Few problems on "new" tt

Unplug it from the wall
Lift it off the table it sits on
then open to garage door and dump it in the trash!...No Really!
With all the nice sounding TT's out there, you owe it to yourself to get a better one and enjoy vinyl on a decent set up!...Cheers!:)

Nope.
I wont cheer with that.

There is obviously something wrong with -- else than "it's just not good enough". Any 5 bucks-garage-sell-turntable would sound better than that, so "throw it away" is to me either an inconsiderate or snobish answer (you choose).

I was hoping that I could get a little help to get to know how it works and how to diagnose the problem.
No comment.

I don't know this turntable, but I have some comments from general principles.

I would set the stylus pressure to two grams, just as a starting point. You could try varying it up and down by half a gram in quarter gram incrememts to see if a different setting improves the sound. I wouldn't want to play my records at 3 grams or higher (fearing record wear), and very few cartridges will track decently below one and a half grams.

It seems the speed selector rake needs a repositioning adjustment. See if there is a screw somewhere that might allow you to reposition the rake so that it still serves to change speeds but doesn't rub during play. In the limit, if there is no screw, you might just have to bend it gently by hand.

This may also eliminate the grinding. If not, you might allow the grinding if it occurs only during start up. Your description doesn't say that the grinding persists after start up. Also, I'm not sure what you're referring to when you say "float." Is this an object or a direction relative to the spring loading? If the turntable is very old, it is possible the spring has deteriorated and is too loose. If so, one remedy would be to shorten it by very carefully by cutting it shorter. The spring loading was probably intended to absorb/reduce motor vibration, so you don't want to defeat its function completely.

To a certain degree, Kehut's comments are good advice. This unit may not have been very good when new, and whether you want to keep it in its current state is quite problematic. I hope you didn't pay a lot for it. I personally would rather spend some money on a better unit instead of spending time and money fixing this one and replacing its cartridge. Good luck.

Remi:

The Sanusi SR 222 is a 70's era turntable, that was considered a fairly decent budget turntable (below $200) in its day. After 25 or so years, it probably needs a good overhaul by a knowledgeable repairman ... which is where you are heading, given your inexperience with turntables. I would imagine that your Sansui requires cleaning, lubrication, belt and cartridge replacement, a whole myriad of adjustments; etc. You paid $60 for the turntable ... you are probably talking an additional $150 to $200 for a professional overhaul and a new cartridge. My guess is that you may be better off with something like a Technics SL-BD22 for $225, brand new with a new cartridge. Buying vintage equipment can be a bit of a crapshoot, because outside appearances don't always match up with the true component conditions.

Regards, Rich

Ken, you funny guy! I had to laugh.

But seriously, I just posted a Dual 505 TT for sale here, absolutely incredible condition that my best friend had for 15+ years; he just wanted to unload it. It works beautifully. We let it go for $40. There are gems out there like this regularly.

To spend so much to repair the Sansui makes absolutely no sense at all. There is so much to be had here on Audiogon for what you will spend to repair this TT. If you want to learn how it works, then by all means hunt down an owner's/repair manual and make it a new project. But please, don't pour a lot of money into this if the intent is to achieve good LP playback.

Just my 3 cents.

John

OK!
Thanks for those constructive answers.
Since I did not know exactly where to look and since everyon told me the thing was about due for the dump, I did what the self-learned mechanic I am always did to learn how things work : I pulled the whole thing appart, looked how I tought it was supposed to work, and pulled it back up.

Jameswei : there is no spring, there sould'nt have been any kind of float. The motor is mounted on rubber bushing, and what I tough to be a float was just the motor being loose on its bracket. Now it's tighten, it moves only by what is alowed by the three-points bushing.
Also, the motor is back up to right height, so the belt does not rub on the rake anymore : SILENCE!
Speed is also right since the belt centers well on the motor shaft.

Finaly, I took the head of, cleaned its contact points, clands the cartridge and stylus.

It now sounds OK. Not great, but as it should considering the old cartridge.

No need to throw away the Sansui. Some of you would because not satisfying, but I wanted something cheap to get me started, that is now what I have, and it works.

Thanks to those how hepled :-)

John, you posted your reply as I was writing mine : here's to you :

I did not spend a dime in that repare, and would'nt have considered paying no one to work on that old thing. Hey, if it is'nt worth that much, it's my chance to work on it with very little risks.

Now it runs fine, I do think it is going to be worth a new cartridge.

Thanks again.

Remi

The 222 and your records are definitely worth a new cartridge. Check out the Vinyl Asylum with a search on the Sansui for other views of it's potential. Poster 'Timestandsstill' has done a great mod on his.

Power to you for your diy work so far.

Regards

Kill it before it kills your records and your enthusiasm. Let it go and wait as long as your budget demands.

Would you please explain how it could kill my records?

I thought that a correct cartridge with a good stylus and all this properly tuned could not arm my records... Seems I am misting, but I do not see where. I would really like to know.

(I'm almost glad I bought the sr-222 only to see all those different opinions...)

Thank you for that last bit of information on LP wear.

I've been recomended a Grado Black cartridge, but other told me it might be a little too heavy for the already heavy SR-222 arm wich is said to weight 11 grams... ( + 5.5g for the cartridge, wich would be .5grams over the 12-16grams total effective mass cartridge recommandation). However, I find this model interesting -- as far as I can trust the descriptions I had : good quality, rich sound, not too bright, affordable. Is .5grams over specs a big issue?

Note that I am not shure about the numbers I was given...

Remi -- in response to killing records I mean that you originally said that "I gues (sic) the cartrige is'nt (sic)in to (sic) good a shape" And therefore I assumed that it was not properly tuned, and worse, the worn or chipped stylus would scrape and gouge the walls of the grove. My mistake.

No mistake : I can not assume it in good shape, and I don't have the tools to set it right (yet). So 'as it is', yes, it might be in a shape to kill both my anthusiasm and my records.

But I do not intend to run it like that way.
I have pretty much made my mind on a Grado Black cartridge, I will set it up right (or the best I can), I intend to solve a ground problem (I got a pretty exaustive checklist) and to put it on a solid rack.

When it will all be done, I should not have spent more than 200 USD on the whole setup (excluding tools and cleaning equipment) witch I think is reasonnable.

(I'm sorry you had to (sic) me so much : english is not my first language, but I am working on it :-) )

Thank you for the helping me getting started!
Regards

I picked up that sic-ing habit from living in France. Never could get my pronunciation right. I love the Grado, but it can induce hum in some tables. You might find the Mo-Fi has a nice tool called the Geo-disk, I think. It is very easy to use and produces good results. Good luck!