Yet another Dual 1019 Thread - Just picked one up

I bought the Pat's Audio ones (3D printed) because that was the only game in town at the time, but I would go for the Best ones next time because they're mold-injected.

Do the 3D printed sleds from Pat's have all of the wiring pre-installed or is it just the plastic piece?
 
Do the 3D printed sleds from Pat's have all of the wiring pre-installed or is it just the plastic piece?

Everything is installed and ready to use. He also supplies it with a wedge shim to correct the VTA, which was much appreciated.

Our pioneering design improves on the original Dual cartridge holder and is made from a very smooth, strong, and high quality plastic. We then add gold plated spring-loaded contact pins and hand-soldered wire leads for an excellent audio signal. Our cartridge holder has been the most popular and reliable on the market for many years and we proudly boast a Top Rated Plus rating with over 900 units sold.

Taking note of flaws in the original Dual design we've replaced the flat leaf spring contacts that eventually break free from their plastic nubs. Our spring-loaded pins fit perfectly and their high quality craftsmanship contributes directly to consistent high quality sound.

We've also improved on Dual's crimped connection wiring which weakens over time and becomes contaminated by electrical oxidation. Our design features high quality multi-strand silver coated wire and all connections are hand soldered using the finest quality lead-free silver based solder for an excellent audio signal.

But that's not all. The original U-shaped cartridge clips make poor contact on round cartridge pins. We fixed this flaw and made strong round connectors with a slight split that make full, solid contact plus you can easily adjust them to fit any diameter pin. Our connectors are soldered to the wires. We don't take the easy road by using mass-produced wire leads with connectors crimped through the insulation. That unstable construction makes for an unsteady electrical current weakening the signal.

The purpose of the underside lining on the TK-12 cartridge holder is simply to ground the metal headshell and tonearm. Our premium brass liner provides the perfect ground and doesn't add unnecessary weight, bulk, nor change the arm's effective mass which is important for proper tonearm balance and control.

Finally our cartridge holder fits easily and securely into the headshell and unlike others won't shift side-to-side throwing off the cartridge alignment.

As a bonus, we also include our Tracking Angle Shim. Like Dual we recommend installing this shim when playing single LPs to establish a more precise stylus vertical tracking angle.


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Ok. I spent some time this weekend cleaning it up. Got a lot of black and hardened old grease and lube out of it and re-lubed it. Went through dozens of swabs covered in black oil/grease/dirt. It wasn't over-lubed, but what was there was dirty.

Also opened up the queuing damper and cleaned that out. I got some silicon shock oil from the local hobby store and it was not nearly viscus enough, so I ended up using Alvania grease and now the queue has the minimum damping I want when I drop it manually. The stuff I bought said 350 cst. I thought it meant 350,000, but I think I was wrong.

Got some noise and it appears to be coming from the tire. The platter spins silently when I spin it by hand with the TT off. Took the platter off and was pressing the tire against the spindle manually and yep - that's the sound I'm hearing. The motor itself has a very low level mechanical hum to it. I think I've seen others report that it's about 100 HZ. That sounds about what I'm getting. Much less than the tire noise for sure.


Here's what's left.....

- Replace the tire (idler) with new. (Anyone know who it is that does that? I've heard there is someone that does it via exchange + money.)
- Get a new sled and shim. I'll set it up for single play.
- Find a better cart. I was playing my Dual 1226 with M91ED today while working on the 1019 and the M91ED stomps all over the M80E-D19 (although I have no idea of the quality of the two stylus's it came with). I'll keep the original and maybe upgrade the stylus, but I'm thinking I want better for daily use.
- Fix the plinth. Cleaned up the plinth, but it has a chip on top and a gash on the bottom of one side. Gonna fill it. What is everyone else doing with the CK-5 model plinth for restoration? It has real wood veneer. I'm thinking a light sanding with 400 grit (masking the stripe and the logo on the front) then putting some Danish Oil (Natural) on it? Thoughts? Except for the chip and gash this plinth is in really good shape.
- Replace the RCA's. Got some on order.
- Clean the TT mat. There's diirt on it. I'll have to brush, vacuum and treat it. Armor All?
- Clean the dust cover and work on the light scratches on it.
- Maybe later circle back and look at the low level 100 Hz mechanical hum from the motor, but right now I think it's going to be below notice when playing through the amp.
- I need to check on the one cap it is supposed to have. There was one funny component under the little plastic box that didn't look like any cap I've ever seen. It was really long and skinny like a 1 inch long 1/4W wire wound resistor. Either that is the cap or someone removed the one that is supposed to be there. I don't want the power switch burning over time if the cap has been removed. Here is a pic of that funny component circled in green.
- Need to paint the headshell. It's pitted.


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Lube the motor while your at it.

Put a inexpensive AT 3600 on it, they are fun carts.
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/chinese-at3600-11-wow.790786/

Eric

Eric,

I read through the whole thread on the AT3600L's and found it so interesting that I just bought three of them - mostly for fun and curiosity. Still, having said that, I'll reserve judgement because I am concerned about long term damage to the vinyl. I will probably look for something a little more main-stream and lighter tracking along the way for a more permanent solution.
 
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Got an injection molded sled and shim on order

Got new RCA cables on order

Got some AT3600L carts on order for fun . (May take a while to arrive though.) Will keep my eye open for a more mainstream cart for long term.

Last night I sanded the tire and it made a decent improvement in the mechanical sound and in the traction it was getting on the platter. Had to clean it with alcohol afterward and got a lot of black gunk from it. Not sure that is a good permanent solution, but until I order a new tire that will do.
 
Any suggestions on the following?

- Is that long part that I posted about in post #25 the anti-sparking cap? What is the value and should it be replaced with a safety cap?
- Where can I get a good new idler wheel? I see NOS is available, but worry about the age of such old parts. Should I go to VoM? Other?
- Any suggestions on paint for the headshell? Should I just get a spray can of black engine paint, sand and repaint with that? Other?
- Any comments on using Danish Oil on the Plinth? I have "Natural" and "Dark Walnut" on hand. I was thinking to use the "Natural".
 
- Where can I get a good new idler wheel? I see NOS is available, but worry about the age of such old parts. Should I go to VoM? Other?
VOM or Terry's Rubber Rollers are the usual recommendations. Numerous AKers have reported good results from both. I've got one arriving from VOM this afternoon and can report back on it.
 
I don't know why the misconception of damage to one's vinyl from heavier tracking persists. The AT 3600 tracking at 2.5-3gr won't harm your vinyl. If anything trying to make a stylus that is supposed to track at 3gr track at 2gr would be more likely to damage the vinyl.

There are many, many threads out there concerning this. First off, stereo records are safely tracked at 5gr with a conical stylus. Furthermore, a conical tracking at 3gr is no more harmful than a sharper elliptical tracking at 1.5gr. If you don't believe me, then I welcome you to do your own research. Use and enjoy your new AT 3600's, set the tracking where it is suggested, and don't worry about it.
 
I'll be ordering a new idler wheel from VoM. They want a core exchange with the old one.

The cap just goes across the power switch to prevent sparking. The capacitance value isn't a big deal so I'm guessing I can use the same value spec'd on younger Dual TT's that I've worked on. I'm going to replace the cap with an 10nF 275V X2 safety cap I had on hand. It is an X2 safety cap. I bought four from digikey earlier this year when working on another dual project. This will bring my inventory down to only one remaining. The part number was 399-7478-ND. Here is a pic of the cap.

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Just finished putting my new VOM idler into the Dual. Rubber was obviously new, and was perfectly clean and packed in a baggie. This is important, as you do not want contamination on the idler, rim, or motor spindle. Used iphone app RPM to test speed once motor warmed up. Wow and flutter measured between 0.10% and 0.15%. Very little rumble, especially when compared to original idler.
 
Just finished putting my new VOM idler into the Dual. Rubber was obviously new, and was perfectly clean and packed in a baggie. This is important, as you do not want contamination on the idler, rim, or motor spindle. Used iphone app RPM to test speed once motor warmed up. Wow and flutter measured between 0.10% and 0.15%. Very little rumble, especially when compared to original idler.

That's pretty cool that the RPM app for iPhones measures wow and flutter. I use a similar app with my android which works great for speed but no wow and flutter measurement. Anybody know of an Android app that does?
 
I would stay away from apps to measure wow&flutter. Some error in the app + some error in the phone = pretty big error. I doubt any phone designer ever thought about putting sensors in the phone which would be accurate to this level. Just print a strobe and use the mains extension light to check the speed.
 
I happened to have a 12 inch plastic strobe disc in my stash and tried it out yesterday. The LED light in the dining room worked as a perfect strobe source. Go figure. Haven't tried the app yet.

Purchased the idler from VoM last night. Have to send the core back to them to receive the new one. The price is fair, but the shipping (both ways because of the core return) bumps up the overall cost.

Tonight I'll replace the cap and start work on the plinth. I wonder if an idler from a 1009 will fit? I've got two 1009's in the queue and it's going to take a while to get the new one.
 
Just running up the motor without the platter or idler and I am hearing a 120Hz(?) noise coming out. It's low level, but I can hear it so I'm going to chase it.

It continues when I pinch the motor shaft with my fingers and stop the motor from rotating. That tells me the sound is electrical and not mechanical. Next step is to see if it is coming from the motor windings or if it is external to the motor. I've got time to chase this while I obtain the new idler wheel.
 
I would stay away from apps to measure wow&flutter. Some error in the app + some error in the phone = pretty big error. I doubt any phone designer ever thought about putting sensors in the phone which would be accurate to this level. Just print a strobe and use the mains extension light to check the speed.

I've used both the Android and IOS versions and they match what a strobe does.

A search online will provide some more insight, but in general they seem to be accurate.

Motion sensors on a phone can be very precise.

Eric
 
I would stay away from apps to measure wow&flutter. Some error in the app + some error in the phone = pretty big error. I doubt any phone designer ever thought about putting sensors in the phone which would be accurate to this level. Just print a strobe and use the mains extension light to check the speed.

The app measure speed perfectly when I compare it to the strobe system from KAB. I wouldn't mind having a quick and dirty way to at least get into the ballpark wih a W&F measurement even taking into consideration error. But I'm not big on being exact so perhaps for others it wouldn't work so well.
 
Replaced the cap and polished the mat. The cap appeared to be an 8.2nF cap. Also, I wanted to ask about the supply voltage switch for selecting 110 or 220. Is that common on the 1019? Here are some pics of the cap and that switch.

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