Thorens TD160 mk 2- Restoration and Upgrade project

[Wakefield Turntables]

The longer suspension bolts arrived today so i've taken each "strut" out, cleaned each of the collars with acetone which removed the years of rubber and dirt deposited from the spring seats, rebuilt the suspension, installed the new springs and arm and got everything level again. the new springs are a bit stiffer and importantly resist lateral motion much more than the originals, i'm going to plug it in, give it a listen and asses the springs and other upgrades tonight.

That's a great solution from having to worry about the length of bolts and where the come from. Hope everything goes well for you.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Pt 15 - Base-ics

Baseboard now made from 18mm birch ply. Added additional damping. We start the electrics tomorrow by changing the motor caps and resistors and seeing if they have drifted.

[brian2957]

Is there much to do on the electrics Andrew ?

[Jac Hawk]

The electronics if you could call them that are very simple, 2 capacitors and a resistor, the on / off switch and the motor, i'd had all sorts of problems with motor knock on my other TD160 I added the anti knock bearing, it did no good, bought 3 different motors and they all made a knocking noise on the deck, then someone on the TD160 forum on facebook recommended that i change the caps and resistor and that sorted it the motor has been dead silent ever since.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Part 16 - Waiting, waiting, waiting....

It's that boring bit again where I have to wait for a few bits to arrive before we can go any further. So, I checked the electrics tonight and the resistor and caps are within 1% tolerance of stated values, so no drift and no need to waste time or money on new parts. The wiring looks to be in good nick so I'll probably resolder the cabling again as it's looking a little ragged. The basics of the deck are now nearly complete and I'll be looking at putting the whole thing together in the next week or two. Then I move onto another deck that I've been sent..

[struth]

Yep I agree and that's why I use several tried and tested methods to slow up / down the motor, not everyone can afford a PSU with the ability to alter Hz frequency.

I found a mains regenerator helped a lot with tt stability if using mains cycle.

[Jimbo]

I should have sent you my lenco to sort Andy, think you may have done a better job than I did?

[Wakefield Turntables]

I found a mains regenerator helped a lot with tt stability if using mains cycle.

ive got a P10 regenerator and it didn't help at all Grant . It should have done in theory. I honestly think it's more do do with belt tension and the state of the platter surface.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I should have sent you my lenco to sort Andy, think you may have done a better job than I did?

You still can!!

[Wakefield Turntables]

Part 17 - More stuff done....

My cork arrived today so I immediately got on with making a template so that I could damp the underside of the suspended chassis. And here is what it looks like. I've partly re-assembled the 160 so I have some room in my listening room.



I also made a new base board and added damping. The 160 is now getting a little meaty..






And finally the deck together so you can get some idea of what it looks like at the moment. The plinth and mat are not staying.




The baseboard, and sub-chassis damping will eventually be produced by myself and available from the website when I write it. I also decided tonight to make a custom set of suspension mounting bolts, that's tomorrow's work! This new set of suspension mounting bolts should be able to take any set of Thorens Springs be they Audio Nirvana, original Thoren's or any other you care to mention. Stay tuned..