Spinney SRP115 with BSR C109

[HuMpH57]

Hi,
New on here and have been trying to find out how to diagnose a problem with my new toy.
I found this (I think) lovely little unit in a charity shop and it was listed as fully tested/working.
Once home it was obvious that it had not been tested at all, upon powering the unit all seemed ok until I tried a record on it.I can hear the tunes fine if the lid is up but there is no sound going out to amp or speakers.
Now before i'm shouted at..I have read a few stickies and I tried the test with touching the wires at the bottom of the cartridge to see if there was any noise/buzzing ect but I don't get anything at all.
Before I buy a new cartridge I wanted to ask if you thought it definitely that at fault or would it be amplifier as I don't get any buzzing when touching any of the 4 wires.
Is there anything I can do to test amp ?
I am not clued up with electronics but I have tested 2 fuses (both ok) and cleaned up any contacts I can get to.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated so I can fix this little beauty. Pics here
Thanks Ian

[paulsherwin]

If nothing happens when you touch the cartridge wires then there is probably an amplifier fault. It's not really possible to give advice on repairs given your admitted limited expertise. It's very unlikely that the cause will be something very simple like a blown fuse.

There is no point in buying a new cartridge unless you can eliminate or fix the amp fault.

[Nickthedentist]

What an odd thing - basically a radiogram with the radio omitted to save money! But it looks pretty well made for what it is, and has Elac speakers.

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

It's very unlikely that the cause will be something very simple like a blown fuse.

...but it's not impossible that a fuse that's failed of old age and vibration could cause this. Those 1.25" ones seem particularly prone to going O/C at the drop of a hat. And their end-caps look very green and corroded. Do check them (with a meter) first, or at least clean their caps with fine emery paper, before getting more involved.

It is plausible that the unit DID work OK in the shop when they tested it, and a loose connection has shown up by the time you got the unit home, although anything's possible with charity shop purchases.

As Paul says, a new cart. is NOT what you need at this stage. The current one is probably a BSR SX-something or other, which are actually reasonably reliable, as crystal cartridges go.

Nick.

[ben]

Blimey, the ends of those fuses are filthy/oxidised. Wouldn't be surprised if that were the cause of the trouble. Do as Nick says - remove and shine them up a bit.

The amp module uses germanium transistors, which are prone to failure and are getting hard to find now, but let's not jump the gun until we've eliminated the other points made so far.

[AC/HL]

It also uses lots of Callins capacitors, always suspect.

[Nuvistor]

I could not decide if they were Callins or Sprague.

[paulsherwin]

As Ben says, it's certainly worth cleaning and reseating those fuses. It will only take a couple of minutes and you may be lucky.

The fact that both channels are dead suggests a power supply problem, and the fuses are part of that.

[HuMpH57]

Thanks for all your replies, I really appreciate your help.
I will clean up those fuses today and update thread.

[AC/HL]

Originally Posted by Nuvistor

I could not decide if they were Callins or Sprague.

I was going by the package, so could well be wrong (I often am according to SWMBO)

[HuMpH57]

Well, I cleaned up the fuses and contacts but still no luck, tested continuity on fuses and they work ok.
Is there anything else I can check or do I need to find a local repair shop ?

[AC/HL]

Apologies for stating the obvious, but you did touch the metal part of the cartridge tag?

[HuMpH57]

Yes the 4 pins that the wires clip onto. I noticed there is a very small screw on the cartridge with + and - marks as if it can be adjusted, are these factory set and don't touch
I took a pic of the underside of deck where the 4 wires from the cartridge solder onto a small board

[Nickthedentist]

And have you checked that the mains plug is properly fitted?

[paulsherwin]

Nick, the record deck is working after a fashion, so power must be getting as far as the cabinet. I agree it's important not to overlook the obvious though.

Humph, your pic shows a completely standard arrangement with no obvious faults.

[HuMpH57]

Yea plug is fine, little video if I am allowed to attach one just to show what's happening.

[Nuvistor]

Originally Posted by HuMpH57

I noticed there is a very small screw on the cartridge with + and - marks as if it can be adjusted, are these factory set and don't touch

Not sure which screw you mean but there are no user adjustments on the cartridge.

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by paulsherwin

Nick, the record deck is working after a fashion, so power must be getting as far as the cabinet.

Sorry, it's been a long day

[HuMpH57]

Originally Posted by Nuvistor

Not sure which screw you mean but there are no user adjustments on the cartridge.

On top of the cartridge not the stylus side.

As I can't add video in post here is link to it, just shows what happens soundwise when playing vinyl. Here
Sorry I could not edit last post as I am still new so option does not show.

[ben]

On top of the cartridge there is a rivet, you will destroy it if you try to remove it.

The video shows that the deck's motor works as do the auto functions.

If it is not the fuses at fault , then you are unlikely to get any further with this as the amp will need looking at by someone in the know.

[Radio_Dave]

Where do the twisted red and white wires go?