Sharp VZ 2500 disaster - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

Napoleon44 · 24th Sep 2018, 10:17 am

Hi all,

Firstly, thank you for letting me register. Now that I've joined the world of vintage audio I'll hopefully be a regular!

I purchased a vz 2500 that was a mess. I managed to replace belts, cartridges, gave it a good clean and managed to get it all working.

However, when I'd fast forward a record it suddenly would get stuck at a certain point, as if something was obstructing the tonearm's linear path along the steel cord.

I decided to look into this and this is where disaster struck. I manually rotated the tonearm gear (where the little belt lies) and loosened/tensioned the chord. Somehow this appears to have killed all power to the turntable! Even the light doesn't come on. The cassette and radio still work perfectly.

I am completely baffled by this. I know that there's a leaf switch by black the cog that I was rotating (and moves the arm), but I've rotated the wheel past it, under it, etc and to no avail. I know how the leaf switch is supposed to sit and it just isn't working.

Any help greatly appreciated, or failing that, if anyone is in London who is willing to take a look and fix it for me, I'd be willing to pay for your service.

Thanks!

orbanp1 · 24th Sep 2018, 8:20 pm

Hi Napoleon,

Here is a service manual for your boombox:
https://elektrotanya.com/sharp_vz-25.../download.html

Good luck, Peter

Chris55000 · 25th Sep 2018, 10:43 pm

Hi!

Sharp gear of this vintage is full of tiddly little fusible resistors that can go o/c with test–prod slips, catching the board on the metalwork, mains surges, etc., etc!

Begin with R510 (1 ohm fusible) on the turntable electronics pcb, there's a couple more on the 12V and 15V lines from the power–supply regulators on the main board.

The power–supply lines have a thick black line over them – this would have been dark red in the original Sharp Factory Manual, but "5V", "12V" and "15V" is marked at a number of places along them to assist tracing them out!

(Sharp, like most other Japanese makers, were very stingy about distributing service manuals, but they did distribute reasonable photocopies that did have coloured lines copied in colour, unfortunately these haven't made their way onto the free manual repositories)

Check all the fusibles first then report back if still stuck!

Chris Williams

cubdiesel44 · 30th Nov 2018, 11:07 pm

Hi.

I had a similar problem with no power to the record deck, it was really silly but I did not have the unit sat properly on the repair bench. There is a safety switch on the bottom of the unit to protect the stylli if the unit is picked up.

Try this first as I was panicking when mine wouldn't play records.

24th Sep 2018, 10:17 am	#1
Napoleon44 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: London, UK. Posts: 2	Sharp VZ 2500 disaster Hi all, Firstly, thank you for letting me register. Now that I've joined the world of vintage audio I'll hopefully be a regular! I purchased a vz 2500 that was a mess. I managed to replace belts, cartridges, gave it a good clean and managed to get it all working. However, when I'd fast forward a record it suddenly would get stuck at a certain point, as if something was obstructing the tonearm's linear path along the steel cord. I decided to look into this and this is where disaster struck. I manually rotated the tonearm gear (where the little belt lies) and loosened/tensioned the chord. Somehow this appears to have killed all power to the turntable! Even the light doesn't come on. The cassette and radio still work perfectly. I am completely baffled by this. I know that there's a leaf switch by black the cog that I was rotating (and moves the arm), but I've rotated the wheel past it, under it, etc and to no avail. I know how the leaf switch is supposed to sit and it just isn't working. Any help greatly appreciated, or failing that, if anyone is in London who is willing to take a look and fix it for me, I'd be willing to pay for your service. Thanks!

24th Sep 2018, 8:20 pm	#2
orbanp1 Heptode Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 675	Re: Sharp VZ 2500 disaster Hi Napoleon, Here is a service manual for your boombox: https://elektrotanya.com/sharp_vz-25.../download.html Good luck, Peter

25th Sep 2018, 10:43 pm	#3
Chris55000 Nonode Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Walsall Wood, Aldridge, Walsall, UK. Posts: 2,870	Re: Sharp VZ 2500 disaster Hi! Sharp gear of this vintage is full of tiddly little fusible resistors that can go o/c with test–prod slips, catching the board on the metalwork, mains surges, etc., etc! Begin with R510 (1 ohm fusible) on the turntable electronics pcb, there's a couple more on the 12V and 15V lines from the power–supply regulators on the main board. The power–supply lines have a thick black line over them – this would have been dark red in the original Sharp Factory Manual, but "5V", "12V" and "15V" is marked at a number of places along them to assist tracing them out! (Sharp, like most other Japanese makers, were very stingy about distributing service manuals, but they did distribute reasonable photocopies that did have coloured lines copied in colour, unfortunately these haven't made their way onto the free manual repositories) Check all the fusibles first then report back if still stuck! Chris Williams __________________ It's an enigma, that's what it is! This thing's not fixed because it doesn't want to be fixed!

30th Nov 2018, 11:07 pm	#4
cubdiesel44 Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, UK. Posts: 4	Re: Sharp VZ 2500 disaster Hi. I had a similar problem with no power to the record deck, it was really silly but I did not have the unit sat properly on the repair bench. There is a safety switch on the bottom of the unit to protect the stylli if the unit is picked up. Try this first as I was panicking when mine wouldn't play records.