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.
@lewnEverything can be ... I have no feedback from this old authorized delaer / repairer and I have not even read of any TT101 defective owner who, desperately turned to him; But asking if he is able to repair does not cost anything.
@chakster No news for now. I just polished the platter to have it as new eliminating bad signs I’ve seen the Russian videos on youtube a while ago ... it does not explain how it has been able to adjust it to perfection.
totem395 yes is sample version....Look if you can see the finish
@banquo363 Dave Brown replied quickly with helpfull information. Resolding of all the eyelets is a must have. His experience with eyelets comes from some history at Tektronix. In the 60’s they experimented with eyelets and found the cracking problem. I just googled the old eyelets, now i know what does that mean.
Received your PM Misha and sent through the details two days ago but it appears my response didn't get through. Have just sent it through again. Please let me know if you don't receive it...?
@lohanimal haha, that's what i already posted, but the author of the blog and people who helped him are all well known audiogon members :) So you're already on the best source of information here on audiogon.
I believe this is the second time that someone has cited that article in Audiocircle only to be reminded that all the principles are right here on this thread. I am the guy who gave Thuchan (aka Eckart) the chip for his TT101. I gave him two, in fact, because up to that time I had no idea whether the ones I bought from Hong Kong would actually work. (They look correct, but who knew???) Sadly, I do not have an inexhaustible supply, and I prefer to keep a few for my own TT101. However, the good news is that you too can purchase the chip from Hong Kong. I think the part number is "SC3042A", but do not take my word for it; the part number is engraved on the black surface of the top of the chip. If you need one, search for that part on Alibaba, and you will soon have so many offers to sell that you won't know what vendor to choose. I chose the one who had the best command of English. Those vendors never give up. Even 5 years or so later I still get emails from some of them. By the way, my TT101 did not need a new regulator chip. It's still running on the original.
By the way, there are several other chips in the TT101. I don't know what they do.
Hi Guys yes - we are living dangerously! My experience at present thus far... I found a QL-10 for sale - from Columbia - very odd I know. The seller was utterly genuine I might add. He showed it working in perfect order - i.e. stop/start pitch control etc. That said he was a bit of a plonk insofar as I told him to remove the platter for sending. sadly he did not do this. On receipt UPS carried out the kind of delivery from 'Ace Ventura Pet Detective'. The lid was smashed, the headshell was snapped off (the least of my problems). The platter had not been removed for transport. The led's go on - but the platter ain't rotating. In addition to this I think transportation with the platter on may have damaged the motor/bearing... I am convinced that customs open-end the box up rather brutally as it looked like the box has been opened. I am liaising with Wilkinsons HiFi in Lancashire UK to give it a going over - I can live with the lid, arm, and electrolytic - but - the motor... oh well. You gotta speculate to accumulate I guess - LOL (whilst weeping miserably)
does the platter spin if you turn it by hand ? if not then possibly it may only need a upwards or downwards adjustment on the screw at the bottom of the bearing, this is fairly easy to do.
Peter is on to something. Look under the bottom of the bearing well. There you will see a large slot-head screw. The screw has the bearing thrust plate built into it and adjusts the spindle up and down, but if the screw is in too far (clockwise motion), the rotor will rub on the stator. (Because the spindle is also part of the rotor of the motor which moves with it.) Likewise, if the screw is out too far (counter-clockwise), the platter begins to rub on the escutcheon. There is a very small sweet spot where the platter will turn freely. If you're lucky, maladjustment of that screw is hanging up the platter so it cannot rotate freely. What I did finally with my TT101 is to take a Greenlee hole punch and punch out a small hole in the center of the bottom of the shield that forms the outer shell of the chassis. So now I can just take a short-handled screw driver and adjust that screw if needed, without disassembly. Of course, once I created the access hole, I have never again needed to adjust the screw.
If that is the problem and a new recap - superb. TBH I had to recap a vendetta scp2a and my tech said that electrolytic caps can pop with changes in air pressure - that was sent by air.
A sad story.....😱 If you paid via PayPal of course, you are covered and the Seller will refund your money and PayPal should even refund the costs of return postage. Good luck....
Ups are coming to inspect the package. The seller, in fact, put it in a custom made wooden box. Border agency then repackaged it. Hopefully all will be well.😭
Useless Post Service managed to also damage the lower metal cage too. So: 1. Broken headshell (not a big deal) 2. scraping bearing sound when I rotate the platter 3. lights go on - but platter won't spin 4. damaged lower plate (may explain bearing/motor damage) 5. broken feet on the plinth So yes a true tale of woe and to be cautious.
I found the turntable repairer that in the past had saved the link ..... I do not know how it works and what experiences it has, but if anyone in the future needs it can remember it.
I found the turntable repairer that in the past had saved the link ..... I do not know how it works and what experiences it has, but if anyone in the future needs it can remember it.
In case anyone seeks to upgrade their direct-drive turntable plinth isolation feet, I have used the Delrin version of these for the past 2 years and am very satisfied:
Replacement neoprene "O" rings can also be had on Ebay, as they do dry out and crack/split over the years. The "O" rings are the feets' contact surface with the shelf upon which the TT sits. The cones are hidden from view by the 2 piece design.
For reference, my table is a Technics SP-10 Mk2, "Krebs upgraded" (by Bill Thalmann, who also did some preventive maintenance parts replacements on the board and added a nice orange strobe LED - Bill does great work), with a PBN Audio outboard power supply. The TT and feet are in this plinth:
...Well... UPS having received my package last Tuesday rather idiotically called me on Friday morning to asked when they could pick up the package from me... Asx it happened, Whe. I went to the UPS depot I was left waiting for about 30 minutes as a rather useless member of staff fobbed me off. Subsequently the supervisor came out and accused me of having 'attitude' for filming the condition of the deck when it came to me. As it happens I spoke to the global customer services head in the US - and still no development - save to say they know and acknowledge my annoyance! There's a company called Wilkinsons in the UK who profess expertise and knowledge - so they are my first port of call in Blighty
Dear Lohanimal, I am very sorry for your predicament with UPS. Apparently the same snot nose kid who waited on me in Bethesda, Maryland, before eventually telling me that UPS was not going to admit responsibility for destroying a piece of slate I sent to the West Coast, has now left the USA in order to mistreat citizens in other countries. It's what they do. By the way, I showed him photos of the slate as it was packed in wood crate when it was presented to UPS for shipping, and then as it arrived in California, in several pieces. Like your guy, he was unimpressed.
Hi M8 - I think I wrote about them in my first post on this sorry subject. I may start a general thread as to who gives the best postal service - many people post things on Audiogon, and I am sure people want things to arrive in good condition.
Aigenga, Do you mean to say that you will never want to play an LP again, even to generate a digital file of it? Seems that the latter option might cause you to want to hang on to your rig. But of course it's your decision to make.
Lewm, I am tired of the mechanics of turntable life. I am somewhat of a perfectionist so I spent a good deal of time and money using devices to ensure that every aspect of stylus on vinyl was just so, to say nothing of all of the downstream aspects of analog reproduction. Adding an additional layer of ripping devices/software would be a step in the wrong direction for me.
I have perfected my digital rig to the point where I can safely say it is excellent and needs no fiddling. Although I am upgrading the devices as new technology and knowledge comes to the market. I now have 3200 albums (many are multiple discs, and many are high-def) stored and instantly accessible. You might have something similar. I really love listening to multiple versions of a particular cut or laying out an involved couple of hours of tunes without having to go through the unshelving and reshelving of multiple records. More time on music, less on mechanics.
I feel you, but I am far too lazy to make the effort to transfer my approximately 2500 LPs to digital, even if I wanted badly to do so, which I don't. I have a very good CDP (Ayre C5Xe-mp), and I leave it at that. My CD/SACD collection is much smaller than my LP collection.
For those looking for a good Victor TT-101.... http://yahoo.aleado.com/lot?auctionID=s541556118 This one looks worthwhile. The FR-64s tone arm alone is worth $1500 so I’d expect this auction to realise close to $3000..... Compare that to VPI Direct at $30,000 and ’you’re whistling Dixie’....😘🎶
Well, i just got an email from www.Audio-Reparatur.de about estimate price for TT-101 repair service and it’s similar to JP’s current rates, but the vendor is in Germany, so for those who’re in Europe it must be great and Tuchan’s repaired TT-101 linked a few times in this thread is the proof. Still very expensive for me.
Waiting for the rates from JVC repair service in UK soon.
@chakster How did the repair workshop make a budget estimate without even having the turntable on the operating table? Could you publicize the asking price?
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