Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I have a question about a repair on a Technics SL-1600 turntable. I got in on ebay for $60, which I thought was a great deal considering the condition. Well, the seller sent it in the original box but did not overpack it. When I opened the box the plastic sleeve thet the counterweight slides on was broken. My brother in law bought it for me because he knew how to bid, had paypal etc. To make a long story short, he doesn't want to deal with the seller or UPS anymore. I've been trying to inquire about repairs and lined up the Turntable Factory and then he told me he was going OOB. It turns out the toner arm has to be completely disassembled to get at the screw that holds on this peice. Is this something to be left to the experts? If so, where do you recommend (I'm looking at $20 for the part and $50 labor). If you think a fairly mechanically inclined ameture can do the repair without screwing it up, where can I get the part?
Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Larry

Mine, and the one I restored for our son are both SL 1600 Mk2 and looking in the service manual it does not show a separate piece where the balance weight fits. I do know that the Mk2 model had two extra weights, one screws into the back end of the tone arm, the other sits over the cartridge, these wre only for extra heavy or extra light cartridges.

However, regardless of which model you have it would be impossible to reach any kind of screw from inside the arm. The arm extension on any arm I have ever worked on is attached with a screw that is reached from the back end of the arm, even my Rega RB350 is done that way.

Rob

I found that page while surfing to get more info. It's there, it's just not exploded or called out. I beleive the manufacturer did not sell this part sperately and you needed to buy a new toner arm (maybe becasue it is so hard to get to). This was what Joel from the Turntable Factory indicated to me when discussing shipping insurance reimbursement (I didn't buy it from him, he was just offering me information).