in a gramme or so heavier !!
Blue tack , good stuff ;)
Yesterday I had the 4 new neon bulbs . I soldered one in ,albeit with a lot of trouble getting the newer type (with a resistor soldered to one leg)
in and making sure it will not short out on the deck base . It has a narrow oblong slot to protrude through and is a bit of a rascal.:)
Nothing like as bright as the original (I was forewarned about that ) but will do for now!!
I think if I redo it ,I will try and get 2 into the unit , but that will take a bit of manufacture because the rubber block/insulator , is only really able to fit the one bulb , and it would mean making something out of plastic or whatever.
Had the second hand Aiwa headshell, very tidy , very reasonable . Not the same as the original but will look ok.
Set about putting the AT 95E cart on it only to find the contacts on the arm end are dead small and the ones on the Cartridge end (Cart is an Aiwa one I persume but no stylus was included !! ) are bigger than most!!:scratch:
I can see I will have to unsolder and fidlle putting different contacts on before I can get it fixed !
What a kerfuffel !!
A bit puzzled as to how to remove the platter on the 2200!
It wont pull off despite me trying to gently coax it off ! I want to oil the bearing .
Looking at the service manual , there is a ring gear under the platter thats visible through a hole in the platter itself ! The circlip is easily removed but the manual makes no mention of this as a means of holding the platter on ,and I suspect its more to do with holding the ring gear !
Any ideas anyone ?
Jac Hawk
29-07-2018, 12:53
Strange one that Anto, usually the platter either sits on the sub platter or in the case of my old Aiwa dropped on straight over the spindle, might someone have glued it on?? bit daft but nothing surprises me with old kit.
It is strange Mike . Did you see my pm by the way??
I will have to take a picture or 2 .:)
The euphoria of getting the Aiwa working ok was soon short lived !! I recognised the rca /phono pug on the red side had issues , so had soldered a new one on . Its a quality plug but the cable is such fine wire and actually ,I think the centre stranding has become brittle with age (it is 40 years old ) so grabbing the plugs would cause hum and then the signal would be ok ,then not ,and as I had redone the white side to match , a right bloody mess!!:scratch:
The fine strands are about 8 or 10 core and break really easily ,so god knows what they are like further up the things?
I am a little hit and miss with soldering , grease off your fingers does not help , but with a bit of care and flux , should be ok !!
I an about to strip the cables off the bottom of the table (leaving the ground wire untouched for now) and cut an existing phone to phono ,quality Gotham cable , prepare and tin the ends and solder them in . A bit of heatshrink the right colour to denote red or white and hopefully that will make sure she has a really top connection !!
https://i.imgur.com/DeGoYOLh.jpg
not had much luck with that deck Anto. but sure u will fix it:)
not had much luck with that deck Anto. but sure u will fix it:)
No I havent Grant . I can quite see why ,despite it being very clean , the problems it had were a bit too much for the former keeper maybe|?
Nearly there now ! The strobe I fitted is quite a bit dimmer than the original, but I can till see the speeds ok , but only just !
I cant make it run too fast , as its at the limit of its adjustments on the 2 pots !!
It also likes to run the platter when the arms at rest ?? Only a tiny amount !!
Wondered if that was to do with the microswitch or some other component!
Still , if I renew the rca's , I will be happy enough as the sound from it is adequate for a rough bugger like me :eek:
Just finished putting a new RCA lead in . My , what a joy working with new cables!!
I didnt use the Gotham lead as it was quite bulkier in the outer sheath ,and would not have gone through the grommit ,so I took a set of common moulded plugs ,in a plug to plug lead and cut that in half (I have another deck to redo ,as I need to remove a din plug on that classic , so the other half will come in handy !!)
The centre feed wire was thin but very strong and I am happy with it !!
No unoxidised crap wire , it really was like night and day :)
Pictures galore of my big agricultural hands to follow:eyebrows:
I popped the bottom cover on , and put the rest back together. Plugged in , earth wire attached , phonos in and switched on 'Running with the Night' by Lionel Ritchie to see how it sounded. Oh yes
:doh: Balance controls wont work !!!!!!!:scratch:
Oh no , pull phonos out and about to rip apart ,as I was convinced I had pos and neg mixed up - UNTIL ,, I remembered the pics you mithered me for!!:D Compare before pics and after at my leisure !! All perfect !! :scratch: WTF ??
Feeling a bit glum , I checked the balance controls back and too and listened again.
Booo
Then I saw the CD direct button was in :eek: as I had been listening to a bit of Genesis while I worked !!
Sounds preety good to me
Wey hey , old gits rule !!;)
https://i.imgur.com/5NSLgwKh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OoUYVLqh.jpg
Jac Hawk
11-08-2018, 15:26
Did you not put a cheeky bid on the AP2600?
Did you not put a cheeky bid on the AP2600?
No Mike , I didnt . It made £156 , which wasnt bad !!.
I missed out on another in Dumfries for £45 Buy It Now , a few weeks ago. That one had a problem with the needle bearings in the arm ,but was otherwise in VGC. A bargain I think !!
I am content for a week or 2;)
Jac Hawk
12-08-2018, 08:57
i must admit, i like the simplicity of my Planar 3, direct drive with auto cuing are all well and good, until they go wrong, then it's a nightmare
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