Hi. I'm have a problem with my Technics SL-BD20 turn table I've just purchased. When putting the arm onto the LP it just skips over the surface to the middle. Why does it do that? Cheers.

Absolutely ,without problems

Please make 100% certain the needle is still in place... To test this *GENTLY* rub your fingertip over it and you should hear noise from the speakers when you do. If there is NO noise then there is likely no needle.
Did you put the protective device on the needle/arm for the move? Is it still on there?
Sorry Mate, that the only thing I've got to help....

If you remove the rubber pad, you should be able to grasp the metal table. A gentle tap onto the center spindle while pulling up on the table should release the table. Place the new belt onto the underside of the table. Replace the table onto the spindle. Then feed the belt over the motor hub.

Dan

Earth cable available here :-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TECHNICS-GROUND-WIRE-SL-BD20-SL-BD22-BD22-NEW-PART-/300419439062?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item45f264d9d6

just get any small speaker wire and use that as your ground , attach that to the reciever you are using

Compare both needles under a magnifying glass and look for diffs between the good one and bad one.

You might just have a bad cantilever on the not-so-good needle

Rate my help if this helps

Thanks

Regarding the poor sound quality (and possibly the skipping):
check the needle condition, see if exchanging it with a needle (or the entire pickup head) from a working turntable does any good.

Check the pickup connection pins (contacts on the pickup head and on the end of the wires coming through the arm from the unit), see if there is any dirt or oxydation and clean the contacts if necessary, also check for any damage to the wires.

As for the skipping - a heavily worn needle may affect the sound quality and cause skipping as well - if cahnging the needle (or the pickup head) doesn't make a change, try to realign the weight on the tone arm so that the pickup head will become a bit heavier, this could help somewhat (before you actually try to realign the weight, try to put a small coin or a small weight of some kind on the pickup head while it is playing a record, if the skipping goes away, you need to realign the tone arm weight).

This could also be a problem with the tone arm lifting mechanism (may be obstructed by something or damaged so it won't let the tone arm sit properly onto the record and "grab" the groove).

I just mentioned a few things you might want to check, but don't take anything for granted, the problem may as well be elsewhere in the unit.

regards

Triarcuate

Hi the pennies will mess up the stylus. There should be an anti skate setting at the back of the turn table, a round adjustable bit with numbers, increase the anti skate and then use the balance weigth (weight right at the back of the arm that turns to get the weight right. Set the anti skate with the tone arm light, then increase the weight a bit. Hope that helps

try gently pushing the tone arm (actually the piece of plastic holding the tone arm) over to the right a little. works for me, but it still gets stuck often

Your tonearm is damaged. More than likely the bearings on the tonearm have been damaged. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for this. You'll have to have the tonearm replaced, however, parts for the SL1600MK2 have been discontinued. The tonearm for the SL1200MK2 might fit it, but you will need to do some retro-fitting in order to make it work properly. Something only a qualified service center could perform.

Hope this helps some.

Good luck!


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