mending things

  One of my first posts in this blog was regarding the servicing of the Pioneer PL12D turntable, and that has proven to be the most popular by a significant margin. The Pioneer PL12D had its competitors, and probably the most popular alternative was the Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable. I use both names (Trio and Kenwood) as the company operated under different names in different markets. In the UK they were Trio, possibly because the brand Kenwood was most famous here for food blenders. 95% of a KD-1033 is similar to  Pioneer PL12D, and servicing them is very much the same process. Both are belt drive , have an AC synchronous motor,  mechanical speed change , a main bearing, sprung top deck and rubber motor mounts. the KD-1033 uses a different type of anti skate mechanism, employing a thread and weight. The plinth is shallower with an internal cross brace. One aspect that is different is the design of the main bearing, and servicing it is a little harder than a PL12D. The ...

I'm delighted to receive messages from readers who have found my Pioneer PL12D blog of use. I recently received this article from a correspondent - Dirk Sipes, and wanted to share it. His approach is that of an engineer, rather than my amateur efforts, and there are some very interesting  details around things like bearing material and the nature of the suspension springs. He has also owned the deck for 40 years since new, which speaks volumes about both their quality and his care. Here it is : About me: Readers be aware that I have tried to use names for parts as they appear on the service schematics for the PL-12D that are available on VinylEngine.com, thus bushings referenced in the blog are what I call cushions, etc.   Also, I have provided some locations where products that I used can be obtained.   Those businesses do not even know I list them, and my use does not necessarily represent an endorsement, although I have found them to reputable.   My tha...

A feature of many of these blogs is my interest in vinyl records and turntables. Over the years I've acquired and restored a number of decks, all of which came with a cartridge, but were they worth keeping ? Well my  friend , and fellow fan, Clive,  has created a wonderful resource with a great deal of invaluable detail about a wider range of cartridges, and reviewed in classic decks like the PL12D, Rega Planar 2 and the Technics SL1200. Well worth visiting for the insight and detail around things such as optimal capacitive loading , for example PHONO CARTRIDGE REVIEWS

Last year I acquired a Pioneer PL-12D turntable which I restored and runs very well. In the blog describing the process I mentioned that I believed that much of the content would be suitable for a wide range of 1970's Japanese belt drive turntables from the likes of Pioneer, Sony, Sansui , Kenwood/Trio etc.  A few weeks ago I spotted another turntable being auctioned locally on ebay. The price seemed very good and I bid for it and won. It was a JVC JL-A1 which I got for a very reasonable £20 and was able to collect. The unit had been in the family from new and was in very good condition. Just a few issues due to age , namely the hardening of both rubber and lubricants with age. I had read in the vinyl engine forum that it was similar to the PL-12 and I wanted to find out, plus I enjoy working on decks. As you can see from the pictures it is very similar. Speed change on the left (buttons rather than levers) with cueing lever on the right. S-shaped arm with removable heads...

 I got back into vinyl records about 18 months ago, and have collected a few hundred albums, mostly second hand. I have a number of turntables (NAD 5120, Ariston QDeck, Pioneer PL12D ) which I got also second hand. I keep a few, some end up passed onto friends, some that are too far gone are kept for spares. In most cases they have required a little work to get them running again. Last week I was lucky enough to get a Pioneer PL-12D turntable from freecycle. The lady who offered it, said that she in turn had received it from freecycle , and had replaced the belt but couldn't get on with the springiness of it, and had got a modern USB turntable. I have previously worked on one of these decks, and know what she means about the suspension system used. While this blog is specifically about this particular model of deck, many of the concepts are similar to others from this vintage. Many Japanese belt drive decks throughout the  1970's shared very similar construction, so this m...