Luxman TP-117, remote control, and cables?

N8Nagel

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Soooo... I've got this TP-117.

Completely coincidentally, I also have a DZ-111 CDP and K-111 tape deck, as well as just gave away a similar auto-reverse tape deck whose model number I forget. I was going to see about getting stuff together to test the remote control functionality of this unit.

It appears that the CDP is easy. I just get some mono mini headphone m-m cables and go Was sitting down to put together a Monoprice order when I reread the manual and also pulled the cassette deck out of the gear closet. Now it appears that I was initially incorrect, the mini mono phone cable works for the CDP but for the tape deck I need to get what appears to be an 8 pin DIN cable, plus a y-cable that has a female DIN to two male mini DINs. My tape deck does not have the headphone jack on the back like the CDP, so that seems to confirm this, and there is a DIN connector on the back marked "Remote Control"...

Am I correct, and any suggestions as to where to get this stuff without breaking the bank? If I end up having to make these myself are there any standard pinouts or is perusal of the schematics required? I probably won't actually use the Lux CDP as I have an Oppo 95, and I don't know if this tape deck is better than my HK one or not. I really just wanted to try to use this thing to its capabilities so if the day came to ever sell it I'd a) have all the stuff to make it work as intended even if they weren't original Lux cables and b) I'd be able to honestly tell buyer what did and didn't work.

Thanks for any help!
 
I believe Luxman came out with a special din cables for these connections. They are just your basic din cables. I use to have them but sold them years ago with the Luxman equipment at the time. However i believe i might still have a din adapter at home. Im confused between the 3 pin and 8 pin adapter? I will see what i have
 
All ends are 8 pin DIN or Mini DIN

Need 2x 8 pin DIN male to 8 pin Mini DIN male cables to test the tape functionality. I can confirm that I have a Luxman cassette deck, and bewilderingly, it does in fact have a full size DIN connector on it, unlike the TP-117, which has two of what appear for all the world to be mini DIN connectors. I can't explain why they didn't just make the connector on the cassette decks a mini DIN, but it is what it is.

The unit would also have come with 2x 8 pin mini DIN "Y" cables, 2 male to one female if I am reading it correctly. First post was slightly inaccurate, I had to look at the manual 2-3 times after looking at the gear to figure out how this was really intended to work.

Finally there would have been two mono 3.5mm phone plug to 3.5mm phone plug cables to control the CD player or a "slave" TP-117, that part I can handle, can get those most anywhere.

It appears that I would have to make the DIN cables myself, best bet seems to be to buy a pile of 8 pin Mini DIN cables and cut them up, terminating two of them with new 8 pin DIN connectors, and likewise splice some together in the middle and shrink for the Y cables if I choose to make them.

I'll hold off on ordering anything for the time being because the 8 pin male DIN ends sold on Amazon are getting complete crap reviews, I was hoping for somewhere I could do one stop shopping without having to terminate every end myself, but I may end up having to get those ends from Mouser or similar. If you find anything in the meantime please let me know as I'd be interested!

I know I'm being kind of a nerd about this but seeing as I already HAD the tape deck and CD player (got it with a R-113 which didn't have these capabilities), I want to make this work as intended!
 
Soooo... I've got this TP-117.

Completely coincidentally, I also have a DZ-111 CDP and K-111 tape deck, as well as just gave away a similar auto-reverse tape deck whose model number I forget. I was going to see about getting stuff together to test the remote control functionality of this unit.

It appears that the CDP is easy. I just get some mono mini headphone m-m cables and go Was sitting down to put together a Monoprice order when I reread the manual and also pulled the cassette deck out of the gear closet. Now it appears that I was initially incorrect, the mini mono phone cable works for the CDP but for the tape deck I need to get what appears to be an 8 pin DIN cable, plus a y-cable that has a female DIN to two male mini DINs. My tape deck does not have the headphone jack on the back like the CDP, so that seems to confirm this, and there is a DIN connector on the back marked "Remote Control"...

Am I correct, and any suggestions as to where to get this stuff without breaking the bank? If I end up having to make these myself are there any standard pinouts or is perusal of the schematics required? I probably won't actually use the Lux CDP as I have an Oppo 95, and I don't know if this tape deck is better than my HK one or not. I really just wanted to try to use this thing to its capabilities so if the day came to ever sell it I'd a) have all the stuff to make it work as intended even if they weren't original Lux cables and b) I'd be able to honestly tell buyer what did and didn't work.

Thanks for any help!

I have a friend of mine who was a Luxman dealer in this era, let me see what he can do to assist you.
 
thanks Kent, that would be awesome. Right now it seems like I need to either find a friend who has access to NOS parts, or else just order a bunch of stuff and start soldering.

At least the connectors aren't completely obsolete... BTDT (ask me about 50's Stewart-Warner tach senders. I think that NLA connector was actually shared with some old radio gear.)
 
Fired up the service manual. Part numbers, from "Packing Assembly Parts List":

01T820991F03 Assy., Mini Cord 150cm
01T15620W01 Assy., Mini-ST Cord
01T15621W01 Assy., RCA Cord (Gold) <- don't need this one obviously
01T10825W01 Cord. DIN-8P

I listed all three part numbers because I'm not sure which of the first two is which. I'm assuming one is the Y-cable and one is the mono headphone cable.

I could also use an AM antenna or three... I actually had a WTB thread going but I figured that finding these cords in original Lux format would be impossible, but I'm willing to be proven wrong. (I also thought that with a little Google-fu I could find premade replacements for them, but I WAS wrong about that.)

The more I listen to the TP-117 the more I like it, as well - it's currently playing through a pair of HK 775s and a pair of KLH Twenty Threes which have been the "good" speakers I've had the longest. I don't honestly know if they've ever sounded better. Maybe when my R-1120 was working, but I'm not sure about that.

Anyway, here's my WTB thread, if your friend has any of that stuff and isn't attached to it, you'd be my hero, because I seem to be acquiring a lot of cheap but usable Lux gear lately.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/luxman-remotes-antennas-other-items.805562/
 
So before ordering anything, I wrote to Luxman directly. I didn't actually get an exact answer, but given their corporate history, they're at least trying, and I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't get a curt "that's a 30 year old preamp" response or something like that. So I guess the "McIntosh of Japan" label still applies. The actual response was:

Hi Nathan,

I heard back from Luxman Japan last night.

They report that the TP-117 was a North American product only. As such, it was made during a time when some of the engineering resources were out-sourced. For models produced with the out-sourced engineering, there is almost no historical record or circuit diagrams available. That said, they were familiar with other Luxman models that utilized the DIN connectors. They report that for those models, the pin-out / pin-in configuration was standard p1-p1, p2-p2, etc. They would expect any off the shelf DIN cable (with the appropriate termination of course) to work.

I suspect the cables and/or ends are available fairly readily. If you need some help finding a source for the cables or ends, let me know and I'm sure we can find them in Japan.

Sorry I could not provide the exact information you were seeking, but I think you are on the correct path.

Let me know if I can answer any additional questions.

Best regards,
Jeff

So it looks like I'm going to get a long mini-DIN cable next time I place an Amazon order, get some 8 pin DINs from Mouser or Digi-Key, wire them up 1-1, 2-2, etc. and hope for the best.

I will be sure to post back if this works, because I couldn't find any documentation of this anywhere.
 
Follow up... Got everything but the 8 pin DIN connectors today (because Amazon doesn't sell quality ones apparently.) However I found a place called showmecables.com that will build custom spec cables. Got a quote that might make it worthwhile just to have them make a few for me. Has anyone used that site?

Edit: price quote was for each cable not the quantity of four I'd requested; not unreasonable but I'm doing this on the super cheap. Yeah, I know, but still. So I'm just going to take a 10' 8-pin mini DIN cable and cut it in half, just pulled the trigger on some 8 pin DIN male connectors from Digi-Key, will turn that one cable into two 5' 8 pin mini-DIN to 8 pin DIN cables.

I'm not going to even address the Y-cables right now as I don't have an application for them.

We'll see how this works...
 
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Gettin' there... Brought my DZ-111 CDP home from work (it was sitting under the R-113 that is my desk system) and that portion of the remote control works splendidly. Using Hosa brand 5' long mono 3.5mm phono plug cables (read: the cheapest ones that Amazon had on offer)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O5J47U

Just need the 8 pin DIN ends to make my tape deck control cables (on order) and to find another remote and remote sensor (yeah, I know, good luck) to test this 100%... I won't be able to test more than two zone functionality though unless I go completely nuts and attempt to fix/have someone fix the second TP-117 that I picked up for the remote, and then get MORE remotes and remote sensors, and make up more cables...
 
OK so this exercise just came to a hard stop...

My package showed up today with some Switchcraft 15BL8MX 8-pin DIN connectors and... they don't fit.

The shell is the right size but the pins are arranged ever so slightly differently from the socket on the Luxman cassette deck.

Anyone have any ideas what connector I could use? This is pretty much all I'm finding. Digi-key lists these as DIN (270 degree) but doesn't really give me any other options for an 8 pin DIN connector. I would ask if there was a JIS equivalent but a) the TP-117 takes a mini-DIN just fine and b) the manual specifically refers to it as DIN (although I suppose it still may be a valid question.)

Does anyone have any ideas? I had high hopes for a fully functional system, the lack of remote control of the tape deck isn't a deal killer, but I really did want to make this work.
 
from page 46 of this catalog

http://www.switchcraft.com/Documents/EDG4.pdf

I'm thinking that I have a "8 pin at 262 degrees" socket

can't seem to find a source for the 20GM8M plug

However... that same showmecables website has an unbranded one for cheaper than the Switchcraft ones I ordered from Digi-Key... just ordered... we'll see how that works out.
 
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2nd try arrived today. I can confirm that the connector on the back of a K-111 (and presumably K-110, K-112, and other similar decks) is a "8 Pin DIN 262 degree" NOT the more common, and not listed as obsolete by Digi-Key, Mouser, etc. "8 Pin DIN 270 degree" connector.

I probably won't get the cable made tonight, but I will be sure to follow up once I confirm pinout for posterity.
 
OK more info. Downloaded the manual for the K-112 and TP-117 from HFE

apparently the pinout is not exactly 1-1, 2-2 etc.

Also the pinout given on the K-112 socket diagram is not the same as that for a 8 pin DIN 270 degree (keep in mind that this is 8 pin DIN 262 degree) I am referencing the pinout given on the K-112 diagram whenever referring to that connector.

Function is picked off of the K-112 schematic. For the TP-117 pinouts the schematic only showed connections to IC316/317 and not functions so I got those from hooking a meter to on mV with neg. to Pin 6 of the mini-DIN which is shown as ground and looking for a needle swing. I can't verify "Record" but I'm assuming that it has to be pin 1 on the TP-117 because pin 8 shows no connection.

Lux K112 J501 / Function / TP-117 J302

1 / Stop / 2
2 / Rec / 1???
3 / Rew / 5
4 / Play / 4
5 / FF / 3
6 / Gnd / 6
7 / Pause / 7
8 / R. Mute / N.C.
 
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CONFIRMED! 100% functional.

I bought one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002GWN84/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and six of these (so many just to get a price break in case I sell one of my TP-117s in the future, about same price as four)

https://www.showmecables.com/catalog/product/view/id/40467/

Cut the mini-DIN cable in half, and soldered on one of the full size DINs to the cut end using table in previous post. Colors - if you use the EXACT cable I did, I can't guarantee if you use anything else, and you should confirm anyway -

K112/J501 is the 8 pin DIN 262 degree
TP-117/J302 is the 8 pin mini DIN

J501 / Function / J302 / Color

1 / Stop / 2 / Blk
2 / Rec / 1 / Brn
3 / Rew / 5 / Red
4 / Play / 4 / Org
5 / FF / 3 / Yel
6 / Gnd / 6 / Grn
7 / Pause / 7 / Blu
8 / R. Mute / 8 / Violet (not actually used by TP-117)

AGAIN PINOUTS ARE PER THE SCHEMATICS. THE 8 PIN FULL SIZE DIN 262 DEGREE IS NON STANDARD PINOUT, GET THE SCHEMATIC FOR LUXMAN K-112.

I did have to build up the cable a little bit with electrical tape to get the strain relief to "grip" on it and not be loose, but other than that everything's pretty copacetic.

The cable that I used to control the CD player is this one

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001O5J47U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

with no mods. But any mono 3.5mm male-male cable should work.

The TP-117 should have also shipped with 8 pin mini DIN y-cables, but those are only necessary if using multiple TP-117 units with the same cassette deck, so I haven't built those. Likewise, I think you need a STEREO 3.5mm male-male for power control of multiple TP-117s, but I am not using that configuration. If I lose my mind and get the second TP-117 fixed, I will revisit this. In any case I've got the important bit done, which is figuring out how to control my cassette deck. Yeah, I could just get up and push the button but this is so retro cool.
 
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Also: this will allow me to refine the control of this unit by a Harmony remote and give feedback to Logitech finally, so quite possibly it will be possible soon for you to have reasonable (albeit with a clunky) interface to a TP-117 using a harmony, if you don't have a RTP-117. But I've screwed around long enough, I need to run some errands and then do some actual paying work.
 
Getting a little off topic, I have found a use for the Switchcraft 8 pin "270 Degree" DIN connectors p/n 15BL8MX. They don't fit a Luxman tape deck as mentioned above, but they DO fit the remote connector on an Adcom GCD700 CD changer, as I discovered when rearranging gear today.

I have been back in contact with Logitech regarding the remote codes now that I can fully test. Hopefully shortly those of you lucky enough to have a TP-117 can use a Harmony instead of having to track down an original RTP-117 remote.
 
Woo hoo! There was just a RC-501 on A Certain Auction Site that showed up overnight.

I say was because the BIN wasn't extortionate.

If the case is openable I will have to see if I can take good enough pics etc. that someone could maybe duplicate it?
 
Since this was all coming together I learned the CD control commands to one of my Harmony remotes. I assume Logitech can read them off of my My Harmony account. I have let them know that I've done this, if they can read them then hopefully in a week or two we can all control the TP-117 without having to track down a RTP-117.
 
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