Hi Everyone ... I'm New Here ... I have a Technics SL-D202 Direct Drive (an eighties model) and there is a wheel on the console for pitch that goes left and right ... I have been desperately trying to get it to stay steady ... but first of all, I can't even get it properly in tune ... I seem to always fall a little sharp or a little flat and when I watch the strobe light, it may seem to be steady for a tic ... but if I walk away and back ... there is kind of a slow shuffling motion among the strobe squares, usually in one direction or another ... I am very frustrated that I can't stay in tune ... any tecniques or suggestions ?
Thanks Jan ... I'll look into that ... However, about six months ago I took it in for a "restoration" using a qualified technician ... Is it possible that something as crucial as the servo network was overlooked? ... From your experiences is that not normally part of a restoration? I dunno, but the restoration costed me almost $200 and he said that all of the wires were replaced, screws were tigtened where they needed to be, grime was removed, and all of the circuits were checked ... Did I get screwed?
I don't know. If the servo was working properly at that time, there would be no reason to "repair" something that wasn't broken and no real way to see that it was about to have problems. Unfortunately the diodes, resistors and capacitors used to make up a servo network of this type don't have any real warning signs they are about to go out. If the speed problem was part of what you wanted serviced (and specifically mentioned this in your service complaint) and it is now on the fritz, you should discuss this with the repair tech.
This is like fixing an old car, you can repair the fuel system but six weeks later the exhaust system needs replacement. Ask for an estimate of the repair cost before having any work done and weigh that against buying a new table with a warranty.
A small point. Strobes can report on speed fluctuations no-one can ever hear.
I never saw a rock-steady strobe.
Listen to a constant tone: do you hear changes in pitch?
If not, stop worrying, and just ignore the strobe's gentle undulations, hunting around a fixed frequency. There can be many reasons for that.
The strobe is designed to tell you if the table is running constantly fast (sharp) or slow (flat). Only people with absolute pitch can hear that, unaided. But even they will not hear very small transient changes a strobe can detect.