When I press start the motor turns and the tone arm lifts then it sets itself down on the record, but only or a second and it immediately lifts back up and sets itself back down away from the record while the record still spins. Every once in a while it will s tay on the record, but when it does, the sound quality is very poor, static, and muffled. What do is the problem!?

possible bad drive motor

Hi, most likely the auto function needs resetting. With the power off turn the platter manually clockwise a dozen or so times. Power up and play. Cheers john.

Did it used to start when you lifted the tonearm?

Many turntables start when the arm is moved over the record.

There is a switch just under the tone arm. When the tone arm moves towards the centre it slowly pushes two copper strips together. When they meet it starts the motor to eject the record. If you can't Cancel the record with the cancel button then that is a different problem, otherwise you can adjust the trip switch by inserting a 7mm spanner down the hole to the right of the tone arm post.

Hi, Try this. with it turned off. Lift tone arm across a record to the run out groove and set it down. Now power up and hopefully it will reset itself. In all honesty I would sell it and get a decent old school player. John. Styluscity.com

Hi, I;m not familiar with that exact model however the problem you are describing is commonly caused by the automatic operation at some point not being allowed to complete its full operation. Ie the tonearm has been returned manually to its rest position before reaching the end of the record. Try this. With the player not powered up lift the tonearm across to the record run off groove and sit it there. You may feel some resistance which is normal as the mech has to eswt itself. Now turn on the power and turntable. The arm should automatically return from there to its rest. Try auto operation after that. Let me know how you go. Cheers John. [email protected]

See what kind of arm position sensing elements are used in your turntable (micro switches, optics or possibly other) and check if they work correctly - sometimes a microswitch can be damaged or have oxydized internal contacts or a badly soldered / broken wire and it will not function properly, causing the unit to stop automatically, the same might happen if the sensor is of optical type and there is some dust or broken wires or if the emmiter or sensor is damaged. Also, it could be a problem with the part that activates the switch / optics, it might be displaced or damaged.

If all sensors / switches seem to work well, then check the section which has wires going to those sensors / switches, it's the next probable location of the fault (it might be an electronic controller so there could be damage to some components, broken wires, dirty connectors or bad solder contacts).

It could as well be something else in the mechanisms, wiring or electronics, i just suggested a few things that might cause the malfunction you described.

Hope you can get it fixed.

regards

3rq8 (Triarcuate)

I have also had this problem with the same model turntable. I opened mine up and the problem seems to have been that the grease on the arm lift and cueing lever was gumming up the linkage between the two. (I suspect that my turntable hadn't been used in some time.) I managed to free up the parts by manually working the the arm lift (pressing it down) several times. I'm not sure that I needed to open up the chasis for this fix but it did help me to see what was going on. Good luck with yours.

Tim Orange

Hello, A. Do not try to close the case when there is a record inside!! The fact that the turntable cannot do this is not a design flaw--you'll be hard pressed to find a portable turntable that can close with a record inside because if you were to pick up the player with one inside, it could easily slip off of the spindle and scratch against the sides of the player.
B. Are you using the cueing lever to lift the tone arm before you place it on the record? Read the instructions to see where the cuing lever is (it's a little switch on the right side of the tone arm). When you lift it, the tone arm will lift up and allow you to position it wherever you want on a record, then you depress the lever to make the tone arm touch the record and being playing.
I hope that helps!

This very much depends on the type (and vintage) of the
turntable.

Very old turntables used a system of mechanical CAMs,
slaved to the main plater. Once engaged (usually through
a hinged/retracted gear-tooth), the platter would spin the cam,
which in turn would lift the tone arm, move it back home,
shut off the power and disengage itself after one complete
revolution.

This system could be mechanically triggered with the power off,
just by swinging the tone arm towards the center, and spinning
the platter manually by hand. To fix it you had to make internal
mechanical adjustments, or replace worn out levers, wheels,
bearings, springs, etc...

A more modern turntable will use electrical sensors,
such as a micro-switch under the tonearm gimbals,
which is triggered as the tonearm swings towards the center.
A second switch is coupled to the stop/ return button.

Once the mech. is triggered, it can derive its power from the
plater (as before) or use a separate servo motor to lift
and return the tone-arm. The viscously damped cueing
mechanism can also be involved in lifting the arm during
the return cycle.

At the hi-tech extreme, a microprocessor can control the
whole works through the use of selenoids and stepping
motors with optical or magnetic sensors to trigger it,
position it and disengage it.

0) Note:
During all testing, remove the record and cover the
stylus with its protective gate to prevent damage.

If the stylus slides out of the cartridge, like it did on the
Shure cartridges, remove the stylus gently and put it in
a safe place to avoid damaging it. You do NOT want to
ever drop the stylus on the spinning rubber platter surface.

But leave the main head and cartridge in place for normal
tone-arm balance.

Turn off your amplifier, or turn down the volume to zero, to
prevent damage to your ears and the speakers if the needle
does fall when it shouldn't

1) Assuming that this is a fairly modern turntable, with
a gimbal mounted tone arm (the large double hung ring
bearing at the back for swinging both ways) and a
counter weight for setting the stylus pressure...

and possibly an anti-skating adjustment as well...

It is fair to assume that the cuing lever is what lifts
the arm vertically, regardless of the swing return mechanics.

2) The premature stylus drop (during return) is therefore
caused either by a cuing defect, or by lift timing,
either mechanical or electronic.

The stylus weigh setting is NOT an issue here, that
is determined by the stylus and cartridge specifications,
and must be set correctly to prevent record and stylus
damage.

Note that both too much and to little weight is BAD.
Too much weigh is obvious, but too little will cause
mis-tracking, distortion and premature record wear.

Similarly, and incorrect tracking pitch or yaw will also
cause early damage, as will incorrect anti-skating for
a particular stylus pressure.

3) First of all, test the cuing lever at several different tone-
arm angles, to see if it stays up, or droops down with time.

If there is a problem, check the springs, viscous damping..

Take the ****** apart from below, and see what gives.
Is it mechanical, hydraulic, or electronic ?

4) If it is electronic, you have a control/ timing problem,
which requires a service manual and a qualified electronic
tech to fix it.

You should be able to check any sensors, switches
or motor yourself, though.

5) If the cuing lift system is mechanical, check the levers
and cams:
What is driving it ?
Is it broken ?
Is worn out ?
Is it out of adjustment ?
Is it slipping ?
Is it stuck ?
Is one of the springs all stretched or missing ?

6) If the lift is hydraulic or pneumatic, check for leaks.

7) If the manual lift seems to work, but the automatic return
drops it...

why?
what is controlling it ?
how is it linked it to the arm return mech ?
Is there a coordination/timing problem ?

Have fun.
Please rate my answers.

Martin.