I just checked the speed of my Nottingham Spacedeck and at 33 1/3 rpm. the platter seems to move slightly too fast, that is, the hash marks on my gauge move very slowly in a clockwise direction. Should they not remain constant in place?
Proper belt arrived and it's a lot less temperamental. The guy who sold me the previous 'belt' realised it was a damping belt from the hyperspace HD kit!
You absolutely have to give it a hefty push start to get it spinning way above the speed you really need it at. Then it gradually slows to whatever speed you are set for 33 or 45. I never had a problem with it then slowing down past its setspeed as long as I followed this regime.
I will be getting the oild soon but the platter does seem to spin forever. I am wondering if anyone can confirm that it is temperamental to get this thing started? I am still running on the string rather than a proper belt but often the motor will not take over when I spin it. The motor seems to stall very easily. Is this normal. And should the motor not spin unless pushed at exactly the right speed even unloaded without the belt on? It seems so weak. Sometimes I have to get back up after starting it because it has slowly ground to a halt after push starting it. When it goes though it is at the right speed now though (nearly)
Ned Hollywood Sound will also be able to sell you the correct recommended Nottingham oil for the bearing. I used cotton buds to clean all the old oil put of mine before putting fresh oil in it.
It is definitely a most rewarding deck, only sold mine as I moved to a fully restored Garrard 401 idler drive.
I am enjoying its sound but will refrain from judging it properly until it has got a proper belt and had an oil change. Currently having to use my old faithful project tt as it is more dependable and isn't currently using cotton thread as a belt. May post an update once I get it maintained.
As Lewm stated Notts platters/motors are relatively high mass/low torque affairs. In fact the Notts motor is designed to be left turned on at all times and it just sits there until you give it a push start which does require a healthy spin . And then to stop you actually catch the edge of the platter with your hand to slow it down and stop it. Sounds archaic but it works fine and they usually hold good speed regulation and even better with a Walker speed controller. I bought Lewm old Walker from him and I was very impressed with the difference it made. Something to consider if you plan on keeping the Notts.
Ned, In your first post, you wrote, "Not impressed with the motor either, unless I spin it really fast it never gets up to full speed." I am not sure what that meant, but I assume whatever the problem was, it has also been cured. Keep in mind that the NAS turntables were deliberately designed to use a weak motor and a heavy platter. The idea is that the motor only is there to get the platter up to speed whereupon it maintains speed mostly due to its rotational inertia. The motor is only to give it a little oomph, once up to speed. I no longer own a Notts tt, but when I did I found that a Walker Audio Precision Motor Controller was a major upgrade, like getting a whole new turntable up another level in SQ.
Solved. Someone is receiving a belt and possibly some negative feedback. The belt is too fat to fit in the groove. Just string has it turning at 33.3. It can't be an official belt that I bought.
IE: bearing oil. From my understanding, the original developer of this TT hired a person Trained in that specific field My friend Kevin @ K & K Audio owns a Nottingham. Apparently, their specific bearing oil has cat piss in it.
Previous Spacedeck owner here. Never heard of one running that fast. Sure it has the correct pulley on the motor? Very odd as mine was maybe 33.4. I then added a Walker speed controller which is very popular mod in Notts decks and was able to tweak it to exact 33.33/4. To be running at 36 something has to be seriously out of whack.
Thanks Oz. I am at a loss to understand why it plays fast though. It sounds great other than that. It will be due a bearing oil change but would think old oil would make it slow.... Unless it has been home fixed with the wrong oil. What a mystery.
Former Spacedeck owner here. Motor and arm are fine. The motor is a low torque design hence why you have to give it a shove. Supposedly it transmits less vibrations to the platter. The unipivot arm is normal, all unipivots do that.
Igniting an old thread. My spacedeck plays fast. Just inherited it from a family member. Cleaned it up and set it away. It plays 33.3 at 36 precisely. I have no 45s to try the 45 setting. Not impressed with the motor either, unless I spin it really fast it never gets up to full speed. Any ideas anyone what might be wrong? Also not impressed with the unipivot, is it supposed to wobble about all over. My gimbal ones are rock solid.
I have been playing with this table all day and trying to figure out just what might have been causing this as the tolerances from NAS are consistently reported as superb. As I have mentioned, this deck was purchased second-hand and I have been going through, cleaning, setting up (as much as I can given there are really not a lot of good instructions out there)and noticed that the motor pulley groove for 33 1/3 had some gunk build-up in it. After cleaning it out, I observe the speed to be very spot-on. My guess from this maneuver is that the build-up was just enough to increase the diameter of the pulley slightly, causing it to turn the platter just a bit too fast. So, if that ever occurs in others' experience, I would sure have a look at that pulley.
Thanks again. Still no answer to the bearing oil question, though. Would really like to clean out and renew the old oil, which I have a feeling has been in there from day uno!!
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