I picked up a nice-looking Pioneer PL-117D from an estate sale for $15 - it came with the original box and extra belts. The bad news is it has a broken belt and needs a needle. I noticed they don't go for much on ebay - I was surprised because it looks well-made.

What is the consensus here on this particular turntable? Is replacing the belt difficult for a beginner? Thanks in advance.

Stormy,

I can't really answer your other questions, but I can in regards to replacing the belt. Fortunately, with these turntables, the belt is a fairly simple matter to change out. First, remove the mat on the platter (the rubber disk). You should see two large slots big enough for most of your fingers. Use these slots to gentle pull upwards until the platter comes off. Now, if your PL-117D is anything like my PL-115D you should see some gears and stuff like that which you can ignore. Just look for the brass shaft sticking up with an arm adjacent. The brass shaft should have two diameters to it, this is the motor shaft and the different sizes equate to 33 and 45 RPMs respectively. The arm guides the belt, when in place, to the appropriate shaft size when you select the speed.

To replace the belt, look at the underside of the platter in your hand. There should be a large cylinder wall that has a diameter comparable to the inside of the finger slots. This is where the belt will go around the platter to turn it. Loop the spare belt around this so that there are no twists and inserts your fingers into the slots to hold the platter again. The belt will have some slack, so put your finger behind it and hold out slightly for some tension (through the slots) and place the platter back on the center pin so that the slot where you're holding the belt is over the brass motor shaft. With the platter in place, gently loop the belt over the motor shaft so that it neither twists, nor drops off the cylinder wall of the platter. Make sure the belt goes through the inside flanges of the speed arm so that the belt will move when the arm does. Turn it on to see if it turns, if it does, you accomplished the task and you can put the mat back on.

Now, since you don't have a needle, you can't play any records, as you already know. However, replacement styli for this vintage of player tend to cost around $20 before shipping. At that price point, you'd probably be better off going ahead and swapping out the cartridge for a better one for just a little more. For instance, the Grado Black sells for ~$35 (Shure has a similarly priced offering) that would most likely be a good upgrade to the standard consumer level cartridge most likely already in place on your arm.

-JP

Pioneer (and other Japanese manufacturers) sold a lot of turntables of decent but not outstanding quality. This means there are a fair number out there, so supply can keep up with demand, so prices are not inflated. Many of the japanese companies didn't actually manufacture their tables themselves, instead they were largely or completely made by CEC. While on one hand it means that there could be economies of scale, so the tables could be inexpensive, it also means that they tended to mindnumbing similarity. And from a collector or vintage user point of view, uniqueness is a desireable trait, so again, prices are depressed.
This doesn't mean that the tables are not good, of course -- in the used market, price is a dubious indicator of quality.
But its also true that most of the big companies were aiming for the mass market, and so were not trying for the state of the art. Since heavy platters require stronger bearings and motors, and shipping heavy platters costs money, and the sound quality that is the result probably won't show up in specifications, most of these tables are good enough for the average person, but not really high end. And given how cheap even supertables can be on the used market, mid level products are going to be relatively cheap unless there is a fad for them.

Thanks for the quick and informative replies, guys!

I've got 2 of them because they were so inexpensive, pretty good performers for as little as I play records. A shure will help out, but you don't have to crazy and but a $200.00 cartridge for a $15.00 table. :thmbsp:

[QUOTE=stormy]I picked up a nice-looking Pioneer PL-117D from an estate sale for $15 - it came with the original box and extra belts. The bad news is it has a broken belt and needs a needle. I noticed they don't go for much on ebay - I was surprised because it looks well-made.

What is the consensus here on this particular turntable? Is replacing the belt difficult for a beginner? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE

Belts are not hard to replace as posted. I have a Audio Technica cart mounted to a headshell that would fit your turntable. Since I run only Dual tables I have no need for this cartridge and headshell. It will fit on yours. Set the counter weight your good to go.

Email me if interested. The price is right. Free :D Did I see JBLS in that pic?

Eric

Yep - I picked up the JBL Century speakers at an estate sale for $25. They wanted $50 but I waited until half price at the end of the sale. I absolutely love them and would buy them for much more now that I've heard them. Do you have JBL's? I have woofer with a hole in it for trade bait. Yes, I'll email you about your cartridge.

Wow, I wouldn't have had the nerve to hold out and see if they were still there. Great deal even at 50 bones IMHO.

The reason I waited was because half price was in 45 minutes - long enough for me to run to an ATM. I had already exceeded my limit on an Empire Troubador TT with an extra, brand-new $150 cartridge - $180 for it (near-perfect shape w/box and manuals). It's in the picture also...

It was a great sale - I missed out on a rock and roll album collection that was near-perfect but it sold before I got there. The man (who had passed away several years earlier) had a WALL of Macintosh equipment but the misses felt it should go with the house since the wiring was built-in. There was a pair of Advents I passed on as well as a reel-to-reel. I was happy with what I bought but still wished I had gotten it all.

I run this TT w/ an ortonfon OMB10 from ebay. One of the best sounding sources in my system, better than my Denon 2200 playing SACD or DVDAs. Even better when used w/ my tube amp.

I;ll bet that you were hearing either the final Jeopardy theme song, or the beggining of Pink Floyd's time going back there. :lmao: BTW TXSViking was kind enough to send me a .PDf of the service manual for the PL-117, so if anybody wants a copy, I'll share.
Steve
If my mailbox is full, (Need more space!!!) try me at donalds@tacom.army.mil

Strawman, I sent you an email regarding the PDF. Thank you for the offer, I've been wanting to fix up my PL-117D for a while. Just got a belt in the mail a couple of days ago.

mentalmonkey, I sent you a message. I have several different size belts that came with the turntable and have no idea which is the right one. Can you measure yours in some way? Also, where did you order it from? Thanks

Hello Stormy,

I got my belt from Bob at Vintage-Electronics http://www.vintage-electronics.cc/parts.html The belts are ordered by just giving your TT name, model.

His TT belts are only $5.50. unfortunetly I haven't had a chance to change my belt. I cant get the platter off and I'm going to have to figure a way of getting the gooey melted old belt off (left in an attic by previous owner)!

The new belt mesures 29.2 CM (non stetched but lightly tight) form end to end (folded in a loop). Hope it works out when I get a chance to put it in.

Hi I just scored one of these tables and it had the same problem, of a goey dead belt mess. I ended up useing Methal hydrate alcohol with a kleenex and it cleaned right up. To get the Platter of I pulled up on the platter with finger holes and gave the center a LIGHT tape with a small ball pean hammer to break the seal. The only problem my table has is that one of the internal springs that gives the platter its suspension, the one on the left side, has sagged. So when I lightly use a graphite cleaning brush the platter bottems out on the frame on that side, hitting the resessed area for the platter. any suggestions?
cheers Wolfgang

Cool tip Wolfgang! I still have not got my Pioneer project going. I need to stop finding "new" gear. :yes: :no: :music:

Yes so do I. Addictions are the death of my bank account. No more new gear I promise. Can somebody send me a service manual on the PL 117D?
cheers Wolfgang