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Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

I have just acquired a 32 year old JVC/Victor TT-101 DD turntable after having its lesser brother, the TT-81 for the last year.
TT-101
This is one of the great DD designs made at a time when the giant Japanese electronics companies like Technics, Denon, JVC/Victor and Pioneer could pour millions of dollars into 'flagship' models to 'enhance' their lower range models which often sold in the millions.
Because of their complexity however.......if they malfunction.....parts are 'unobtanium'....and they often cannot be repaired.
128x128halcro
lewm
6,770 posts
 
I think Halcro once posted photos of the circuit boards in his Halcro preamplifier.  Either he or someone else did. The parts and the entire upper surface of the PCB were shown to be coated with some plasticene material, in sort of an off brown/gray color.  Impossible to service, but also impossible to copy, and said to have been applied for its dampening effect.
dover
1,165 posts
 
Lewm, I showed my tech Halcros photos at the time and he said no problem - there is enough web info to work the Halcro circuit out and you can solder through the gunk if you know what you are doing. Having said that he has a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and has been designing high tech electronics commercially for some years, not one of the self taught "experts" you often find in audio. 

rwwear
2,692 posts
 
Fleib,
Contact cement is not thick or uneven if sprayed. It's what speaker companies use for veneer. I've used it to laminate lead to armboards. It works well. As for the veneering of the lead, you could use something other than aluminum if desired. I would use copper myself. Or you could just coat both sides with leather using contact cement or the like.
I've worked with lead a good bit and once built huge subs for a customer/friend that had lead between a layer of plywood and MDF. They were rather heavy as I recall.
niesbrian's avatar
niesbrian
2 posts
 
HiFi-do http://www.hifido.co.jp/

they only sell refurbished Japanees equipment of excellent quality.
fleib
1,124 posts
 

Another week rolls by and no progress.  Maybe I'll hook up with my Tech later today.  One of the problems with coupling a mat - do you want a "permanent" solution like a Goldmund mat, or maybe introduce another material like copper, which might also need some coupling. Maybe there's an adhesive that will hold it in place which is easier to change out if you want to experiment?

Here's the deal with the Kenny type AR compound. It's said to be ground limestone and polyester resin.  That's kind of a general description. Polyester resin varies from auto body filler to driveway coating. They start calling the stuff resin. Apparently there are mucho variations. Maybe I should try Bondo first and call the table "Big Pink". I suspect a driveway coating type might be better. A 5 gal. bucket requires a hand truck, but you can get it already dyed.  Ground limestone comes in a 50lb. (?) sack and is the stuff they use for lines on a football field.

Okay, a little experimentation is in order here. I suspect this should be done in one pour. If you're working with cement or concrete you can build it up, like sculpting with clay. I think this is more like a casting. What proportions? Weigh the component parts and try it?  It's not as straightforward as you might think. Meanwhile, I only have so much time before South Jersey is underwater and Front Street in Philly is beach front property.  No joke. The rate of ocean rise is greatly underestimated. Maybe I'll move to the Rockies. I hear their water is extra poisonous due to the old mines filling up with water and heavy metals infiltrating the supply. Sounds like rock and roll to me.

neo McFleibster

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