Dansette Viva
 

I have just got a Dansette Viva and have a couple of problems, first I am not getting sound out of the speaker. I can hear the sound coming from the stylus on the top of the record but nothing through the speaker. I've tested the speaker and it is working. Second problem is the turntable is slow to start and has to be pushed and even won't start. Took table off and the rubber wheel is stuck on the side and not in contact with the drive spindle which is turning properly.
Any help would be appreciated.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Hi, take care with this rp, you must ensure the chassis is not connected to the “live” side of the Mains, it does not have a Mains transformer fitted.
When you switch it on can you hear any noise from the loudspeaker, such as when you rotate the volume control? If you can try touching the leads from the pickup, if you get a buzz the cartridge is probably faulty.
If you do not hear an noise from the loudspeaker you may have amplifier problem.
You will then need to get your test meter out and do some checks. Do you have the circuit diagram?
For the record deck look at some of the links which provides lots of info on decks.
Hope this helps you to make a start, remember to take care.
Cheers
John

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Thanks John10b for your advice , had a good look and found somebody had actually earthed the wiring and all is safe. Retraced all the wiring and found a bad connection to the speaker which when resoldered works great. I still have a crackle and hum when using the volume knob also the turntable was very slow even after cleaning all the old grease off. I tightened the black screw up and it altered the hight of the drive wheel and it seems to have worked.

So if you have any remedies for the crackling and hum please let me know.

One last thing, I am missing one of the front knobs, do you know anywhere I could get one.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

A squirt of switch cleaner (Servisol 10) in the volume control pot should cure the crackle.

John Birkett in Lincoln may have general purpose knobs, either pop in or ring him and ask, otherwise do an ebay search, although you may not find exact replacements.

That earthing sounds dodgy on a live chassis player, depending on how it's been done, so I would advise caution.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Glad you got it working, Techman's advice about cleaning the volume control should do the trick.

I’m also concerned about the “earthing”, this RP has no mains isolation transformer and it is not normal practice to “earth” the chassis, so take care.

Cheers, John.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Thanks for your help and all was going well but now after playing a stereo record on it the arm skips over the record on all songs. I don't know if I have ruined the LP as I read that if the wrong cartridge/stylus is used it can do this.

I have both mono and stereo LP's which I want to play and am not sure what to use plus, I am getting a bad hum through the speaker.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

A picture of the cartridge fitted will help with the record skating problem.
Gaz.

Early versions of the Dansette Viva were fitted with the BSR TC8H mono cartridge (orange body) and Stereo records (most certainly Stereo LPs) should not be played on this. Await your photo so as to advise you further.

Regarding the Hum on this, I'm not quite sure what is meant when you say this has been "earthed". The Viva was only made with a 2 core mains lead, so we must asssume there is nothing that is connected to the Mains earth.

When you say that "someone has earthed the wiring" this may have caused what is known as an "earth loop". We might need photos of the amplifier and how it's connected to the turntable underside tag strip.

These Vivas tend to hum more than most other Dansettes of the time due to their very crude amplifier circuitry.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Sorry for the delay.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

That cartridge is "stereo compatible", which means it can play stereo records safely, but I have a feeling it's fitted with the wrong stylus. I reckon it should be the stylus with the thin metal shank, but I could.be wrong. If you carefully take the screw out that's holding the cartridge in, there will be a number on the top of the cartridge. What is it?

Re: Dansette Viva
 

The cartridge is an 'H' not an 'M' as the coupling rubber is right at th e front, on the ' M' the rubber is further back and not as thick,. The stylus fitted to your cartridge should be an all plastic one but if the one shown is the correct one I'm not sure. Maybe it is skating because the tip is damaged, have you tried the other side of it, it has two microgroove tips - some have one microgroove and one 78 tip

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Number is BSR X5H, and I have tried both sides of the stylus and it still skips.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

It looks like the legend on the stylus says LPS/LPS on both sides - is that correct?
The BSR X5H cartridge was normally fitted with a low-compliance stylus shank as on the BSR ST8/ST9/ST10 styli.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

It may be a worn out stylus or the tracking force is not set correctly I think it should be between 4 and 6 gram's

Re: Dansette Viva
 

The question about the so-called 'earthing' has not yet been resolved. Lets have pictures of that as well?

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Thanks for your replys, yes it does say lps on both sides and the stylus is a new one I think. I don't know the meaning of tracking force and the actual stylus needle is a bit loose in the end of the plastic, as for earthing pics will be sent in the morning.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Tracking force here means the downward force that the stylus exerts on the record, usually measured in grams. Also called, somewhat misleadingly, stylus pressure. Actual pressure exerted by the stylus, given the tiny contact area involved, is around 20 tons (yes, tons) per square inch.

Dedicated gauges are available from around £5 upwards.

A quick 3.25g can be added (3.35g if you want to stay in period) by taping a 5p (6d) coin to the headshell. This is a typical period modification ;)

Re: Dansette Viva
 

How can I set up the weight problem is it anything to do with the screw at the other end of the arm with a tension spring. Also enclosed is photo's of earthing wire etc.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

Who put those capacitors in there? (second photo)

Wrong type and no insulation on the leads, and right near to the live connections on the mains switch, looks like an accident waiting to happen!

The whole lot looks bad, including the solder joints, but it could just be a trick of the photo and it's not actually as bad as it looks.

Get a proper tracking (weight) gauge and adjust the arm correctly, and yes, the weight will be adjusted by a spring. Just guessing the tracking weight will end up with a load of spoilt records.

Re: Dansette Viva
 

What a bodge!

The incoming mains lead enters at top left and connects to the double pole mains switch with a nasty kink in the live wire. The incoming earth wire is connected to what I assume is an additional tag strip for the pick up wires.

On the other side of the mains swich the neutral wire is connected to the deck?? via a blob of solder, but there's another bare wire on the neutral tag which appears to go nowhere. Perhaps it was intended to bypass a faulty pole of the mains switch?

Just to make it interesting the outgoing live wire from the switch has a green wire connected to it. Where does that go to?

The two capacitors are presumably meant to isolate the cartridge, but the soldering is very poor.

Personally I'd put the wiring back to how Dansette intended, fit a two wire mains flex and make sure it's correctly connected to a three pin plug.