Turntable Issue

December 2, 2006 8:37 AM

Why doesn't my turntable turn?

I just received a turntable that I bought from shopgoodwill.com. It's used and it's a Panasonic SD-84. The auction says that it works, but while it turns on & the AM/FM works, the turntable itself doesn't turn. I'm wondering if I need to return it or if something may have gotten out of whack during the shipment. Any ideas?

posted by eunoia to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

Often, you can take the table out and there is a belt, which could have broken or slipped.... If you're reasonably mechanical, you can try some simple troubleshooting and see if it's something easy to fix.
posted by JMOZ at 8:40 AM on December 2, 2006

Take the platter off and check if it has been secured for shipping. Normally the suspension and the motor are tied down. Can't find any specs for this unit so I'm not sure if this is an option or not.
posted by Ferrari328 at 10:00 AM on December 2, 2006

Sometimes, in manual mode, turntables don't turn until the tonearm is moved over the record.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:16 AM on December 2, 2006

When you turn on the turntable, can you hear any mechanical noise? Like a motor running? If so, then it's probably just the drive belt.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:36 AM on December 2, 2006

What everyone else said. The drive belt is (on many turntables) quite easy to fix -- just remove the platter, and look for a length of rubber that should go around a spindle on the motor and the platter. If it's not that, it's probably

1) the tonearm has to be moved over the record
2) the motor or some other mechanism is secured
3) you're hosed.
posted by tweebiscuit at 10:54 AM on December 2, 2006

Thanks for your help. I should have mentioned that it's not a belt driven player. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the issue is with the tonearm. I did get it working for a while, though, but once I turend it off and then back on, I had the same issue. I'll futz around with it for a little longer.
posted by eunoia at 1:52 PM on December 2, 2006

Probably dirty contacts on the base of the tone arm. Clean it (like you should anyway, with a goodwill phonograph).
posted by klangklangston at 7:42 PM on December 2, 2006

A couple of things come to mind :

The under-deck end of the tonearm pivot will likely have a cam operating a microswitch to turn on the motor. To minimise drag on the tonearm, the whole lot is arranged to require as little force and movement as possible to operate the microswitch. The cam might be worn, the arm on the microswitch may have bent, stuck, or fallen out, or the switch itself may be shagged. The first 2 are easy & obvious to fix. If the switch itself is faulty it's still pretty easy - microswitches are common enough at any decent electronics store, there's only 2 or 3 different sizes, and the lever arm is usually transferable between switches of similar size.

If that's OK, then it might be the motor. You say it's not belt drive - is it rim-drive (motor drives a little rubber wheel that runs against the outer or inner rim of the platter) or direct-drive (the motor shaft attaches directly to the platter spindle)? In either case, the motors are often open-cage designs, and fill up with dust & crap - careful cleaning with compressed air, plus a drop of oil on the bearings, will fix this as much as is possible.

If it's rim-drive, the drive wheel is possibly worn, polished, perished, or out of round. Sorry - they're damn near impossible to find replacements for unless it's a high-end turntable. If it's just polished and slipping on the platter rim, a very light sanding of the rubber wheel rim may fix it, but by that stage they're usually perished as well.

if it's direct-drive, the extra rotational and thrust load means they often wear out faster. Sorry again - the motors are hard/impossible to find replacements for, and it's also hard/impossible to (a) pull them apart to replace the bearings, or (b) find replacement bearings for them.
posted by Pinback at 8:01 PM on December 2, 2006