KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
Well it's been awhile BUMP just got myself a vintage dusty :p Pioneer PL-120 manual turntable from my local thrift shop for 12.99, so I'll be on this thread. I will need a new belt, headshell, cartridge and stylus.
I bought a good, (mostly) working 1978-1980 Pioneer PL-518 from my dealer's "dungeon" to gift to my younger son yesterday. It's a direct drive TT and came with a good Audio Technica AT120E cartridge mounted. Upon initial testing, I found the right channel wasn't outputting, and that turned out to be a case of someone pulling the RCA plug out of their equipment by the wire. These don't have any strain relief, so the center conductor broke. Fixed that, then onto the bad-looking dust cover and an overall yellow-brown (smoke, probably) tinge to the gray plinth and dust cover.

Nothing I did was making the dust cover look right. With just 3 days to go until Christmas and short on funds to buy the readily-available aftermarket replacement, I opted for a different solution: Krylon Ultra 2 in "Heritage White"!

It took 3 coats (nearly the whole can) and sanding with 800 then 1000 grit between coats, but done with 1 day to air out. I think it looks really cool, in a 1980's 'office equipment chic' kind of way. It's huge step up from the Audio Technica AT-LP60 that I had given him a few years back.

When he got it I mentioned the replacement dust covers for around $100, and he and his wife both said it's staying like that. It's plugged into his 1985-vintage Harmon Kardon HK550vxi receiver and working beautifully, according to first reports. I'm so happy for him! :)
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afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
Ken that an awesome looking TT. Never seen overhang checker feature does anyone here use it?
 
afterlife2

afterlife2

Audioholic Warlord
Got these on the cheap for now:
Ebay $10
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and this if no good I'll return it.
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Belt(Click Pic for bigger Pic)
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slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Nope, and upon further searching it's stubbornly hard to find without having to purchase it. I haven't exhausted all my options yet tho...
To be fair, it is worth the price and any $ to PBS is $ well spent!
 
cornemuse

cornemuse

Junior Audioholic
Hello! I have been a member here for 3 days & am jumping in here blind!
I have boxes of LP's, some purchased 50+ years ago I have 3 'tables, but use my PL-514 dd 'table. Got it a church rummage sale for 5 bucks few yrs ago. About 30 years ago at Radio Shack I bought three (whatever model) 'realistic' cartridges. they were not even re-branded Stanton carts, same ones the radio DJ's used to use. Just in a RS box. Still have 1 virgin one left. Used to listen to them, but now (when I get the urge) I hook up the platter to comp & use Audacity & rip individual songs. I have this old Kenwood stereo from before they had remotes with them, plus a phono in. I'll be 74 in a month, and sadly, my hearing is shot from working on jets (usaf) & being around heavy equipment for 40 years. Bought & still have lp's I got at base BX, some for $1.12 yes!
Some were eventually transfered to CD, but some, the vinyl sounds better. I especially like baroque classical music, loud!
-cornemuse-
 
KenM10759

KenM10759

Audioholic Samurai
What's it do?
It is just printed white cardboard. It has a hole that just fits over the spindle of the platter, and a "base line" leading out from that center. At two locations along that line are two grid patterns. One is close to where the inner track of where an LP would be, the other toward where the outer track would be.

You use the line to first get the rotational position of the platter so the tonearm sweeps roughly along that line. Because a tonearm swings in an arc, it should hit the line in two places when the platter is rotated to the correct position. Hold the platter in that position, somehow. Now to fine-tune the overhang, align the cartridge with the grid patterns, and the front of the cartridge and stylus should be on that line in both grid patterns. Most headshells have slots so the cartridge can slide forward or back of the line, and be set to parallel with the grid pattern behind (toward the tonearm pivot) of the line.

YouTube is your friend for this.
 

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