ELAC Miracord TT -share all about 'em

[AlphaEcho35]

Just focus on tracing continuity back on those four wires (contacts, wires, pads, etc.) There's a lot of whirring gears, levers and other mechanical parts going on inside these great old turntables, but it all boils down to those four wires - confirm continuity from end to end and I bet you find it. Now, you have the cartridge out of this circuit while you are doing this correct? If you have continuity on all four wires from end to end, then I would suspect the cartridge - do you have a known good spare to try?

 

[Catmanboo]

Carson:I forgot to mention that the switch, activated by cam wheel underneath, will cause a reading of NO CONTINUITY between head shell & rca plugs WHILE AT REST, tonearm parked on pedestal. LOCK TONEARM DOWN while servicing turntable, or its gonna flop around & youre likely to f#%k something up. To remove base plate from plinth, lift up on baseplate while simultaneously unscrewing the 2 screws I mentioned previously .
You'll know it's ready to pull when screws disengage from nut plates embedded in plinth. Then, lift base plate up & off plinth. Cam wheel is activated upon pushing any of the 4 buttons on lower right of base plate. Manually turn this to deactivate the cut-out switch , then continuity -check between rca plugs & head shell. I've had a minor issue with that switch years ago, just a bit of burnishing on contacts fixed that. Bear in mind, it's an early 70's piece of gear, expect shiite to need a bit of tlc after all this time. PM me for further help, I'm working on mine as I type this. Saw your post, had to disassemble mine for accurate instructions for you, discovered problems on mine, haven't used for years. My thanks, man!

 

[gary7]

Picked up a Realistic Elac LAB 60. Nice table except missing one spring/foot & single play spindle. Nice table. Even had original set on cover.

 

[K Carson]

Update:
I was able to get the unit out of the base and have a look around inside. I tested continuity from the tone arm to the wires that go to the amp/tuner. I had found that I had a bad connector-yes, the very one I tried to repair. Easy enough to fix (for most folks who are good at soldering-which I'm not). Any way, after talking to some co-workers about better soldering techniques, I got a good connection and now have sound from both channels! It's a really cool thing to listen to Dad's LP's. Had a little moment of nostalgia as my dad passed away in 2011.
I followed a recommendation above and have downloaded the user manual. What a machine...
Now that the thing is actually working, I'd like to get to the restoration. As Cat mentioned, there is a lot of stuff inside that needs to be cleaned up. The foam in the spring stabilizers had disintegrated and is everywhere inside the box. I'll get that out. What can I used to replace the foam inserts?
Also, there is a printed board of sorts inside this thing that appears to have some copper contacts carrying the signal at one point. All of these surfaces are black. Obviously, they have continuity but should I clean these and if so, how?
What else needs servicing? The unit seems to work as intended so I doubt any repairs are in order. If everything seems to be turning smoothly, do I need to worry about lubrication at any points?

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

 

[Catmanboo]

Carson, the contacts are the switch I mentioned previously that cut off the cartridge output while cycling so as to not transmit mechanical noise to the preamp/receiver. I may have mis-stated it's functioning as I was pulling out a long-dormant memory. I since got into my 50H to more accurately guide you & anyone else.
I believe it shorts pickup leads to chassis ground, you can see it in action while manually turning the large gear, which is the cam that moves everything. At rest, the contacts are open, while cycling, a raised part on cam gear closes the contacts. If you hear any noises in your speakers while tt is cycling, these may need cleaning. Not to worry about blackness, as silver plating gets that way.
As far as grease goes, elac used good schmutz (lube) that lasts a looong time. If it's dry & crumbly, clean out & relube with lithium grease, or even gun lube. If grease is still"greasy", I'd skip cleaning it out. Shouldn't need to deal with bearing pack on platter spindle, it's lubed for the long haul. Put a drop of oil on the idler wheel axle, do not get any on the rubber! Clean up friction surface & inside rim of platter with 91%isopropyl alcohol.
For spring foam r&r, I just did my 50H with cones cut from foam egg crating, see pic.

 

[K Carson]

Simple enough. Thanks, Catmanboo!! I don't hear any noise when the platter turns. I'll look at the grease but I'm guess since everything turns and stops quickly and quietly, that we're good. I'll just clean up the inside of the platter add a drop of oil to the idler wheel. I have plenty of those egg crate foam matress things around the house and I'll use them. Good info!

 

[Catmanboo]

Cool beans! You'll notice the springs are conical-shaped so the egg-crate foam is perfect for this. I trimmed mine to fit tight, this should provide superior damping compared to the small bits that were originally installed. Won't hurt to put a drop or 2 of oil on platter axle, make sure no dust or critter hair (I have cats, so I'm diligent ) is stuck on it. You'll need a bright light for that. Nice thing about the elacs is the torque, itll keep on turning as you sweep with your discwasher or equivalent. No belt-drive can beat that. Keep us posted on your project, time well spent.

 

[loonze]

using a Miracord 45 right now...the quality is really good!

 

[PastorTube]

Two part question about Elac motors.

Can anyone hear a difference between the Elac tables using a Pabst motor vs the other motor (10 vs 10H or 50 vs 50H). I hear quite a bit that the Pabst motor is a better motor from a technical design standpoint, but does it make for an audible difference?

I have a Miracord 10 and the only issue I have is the rumble that is transmitted from motor to cartridge and then to my ears. I have Swapped out the grommets but I can’t say there was any improvement....could be the main bearing though I have rebuilt and lubed it.

 

[gary7]

Ok. getting my Realistic Elac LAB 60 up & running. It runs a little slow even with pitch control all the way over to +. It has a idler-belt combo. The motor turns the idler wheel which then turns the platter with the belt. I assume the idler height needs adjusting, but not sure where to do it.

 

[Catmanboo]

i dont recall which motors are which, but my 50h & 770h both use the open-cage rotor motors. when running, i can hear a faint whirring due to open cage stirring the air. I had to track that down, as it was present even while not driving the platter. I'll be pulling my 10h out of storage soon to service it, so ill get educated on motor types.

 

[monkboughtlunch]

I have Swapped out the grommets but I can’t say there was any improvement....could be the main bearing though I have rebuilt and lubed it.

What grommets did you use?

 

[Drkilldrmz]

I'm in desperate need of a spindle for my Elac 620 if anyone has a source? Would absolutely love one before the weekend if at all possible. I'll post a picture of it when I am able. It's absolutely mint. Thank you!

 

[Catmanboo]

Drkilldrmz,are you referring to the platter axle? Can't imagine that ever going bad. I have a 620 in the attic that's very hard to turn the platter so haven't gotten it off-yet. Have yet to get into it to see why. It MAY end up as a parts unit. Will keep this in mind. Pm me so I can reply as time allows. Catman

 

[Drkilldrmz]

Its the piece that holds the Record from moving Catmanboo. If that shows my inexperience. Here are a couple of pictures. The Platter was frozen initially, but moving it around with some oil freed it right up and i could remove it to have a look. I dont believe anything is missing other than whatever you call that part, but i dont know for sure. Also looks to be some Wear on the piece that would hold the " Spindle" ?

 

[likebike23]

If you are desperate enough @Drkilldrmz you can use a 1/4" dowel until you find a spindle. It may operate in repeat mode like that, but you can just stop it after the needle drops.

 

[Drkilldrmz]

I was able to source a Changer type spindle and it should be here by this weekend. It's the long one with the Changer shelves on it ( see small pic ) . Ill still need a smaller one if i am able to source one. Does it look like anything else might be missing other than that spindle?

 

[Catmanboo]

I was able to source a Changer type spindle and it should be here by this weekend. It's the long one with the Changer shelves on it ( see small pic ) . Ill still need a smaller one if i am able to source one. Does it look like anything else might be missing other than that spindle? View attachment 1346905

that's a good find! Elac changer spindles should last indefinitely, as they don't depend on tiny rubber bits to hold the stacked records as the (junk) Dual units do. Cant see anything amiss in your pics, but now's the time to service the thing, i.e. clean out any hardened grease, clean the surface of the idler wheel & oil its shaft, replace the foam inserts inside the suspension springs. good luck & have fun with it!

 

[Drkilldrmz]

Thank you Catmanboo. They don't give these spindles away it seems. I have read most of this thread, and it seems that my 620 is on the lower end of these Elac's, but im going to give it the attention i am able to. More plastic than i expected to see from the early 70's. To this point i have been able to get the platter moving perfectly after some Deoxit and hand spinning the platter for awhile., Im a bit concerned about turning it upside down to have a good look, but it looks like ill need to. Testing function, when i have the spindle resting, and press the 12" start button, the platter spins up quickly, then pauses and slowly spins back up to start auto playing. Something in that function i assume needs to be lubricated. The rubber wheel that spins the platter might be smooth or need adjustment? The 3136DE needle i think i have found is an EVG Stylus, and probably useful until i can find an upgrade. I don't know the Terminology enough yet to identify the parts by name alone, so maintenance will be slow until i can learn more. So far, all seems functional, but a little sticky. Overall, a big improvement from my Onkyo CP-1100 in both function and sound. Im looking forward to learning how to get it serviced, and playing 100%. I appreciate the support!

 

[likebike23]

Make sure you remove the platter before you flip it over. If you can download an owners manual on VE it will describe platter removal. Also, after pulling the platter, you can lift the deck out of the base. I rest it upside down on two or three cheap rolls of toilet paper to keep the tonearm off the work table. Good luck and have fun.