Turntable Malfunction Please Help!

OK so I'm sitting down listening to my Best Of Donovan LP which I just picked up at a thrift shop for a dollar and I'm on Side II with the song Candy Man on. When all of a sudden it sounds like a tape being played in Fast Forward. It took me a moment to realize that my turntable was spinning out of control. Can someone please tell me what happened.

It's a Technics SL- 5200 Quartz Direct Drive. I've had this thing for about a year and have been so happy with it. Please help thanks

 

Will do Steve. Thanks I'll check back.

 

OK that was absolutely crazy! I unplugged it. Waited a minute and now it works fine. What in the heck happened? It was like it was posessed. I thought what a weird way to end the song. Until I realized it's my turntable! Thanks Steve.

 

Do you think this could also be related to a TT slowing down unexpectedly?

 

The quartz direct drive feedback loop went nutso. Reboot - fixed!

 

It's been an hour. Everything is now fine. Thanks for the help. This must have been the problem.

 

We had a recent thread with a similar non-stable speed problem. It could be that the speed adjustment control is dirty or oxidized. Loss of contact in that control will change the resistance of it, and the 'table could speed up or slow down.

If not, think of the time you'll save listening at a faster speed.

 

That would affect voltage, but not frequency.

 

I've read about people recapping their Techincs when they start doing this sort of thing...my SL-1800 is just beginning to have speed jerks, where the speed will drift for a split second, so I might be looking at that as well. I've also heard that the pitch control pots can go bad, causing speed variations (I don't know what your model has, though). Anybody here know more about all of this?

 

Well, After using it for the rest of the evening on Sunday it worked fine. But last night it happened twice more and it's just not a spike. This thing speeds out of control and doesn't stop!

 

You'll probably need service done on it or a new turntable.

 

That's exactly what I told the cop when he was writing me a ticket.
Seriously, I hope you get the problem fixed.

 

Greg, You said you had this TT about a year - what is the warranty period? . I hope you get it fixed, but if you cannot, think about a belt drive next time.

 

Sometimes, you can temporarily clean the adjustment control by turning it rapidly back and forth a few dozen times. That might be worth trying and then see if the speed remains stable. If so, a dirty control may be the culprit. (A dirty control will act intermittently...works OK one minute, and loses contact the next...just like an old, noisy volume control.) If not, then the control may need spraying to clean properly or, like mentioned elsewhere, maybe a capacitor has gone nutty.

 

ALP, I have owned it for a year. But I bought from a thrift shop for $35. I believe the vintage of this table is from the late 70's or early 80's.

Rudy. I'll check that out. It has two modes. Quartz/Adjust. Iv'e always kept it on the Quartz side as it has always kept in perfect time. Thanks for the idea's. I'll let you know the outcome.

 

Greg, I will make the same offer to you that I did a week or so ago to someone else here that had the same problem with a DD TT. If you cannot get it to work I have an old Thorens TD 150 Mk II BD TT. It still runs like a top, forget what cartridge is in it, Bought in 1972. Yours for $25 plus shipping. Bottom of the line Thorens, but it still works.

 

I indeed did take ALP's offer and I am now a proud owner of a Thorens TD 150MK II turntable I can't thank ALP enough for this incredible offer. It was professionally shipped with all of the original packaging and expert advice in setting it up. I have been in vinyl heaven for the past week. This TT truly blows my Technics away. Thanks for this great deal ALP. This place many of us call home is really full of amazing people. This is also an endorsement for donating to the cause. I could not even begin to figure how much money it is worth to get the great advice and invaluable information that is on this forum. not to mention the great people. Thanks Greg

 

Greg, Thank you for you kind words, glad it found a good home.