Technics MKII lift arm parts available and affordible

imready

imready

it's good to be the king!
I just opened up my near mint 1400MKII and found the dreaded broken plastic lift arm part in the cueing mechanism. Much to my suprise, I did a search and wound up here: http://www.topdjgear.com/tearmlileasf.html . I have no affiliation to this site and figured someone already mentioned it but I didn't find it when I did a quick search so I posted it in case you didn't catch it before. I was very happy , sort of , to find this available. It will soon be time to go where few men have gone before and that makes me a little nervous. Such is life. Hope this helps somebody!
 
Great find (maybe).:thmbsp:This is the actual part that goes bad. I wish there were more views to be sure it is part of that assembly. But you've had yours apart, so I guess you'd know. Wonder how long a new one will last.

technics20lift20part20re.jpg




Here's a pic of the assembly you found (I don't see the part in question):

topdjgear_2033_72275786.gif
 
Blue Meanie said:
Great find (maybe).:thmbsp:This is the actual part that goes bad. I wish there were more views to be sure it is part of that assembly. But you've had yours apart, so I guess you'd know. Wonder how long a new one will last.

technics20lift20part20re.jpg




Here's a pic of the assembly you found (I don't see the part in question):

topdjgear_2033_72275786.gif
Click to expand...

That part there I know well as I over the last 6 months ordered two of those for two SL1800MKKII's. It's called a fixing plate and has as far as I know nothing to do with the other part mentioned. In fact it's not even for that 1400MKII series it is for the 1200MKII and 1800MKII and 1600MKII. The 1700MKII doesn't use that part I believe as it doesn't have a cuing lever as the cuing works off of a button on the control panel
 
What exactly breaks in that part? Can't it be glued back together with super glue?
 
Stanton681EEES said:
That part there I know well as I over the last 6 months ordered two of those for two SL1800MKKII's. It's called a fixing plate and has as far as I know nothing to do with the other part mentioned. In fact it's not even for that 1400MKII series it is for the 1200MKII and 1800MKII and 1600MKII. The 1700MKII doesn't use that part I believe as it doesn't have a cuing lever as the cuing works off of a button on the control panel
Click to expand...

Wow, that view is a heck of a lot better than the one on the website. I have not pulled the tonearm apart any farther than to able to see what was broken. I certainly did not get a clear look at back side of the part
I linked because they don't show it. Mabe I assumed too much when the listed it as the arm lift assembly. I will have to email them and see if it includes the part in question.
I wonder if Joel used a clamp to make repairs on that part at the Turntable Factory? Seems to me that would be the only way to ensure the part wouldn't break other than making it out of a harder material. Sorry if I got everyones hopes up including my own. Maybe I should go incognito after my initial excitement.:smoke:
 
OK, I've emailed them showing them the piece in question and an asked if it is included in the assembly. The picture for the assembly is the same as the picture they use for the fixing plate so hopefully it really is the lift assembly that they have for sale. If that doesn't sound confusing , I can find a more complicated way of describing it. :D
 
It would be a bit strange if that's the exact same part, because it never breaks in the SL-1200Mk2's.
 
SaSi said:
What exactly breaks in that part? Can't it be glued back together with super glue?
Click to expand...

I don't actually know, but my guess is its one of the smaller projections that snaps off, leaving a rather small surface for super glue to adhere to. It might also be made of a slippery plastic such as delrin, rendering super glue ineffective.

I suppose someone could make a repro part using the lost-wax casting method in brass, if a metal replacement would work.
 
I dealt with a similiar problem with a Pioneer PL-570. The pressed fit gear in the automatic tonearm split with the hardening of the plastic over time in a high torque environment. I that cas i fitted a sleeve over the plastic gear casing and it held together well. Unfortunately, I reemed out the inside of the gear too much and couldn't get it tight enough on the shaft. The glue I tried to use would not stick to it but I am confident it would have worked had I not reemed out the inside of the gear so much. I think a similiar approach may work on the Technics but I'd prefer to buy a new part . I doubt I would be as lucky in finding a suitable sleeve material a second time without a lot of effort. I don't like screwing around with those tiny wires and delicate springs as I do not have a large workspace to be able deal with such matters. I do have a 1200MKII that functions fine. I wonder if it is the auto return function that stresses them in some of the other units?
 
Stanton681EEES said:
In fact it's not even for that 1400MKII series it is for the 1200MKII and 1800MKII and 1600MKII. The 1700MKII doesn't use that part I believe as it doesn't have a cuing lever as the cuing works off of a button on the control panel
Click to expand...
Nope, 1200MK2 and 1800MK2 only. Both the 1700MK2 and 1600MK2 use a motor and cueing belt. The lever on the 1600MK2 is nothing more than a switch wired in parallel with the panel button.
 
hakaplan said:
Nope, 1200MK2 and 1800MK2 only. Both the 1700MK2 and 1600MK2 use a motor and cueing belt. The lever on the 1600MK2 is nothing more than a switch wired in parallel with the panel button.
Click to expand...

Howard if you look at the service manual for the 1600MKII it clearly shows the mounting plate because the cuing lever screws into the fixing plate where as with the 1700MKII it doesn't use it.
 
This part began to fail around 1981. I was a Panasonic/Technics authorized servicer at the time, and I repaired a couple of dozen of these in and out of warranty.

I went to work for Panasonic/Technics as a service manager in 1985 (quit in 1991). Sometime in the late eighties, the supply of the original parts ran out.

* * * * *

The part that Panasonic/Technics supplied included the above item PLUS a peripheral assembly that included the end-of-play sensing optics. There was a precision adjustment that had to be made on the optics to get the end-of-play sensor to send the right signal to the Syscon IC. Alas, the replacement parts were radically out of adjustment and so that arm would not detect the end of the record.

I found the correct alignment by trial and error. I would think that a majority of techs just gave up.

* * * * *

It is a stroke of good fortune that the above part has become available.

* * * * *

And NO, superglue will NOT, would not, cannot, repair the crack that disables the arm-lift assembly. About 90% of the things that people think Superglue can fix cannot be fixed by Superglue. Epoxy glue might do it, but the margins are too tight -- and the crack is located in just the wrong spot.

Fred

* * * * *
 
Hi Fred, are you still doing these repairs? I have a 1500 MkII with the legendary dreaded cueing problem, the lever itself moves up and down but neither raises nor lowers the tonearm.

The Turntable Factory looks like they don't want any business. I found turntabletech.com through a google search but got no response. I did get a response from Kevin at KAB but he cannot help.

Just checked your website, can you help???
 
That isn't the part. If you go to the Turntable Factories website Joel wrote a very informative discription of the PART and why it failed and I'm 99% sure he said the part wasn't available anymore so all the e-mails won't do you any good no sense in getting you hopes up as I wish it was true. Trust me if that mounting plate was the problem you wouldn't see as many of these tables meaning the 1300 1400 and 1500MKII going cheaply on that auction site and 99% of those have that cuing problem.
 
Stanton681EEES said:
That isn't the part. If you go to the Turntable Factories website Joel wrote a very informative discription of the PART and why it failed and I'm 99% sure he said the part wasn't available anymore so all the e-mails won't do you any good no sense in getting you hopes up as I wish it was true. Trust me if that mounting plate was the problem you wouldn't see as many of these tables meaning the 1300 1400 and 1500MKII going cheaply on that auction site and 99% of those have that cuing problem.
Click to expand...

Yup, its unfortunate because these are some very nice tables but unless someone develops a permanent fix, manual mode is the only mode:sigh: Sadly, with Joel gone, there appears to be no option at this point.
 
kermit z said:
Yup, its unfortunate because these are some very nice tables but unless someone develops a permanent fix, manual mode is the only mode:sigh: Sadly, with Joel gone, there appears to be no option at this point.
Click to expand...

Well there is one option with the 1500MKII and that is changing the arm. It's funny you don't see to many of those on ebay as you do the 1300 and 1400MKII's. If you do find a 1500MKII it most likely will have a different arm.
 
Stanton681EEES said:
Well there is one option with the 1500MKII and that is changing the arm. It's funny you don't see to many of those on ebay as you do the 1300 and 1400MKII's. If you do find a 1500MKII it most likely will have a different arm.
Click to expand...

I did not know that. Good to know :) What arm is used to replace the old one? 1200? I have not seen a 1500MK2 so they do seem pretty rare.
 
kermit z said:
I did not know that. Good to know :) What arm is used to replace the old one? 1200? I have not seen a 1500MK2 so they do seem pretty rare.
Click to expand...

There are pre cut arm boards for the SME, Linn, Rega and I think a few others. One just sold on ebay last week with a Linn arm. And I saw one sell for around 250 with an SME arm. Go to ebay Uk and do a search for either arms or turntable parts. there very popular in the UK
 
It's been a number of days since I emailed the website I posted with possible parts and I have received no response. Sorry if I have raised too many hopes. If I had more time and space I would tear the tonearm apart to see what kind of fix I could come with but without space I'm up a creek. I haven't got a good enough look at the part to see if a stainless sleeve over each end of it is plausable. Maybe someday if I get my a bigger work bench.......
 
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