Turntable Troubleshooting

[nicola]

The Sanyo GTX 4545 I swiped from my parent's basement has been collecting dust long enough, so tonight I decided to throw some vinyl on there. My mother had warned me when I took it that the turntable didn't rotate anymore, so I brought it to Daddy's Junky Music (do they exist outside of Boston?) and got it fixed up. If I remember correctly, they just put a new belt on it.

So flash forward to tonight, I've got some Iggy Pop on there ready to go, but the little toggle switch for "Stop" "Start" and "Auto" won't budge. I've fucked around with seemingly every movable part on there that can be fucked around with, looking for some sort of secret lever to unlock this ridiculous thing, but the switch still won't move. Am I missing something obvious? It doesn't seem broken, just locked in place on "Stop." Does anyone have some experience with early 80's turntables & can tell me how to get this thing going?

Also, I tried to do some research myself, but my computer's broken (it says something about me that I'm putting more effort into fixing a 30 year-old turntable than my computer, doesn't it?), so I'm relying on my iTouch & stolen WiFi that keeps disconnecting & never has more than one bar. Anyway, I feel like you guys probably have more expertise about this sort of thing.

Any tips, tricks, or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Guest rsgold123456]

The healer

This elderly couple is watching one of those television preachers on TV one night. The preacher faces the camera, and announces, "My friends, I'd like to share my healing powers with everyone watching this program. Place one hand on top of your TV & the other hand on the part of your body which ails you & I will heal you." The old woman has been having terrible stomach problems, so she places one hand on the television, and her other hand on her stomach. Meanwhile, her husband approaches the television, placing one hand on top of the TV and his other hand on his groin. With a frown his wife says, "Ernest, he's talking about healing the sick, not raising the dead."

[nicola]

Okay, I've got a finger on the turntable's switch, d'you think that's enough? What channel do I turn to?

[nicola]

I popped the sucker open & I can see where the black plastic switch connects to a piece that's supposed to pivot. When it pivots, it tugs a thin metal piece that switches on the motor, while at the same time pushing another piece in towards the needle-area. What I'm stuck on now is why the pivoting piece won't slide these things into place smoothly. The piece that triggers the motor seems clear, and like it would smoothly, but the piece near the needle seems to be blocked by something. I can't figure out why it won't budge. I'm wondering if there's an obstruction somewhere- a screw securing the movable parts to transport the record player more safely, or a button I need to push that will let everything slide as it should.

Any ideas?

[xxmartinxx]

If I recall, when I was a kid (70's/80's), my parents turntable required the arm to be up before the button would work. I'm sure you've tried it, but it might be worth a shot to move the arm as far inward and outward and you can.

[nicola]

Alriiiiight! I got the Start/Stop switch working! Huzzah! Now the problem is that the turntable's not turning, even though the motor is humming along okay. I think the belt must have slipped off when I was brutalizing the switch into unsticking.

Can anyone tell me how to remove the platter so I can access the belt? I've tried just prying it off, and I've tried turning it and pulling up at the same time, but it's not coming off. All the tutorials I've found make removing the platter sound like the easy part, so I can't find any helpful information.

Thanks!

[tracy]

it's easy the platter just lifts off watch this video