r/RecordPlayerRepair

I just bought this old boom box from Goodwill and was able to get one side of the cassette player working but cannot get the recording side working

hey yall I recently bought a Technics SL-23 which had a bad stylus. The cartridge used a type of stylus which has been out of manufactury for years now, and is expensive as shit to replace. I bought what I expected to be a cartridge compatible with the AT3600L (turned out to be a *slightly* different chinese aftermarket part. I plan to buy direct from AT’s website in the future). I’ve verified the pin connections to the headstock, and the RCA cables, but for some reason, output sounds like a bad radio or something. Help a brother out here, what’s wrong?

Played a record the other night and it sounded horrible like the stylus was dirty. But cleaning didn't do a thing. I couldn't really see what was going on, but I pulled out my somewhat of a toy microscope I got for my grandkids, and did an inspection. It looked like a linty ball of goo! It was a very old record that might have had a beer spilled on it back in 1978, and I had cleaned it rather superficially, obviously. That record goes in the trash.

Repeated attempts with my stylus brush did nothing. Fearing I would damage the cantilever, I searched online and got a Hudson ultrasonic stylus cleaner. It just came today, and after 5 seconds the result was dramatic.

BTW, I got it on Amazon for $28. It was a little plastic thing, and came with fluid, but it did work as advertised. I won't use it often, but nice to know I have it.

Ignore the timestamp. The battery was dead and I didn't bother to reset the date.

When playing a record on my player (not sure what make it is but it’s an ION) it rises and falls casing the stylus to jump. I probably just need a new player but a bit annoying as I want to play stuff now. Any help would be greatly appreciate thank you.

Title. This is a Zenith Allegro system from the early 70s, so I am certain my issue is due to aging hardware. It’s never really been consistent but now it’s just straight up slow. Any ideas on where I should go for parts/repair?

I already tried resetting the anti skating and weight as troubleshooting starting point but it’s still doing this, any help is very appreciated!

Just bought this from a second hand store and found out the drive belt snapped so we’re buying some from Amazon and attempting to repair it. Figured it will be easy to fix once we know what brand it is but we can’t tell? Any help appreciated!

The buzzing only sounds when using the rca mode. The issue is not fixed when connecting the ground cable.

What needle works best ?

Any ideas as to what is causing this constant humming noise when I switch to the phono setting? Doesn’t seem to happen when I have my stereo switched to FM but it starts immediately when switched to phono and continues with a record playing.

I've recently bought a vintage Yamaha YP-B4 and I'm having trouble with the tonearm not raising high enough to clear the record when autocueing. Does anybody have experience with adjusting the cue height on this model?

I see that the YP-11 has an adjustment screw on the cue lever, but I'm not seeing one on the YP-B4. Is it an internal adjustment?

I'm aware that the Nagaoka MP-110 is a taller cartridge (18.5mm) than the standard from 1976 (15mm), but when it's placed onto the record the tonearm looks level to me, so in theory it should be workable with this cartridge. It's just not raising high enough when autocueing.

I know there are a few bandaid solutions, like using a thinner platter mat or getting a taller headshell (Ortofon SH-4), but if I can adjust the cue height I may be able to avoid those bandaids.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

I picked this beauty on Facebook MP for $5 with a hope and a dream that I could fix it up but I’m a complete noob to turntable repair.
What I’ve diagnosed thus far, the turntable idler wheel will make contact with the motor pin-thing and will spin when the platter is removed if I hold the manual down with my finger, but will drift away back to center if I release it and the idler wheel will lose its contact. I’m have trouble getting the turntable to spin at all when I go to start phase and have to spin the wheel to ‘unlock it and move the need to the end with wheel spinning to free the mechanism.

It feels to me that in manual mode something isn’t quite latching and locking into place, are there some common areas that get gummed up or misaligned that may be causing the problem?

Any and all help is much appreciated. Cheers!

(FYI The record used is of no Monterey value) The tonearm of the turntable goes in to fast for the record to go on to the platter so the record bumps into the tonearm. anything the can be done. thanks :)

Does anyone know how to take apart this console and fix whatever is causing this squeaky sound on my record player or where to find a guide so I can fix it?

It seems like something is amiss and maybe the bearing needs to be oiled... Any help is appreciated, thanks!

It seems like it happens as soon as the record starts spinning and then stops, and then starts again once the music starts

I have a Victrola Quincy 6-in-1 music center, and it is no longer in warranty, so Victrola will no longer help me. It is playing records too slow. I have dusted off the records, needle, and the belt, which did not seem to be overly loose (I don't think, anyway; I'm no expert). Interestingly enough, after I dusted the belt, the speed and pitch seemed to go back to normal for a few seconds before returning to it's slow speed.

Victrola customer support suggested I reboot the music center and then adjust the screw at the back, which should adjust the speed of the record. I did so, but no matter how much I turned the screw, the pitch and speed did not change. I suppose the needle could need to be replaced, but I have not played this record player a lot, so I doubt it. Everything else in the music center works great.

I sent this information to two different repair places. One said that they suspected it was an "internal turntable speed issue rather than something related to the stylus", but both places said it would cost more to diagnose and repair it than to just buy a new one, and that the music center I have isn't very high quality.

If anyone has ANY advice on how to fix this problem, I would greatly appreciate it! I'd love to keep this music center if possible; I like having bluetooth, a cd player, and radio with my record player.

I really want to get more into analog, physical media, but I can't really afford any expensive fix.

Info that might be helpful:

Model no# of the unit: VTA-200B
Color of the unit: Farmhouse shiplap Grey
Serial No# of the unit: I’m not sure where to find this. Maybe 200B230516E? I found this number on the last page of the manual.

Thank you to anyone willing to help!!