Technics SL-D20 1980s Turntable Restoration and Repair
Ғылым және технология
I'm restoring and servicing a 1980s turntable that suffered some shipping damage. // Kindly sponsored by my favorite PCB manufacturer PCBWay! www.pcbway.com/
I polished the dust cover in the meantime and made a little video:
• Restoring Scratched Cl...
PC Cleaning Kit:*
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UHU Plast Special Plastic Glue:*
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Silicon Grease:*
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Teslanol T6 Contact Cleaner:*
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Replacement Hinges for Technics Turntables:
www.intovinyl.com/products/du...
Sommer Cable Onyx Audio Cable:*
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Hicon CM03 RCA Connectors:*
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Shure M92E T4P Cartridge:
www.shure.com/en-EU/products/...
TIME STAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
3:07 Shipping Damage
5:12 How to ship a Turntable
8:40 Sponsor Message
9:12 Initial Testing
12:19 Removing the Dust
13:19 Inspecting the Innards
17:30 Fixing the broken Case
21:25 Relubricating the Mechanics
23:37 Reinforcing the broken Case
25:41 New Ground Connector
31:30 Cleaning Contacts & Potentiometers
33:38 Cleaning the Top Side
37:50 Tonearm Lift Adjustment
40:32 Auto Stop Adjustment
41:27 Speed Adjustment
42:48 Dust Cover Hinges Repair
50:33 Replacing the Cartridge
53:06 Making Cables
56:04 Final Testing
57:19 Thank you & Good Night
--------------------------------------------
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#JanBeta #Technics #Turntable #Restoration #Repair #VintageHifi #Vinyl #RecordPlayer #Repair #DirectDrive #PCBWay
Пікірлер: 88
I still have my SL-D20 that I bought new around 1981. Works like a charm.
I'm really glad you're posting videos on the repair of other retro gear, Jan. In addition to several Commodore computers and a Nintendo 64, I have a 1990s Sony hi-fi, CD player, and a Sony hi-fi stereo VCR - most of which need some attention. Keep these videos coming! Danke Dir!
Thanks for the video. I picked up an SL-D20 at a thrift store a couple decades ago for pennies and used it until my receiver that had a phono input failed. I decided to use again to convert my vinyl to mp3 with better fidelity than the inexpensive turntables that have USB interfaces. First, I had to get it operational again as some of the lubricants in the SL-D20 had hardened. Your video made this task much less daunting. The turntable is now fully functional.
I'm currently working on this table and I just discovered this video with most of it done lol This is great and you do everything exactly how it should be done. I didn't put that much effort into re-routing the ground wire. All I did was run a long ground wire through the existing jack and soldered it to the chassis making it a permanent ground wire. No need to make a new hole. And for cleaning the plastic, use a good degreaser first with a toothbrush, and then take some plastic polish to it. I used some Meguiars headlight polish. It gets that deep layer of grime off the whole body and you can use it on the metal pieces too. I used the same polish on the dust cover which helped a lot, but still plenty of blemishes. I have a kit devoted to dust cover restoration but it's honestly a lot of work and rarely use it unless absolutely necessary. I highly recommend the Carbon Fidelity replacement styli and cartridges from LPgear.com for P-Mount tables like this. They make excellent elliptical styli for $50 that outperform name brands costing a lot more. Great value if you're trying to restore and resell these types of tables. PS: the Marantz is beautiful and it's rare to see them in black. I restored a Kenwood KR5030 which is what the SL-D20 is playing on now. Thanks for a great video!!
Jan, you should also look into getting a boombox / ghettoblaster! 🙂👍
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Coming soon, actually! I have a pretty special one waiting for some repairs. ;)
Excellent video Jan. Would enjoy more of these retro hifi videos 😊. Maybe a cassette deck next ?
@milk-it
Жыл бұрын
I second that!
@JeHaVe
3 ай бұрын
Yes, please! A cassettedeck, for instance an Akai GX-75/95 or Nakamichi LX-3/LX-5...😃
I used to have one of those in the 80s and loved it. I am currently restoring an SL-JS1 and a DUAL 505-2. You can polish that acrylic lid with buffing wheels and polish, it works a treat.
Jan, we want to see a polishing video! 🙂
6:32 Really interesting that only few turns of PCB traces can form a coil powerful enough to turn entire plater with a record.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
The actual coils have a lot more windings and are located between the PCB and the mechanism, actually. I should probably have pointed that out in the video! :D
I like Shure cartridges, too! My Shure V15 Type IV served me over 20 years. It wore out 3 styli during the time I used it. My V15 cartridge “lived” in a Pioneer and a Denon turntable over its lifetime, but right now, it sits in its original box waiting to “live” again in a new turntable. All my friends had Technics turntables. Mahalo for a superb video! I would enjoy more of this on your channel! Aloha!
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yes! Shure cartridges are generally great sounding workhorses. Can't go wrong with one of those, I guess. I used a classic Shure 75-6 on an elderly Dual turntable for ages. And the M92E is a very good and versatile cartridge, too. Not "audiophile" grade stuff but very reliable and neutral sounding (aka decent for lots of different styles of music) usually.
@stevesstuff1450
Жыл бұрын
@@JanBeta : Yes indeed; that M92E is a very good sounding 'workhorse', and plays music of any type very cleanly, with detailed and lively performance! I remember over 10 years ago, all the 'snobs' on audio forums disliked it and criticised anyone who admitted they used one (myself included!), and yet now it's been discontinued, they all lament it's passing and want to try and get hold of a 'cheap' one .... audiophools..!! 😂
Ah yes remember this class of Technics from the 80s. Had the dual cassette deck and one of their first CD players in ‘85. For the needle cartridge get Audio Technica for sure.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Audio Technica makes some very good cartridges indeed! Would have been my first choice for a new P-mount system if I didn't have the Shure at hand (which I love, too). Technics made some pretty decent stuff back in the 80s. My main CD player is an early nineties Technics I rescued from the elctronic waste bin at work a while back. Best sounding CD player I ever owned, actually!
Thank You Jan. This was very enjoyable to watch ^_^ It's always nice to see something old, thats most likely better than most things you can buy today, restored. You can still tell companies back then still wanted good quality even for their low or mid tier products. Btw, seams for reglued plastic disappear almost completely if you put a bit of salad oil on. It kinda seeps into the cracks and seams and gives them back their original color. It has to be plant based oil though, or the plastic might melt. I wouldn't mind some more hifi related things in the future :D
Jan, check the tonearm bearings as well. Set the counterweight so the tonearm floats and then try nudging it very gently up/down and left/right and see if it floats without any sticking both horizontally and vertically. Do it without stylus on there, obviously. Also, check that vertical tracking force is right with a gauge. This system ensurec that cartridge alignment is right, but your counterweight might have moved during shipping and repairs...you need to check tracking force.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Good call! Seems to work as intended but I'm going to take a look at that, too. Thanks!
@milk-it
Жыл бұрын
You're on the money. Good tips!
Thanks for the outstanding content, Jan👍
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Glad you like the videos! :D
Jan I'm really excited your back 😂
I'm glad I got my two Pioneer models when I did (PL-400 and PL-720) given prices for such things have gone up, sure they don't give audiophiles the trouser tingles, but, I'm not that way inclined, I just like my records to play nicely which they both do, the 400 being the better one... :)
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
I guess if you put proper cartridges on those they are even going to satisfy most audiophiles! ;)
@twocvbloke
Жыл бұрын
@@JanBeta Well, the 400 has an AT-95 (not even the 'e' version, it came with the PL-300 I had that was mostly spare parts) and the 720 I think has a Pioneer 3MC, apparently excrement in the audiphile community, but I like it, it's meaty powerful!!! :D
No doubt, you're aware, that Technics has a special spindle oil. Also, the ideal new lube, would be Superlube synthetic. I really like how you improvised, as issues came up. Super, how you addressed the cables and ground.This unit, is likely in factory condition, as for specs, and it looks very nice. I'm subscribing.
The used to make great CD players too, great DAC, great sound, I still use two of these.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Indeed! I'm currently using a 90s Technics CD Player that I rescued from the dumpster some years ago. :)
Very good video. I wish I could send you my Technics SL QD 33 for repair and restoration.. it is dead. Power supply ok. Nothing else works.
Jan, I really love your channel. Love to see content come out of Germany. BTW have you tried mending plastic with superglue and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). how this works is apply the glue to the plastic part then sprinkle "Baking Soda" on the glue joint. IT turns rock hard almost instantly. the best plastic mender I have ever used.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Thanks! Yes, I’ve used the baking soda and super glue method a couple of times, mostly to fill gaps and such or reconstruct missing parts in general. Works really well! The glue I used for this repair melts the plastics so you basically get a weld bond which I prefer for things like this where there’s only cracked parts that completely fill the gaps. :)
Cool! I used to have something similar. I think it was the SL-3200 or 3310 or something like that. It broke and I threw it away. I didn’t know Germans also misspell ‘aluminium’ like Americans do… I’m thinking about looking for something similar to my old turntable. Looks like a fun project! Thanks Jan!
Impresionante hermano, que video. Tremendo tutorial. Gracias...un abrazo desde Bogotá Colombia. Awesome brother, that video. Tremendous tutorial. Thank you...a hug from Bogota Colombia.
More videos of audio vintage staff please!!!!
@JanBeta
8 ай бұрын
I have a Sony hifi amp repair coming up next. Video is going to be released in a couple of days. :)
Awesome 🤩
As for polishing the dust cover/lid/whatever it is, on my 400 (which got its' lid from the 720, which inherited a wrong size generic lid from the 300!) I polished up the plastic with Peek polish, took a few "wax on, wax off" sessions, but it came out nice and shiny with minimal effort really, some deeper scratches remained (especially on the front) but they were so out-shone by the shine and clarity that it didn't matter to me... :)
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
I'm going to take a similar approach I think. Probably going to start with some fine grit sandpaper to get rid of the deeper scratches and finish with some acrylic polish.
@twocvbloke
Жыл бұрын
@@JanBeta That'd probably be best for a fully clean & glossy finish, mine was just on a whim, was in the midst of tidying up and rearranging things and saw my tube of polish next to the PL-400, and thought I'd try it, and it did nice for what really was just a half-arsed job on my part... :D
I have several turntables from the 70s (because they are the most common really) and there are even less electronics in there. Besides the switch for 110V/220V it is just an AC motor and the cartridge- everything else works mechanically using the motor as a power source.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
My main turntable is a Technics SL 1710 from 1978, they were really proud of using an IC for the speed regulation for the first time back then (I think it's the same IC used in the one from the video even). Before that, it was rare to have any kind of electronic speed alignment indeed, as you mentioned. Got the job done, I guess. :D
Nice video! I have a very similar SL-D30 table with an Audio Technica AT92E cartridge. These Technics direct drive tables seem to be very reliable.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
They are! Even the lower tier ones like these are very well built in my experience and basically last forever if you give them a little bit of love (and lubricant) from time to time. :)
The presence of a slip mat suggests that someone’s been using it to scratch or at least cue tracks and mix them - probably with another turntable. That r&s records slipmat might be worth something - that is an important label in dance music history and a favourite label of mine. The platter and direct drive system looks a lot like what’s on the newer more expensive 1200s, compared to the tried and tested mk2, mk3d, mk5s etc It’s great to see a consumer level direct drive technics that has a lot of bells and whistles you’d see on their 1200 model. Despite the poor quality packing it’s great that the dust cover survived! This model has removable power cable, ground and rcas plugs - it took until the mk7s for the 1200s to get those, and competitors used to boast about their models having this ‘feature’ It would be interesting to see if the pitch regulation ICs are the same as in the 1200s - they are almost like a SID chip on the 1200s in that when they fail they are expensive to replace and are highly sought after for 1200 service and repair business. Great work as always Jan!
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Oh, good call! I am not that deep into dance music so I didn't recognize the label. Thanks for the info! I agree, probably the previous owner did some scratching with the turntable. Which probably stressed the stylus quite a bit (but that was completely dislocated and bent during shipping anyway). It's not really designed for that purpose but I guess the direct drive did an okay job for that. Should have been used with a dj type stylus/cartridge though.
@fkthewhat
Жыл бұрын
@@JanBeta yeah haha. It looks like the headshell is fixed on this model? I guess that would limit the stylus options you have?
Thought that looked familiar. Then I saw the model number and yep, I had an SL-D20. Not sure of the suffix.
Wait, this isn't Techmoan! 😁
Quite annoying when a device that has survived for decades get busted up in transit. 😠
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yep. Very unfortunate. At least it was savable to an extend (the cracks are going to remain slightly visible though, I just consider them battle scars now).
@sideburn
Жыл бұрын
Could fill in the cracks and match the paint and make them go away
The speed depends (lets presume that the voltage there at the motor is regulated... ) on the Feq. deviations ... + - 0.1 Hz can make it "dance" a bit. I have a quartz lock system (not Technics) ... that has of course no manual adjust dial.
The 13th February 1982 is also when I was made.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Ha! That's a funny coincidence! Also, happy belated birthday! :D
I could imagine that a normal 2mm banana plug would do the job for connecting to the ground
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yes, I think that would be a reasonable solution. The original plug looks very similar to a banana plug but is somewhere between 2 and 3mm in diameter as far as I can tell. A 4mm banana plug I had at hand didn't fit, the inner lug of an RCA plug roughly fits but I decided to just add an additional jack to be sure I have the correct connector for it. :)
Thank you Jan. A great video. I have a question and maybe you can assist... I recently purchase the SL-D20 turntable which works great, with one exception. the start/stop button doesn't work. The return mechanism does work at the end of the record. any suggestions how to fix?
i love my 1989 1210s
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yes, the 1210 is a real classic for good reasons! Extremely well built turntables indeed!
Can i get SL D3 TURN TABLE. IC
Great! Considering you only spent 50€, it was a real bargain!!
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
It definitely was! I would have preferred proper packaging but it’s still a good price (plus some tinkering which I planned to do anyway). :D
Stylus would be the first thing to change as it will damage any other record played with it.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yep, did that. I used my own used cartridge/stylus to replace the original broken one. It has some miles on it but it’s not going to do any more damage than necessary. And getting a replacement stylus is the next step.
35:30 Use a magic eraser sponge ...
It’s the stop button symbol maybe?
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
I don't think there is a symbol on there originally. Must be some kind of dirt or possibly corrosion (the button is made from alumin(i)um as far as I can tell, maybe something caused it to corrode in that spot).
nice video D.J an Beta :p
My God. JT
Technics made a lot of good stuff in the 90s. I remember the first portable cd player I had from Tedhnics had 3sec buffer memory! Wow!😂
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Those were the days! My main CD player currently is an early 90s Technics I rescued from the electronics waste bin at work a while back. Best sounding CD Player I ever owned, actually! :)
please polish the turntable lid ... see instructions and results here kzread.info/dash/bejne/eaptzKdxebXOhLw.html and here kzread.info/dash/bejne/qKt1x9CuZLS-qLg.html
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Yes, I’m definitely going to do that (as I mentioned), thanks for the links! :)
_>Inserting obligatory comment to raise the channels algorithmic popularity.
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Haha, thanks!
@granitepenguin
Жыл бұрын
Don't forget thread engagement ;-)
@BerndFelsche
Жыл бұрын
@@granitepenguin That's why he turns screws to the left before right. 😉😛
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
Lol. 😅
@granitepenguin
Жыл бұрын
@@BerndFelsche well played
If that's acrylic then you should be able to remove small scratches by simply heating the plastic. Look on KZread how to do that.
kzread.info/dash/bejne/X61-uMGgg66YaLg.html In case you want to go in deeper...
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
That's a great video, thanks! :D
at 54:18 .... tester says 12 ohms?? ...... in a cable of 70cm..?? ..... bad soder or absolutely awful chopper Jan...
@JanBeta
Жыл бұрын
It's .12 ohms, actually. ;)