This evening I took the opportunity to finally check all the 401's that I've received. I think I've got a bit of work ahead of me
but hopefully things shouldn't be too bad.
All of the decks have had a hard life - scratches, worn paint on some, but a good clean and most of them will be presentable.
TT #1 - the stop on the on/off switch is broken, so in the 'off' position it goes way past where it should. The remains of the stop were there - bent over, appears to be plastic, I'd guess not the best design. The brake is ineffective. Idler bearing is noisy. Evidence of excessive oil at some point.
TT #2 - motor spindle is too low, and those screws have not been touched for a while!
TT #3 - has had an arm rest screwed to it and quite a bit of paint missing. Was sluggish to start - could be motor bearing. Idler does not move back far enough to change to 78rpm.
TT #4 - Idler does not move back far enough to change to 78rpm.
TT #5 - On/off switch end stop broken. Idler does not move back far enough to change to 78rpm. Can't get the
platter off! Brake doesn't.
TT #6 - this was the 1/2 turntable with no platter. On/off switch end stop broken. Haven't looked any further at this one.
I suspect a lot of the issues (e.g. the idler positioning) will sort themselves out once I have a closer look and work out the best way to lubricate everything. The issue with the power switch is annoying - why isn't the end stop a bit stronger? - but I'll see what I can do there. At least I've got three without this problem
All the idlers are good - the one in the first deck looks a little discoloured around the edges but runs fine and is not disintegrating. The others are perfect.
Will keep everyone up to date and come back with questions on oil types, how to clean up the motor bearings, what grease to use on the linkages etc etc
