Sanyo TP1100 Turntable repair.

Colin rang...

"Got this Sanyo turntable here ... doesn't work, got a new Rega Carbon cartridge on it, but doesn't spin. Nice thing, heavy , all die-cast ... are you interested for £15?" 

Now, under normal circumstances, I would have taken Colin's arm off... but right at the moment, I'm planning a major workshop build, and if I bring anything else into the house, the current Mrs Doz is likely to serve divorce papers. I politely declined.

... time passed ...

Colin rang..

"Need a turntable for Fiona, sensible price.. have you got anything?"

"I haven't, but what about that Sanyo?"

"It doesn't work."

"No, but I'll see to that... "

So it arrives in top-secret, under the cover of darkness....

The turntable powers up OK, and moving the arm over should automatically start the platter. Nope, but the neon stroboscope lights up.... "The lights are on, but there's nobody home".

First off, remove the mat and platter, and place safely out of the way, then remove the screws from the edge of the blow-moulded bottom cover.

There's a DC controlled direct-drive servo motor, and some levers to automate the turntable. 

The simple DC controller is mounted to the impressive die-cast chassis, and is powered from a small transformer, well away from the arm end of the deck.

The turntable's power is controlled by two microswitches attached to a spring loaded lever at the base of the arm. 

The microswitch nearest us controls the power to the neon... The other switches the secondary from the transformer (about 20VAC) to the speed controller board. 

The neon works, but the motor doesn't, and a few checks prove the microswitch isn't working anymore. 

It's removed, and a replacement sourced. 

Unfortunately, the replacement is useless... It requires too much force to engage the switch. The spring on the lever is too weak, and with good reason, its triggered by a cam on the base of the arm... too much force here would be disastrous. 

OK, now a switch with low force is available, but not in that form-factor. Some head scratching ensues... The original (but broken) switch is refitted. The two yellow wires from the broken switch are shorted together, and tidied up. 

The transformer's feed from the LIVE side is disconnected and is now connected to the switched live side of the neon strobe... so when the neon's on, the transformer is connected, and it's output fed to the speed controller... 

... all is well. Almost. 

There's a *click* on the audio as the turntable starts up and stops. We'll have to live with that, until a suitable switch is obtained, anyway ...

Another saved from landfill! 

The turntable is tested with Nicky Thomas "Love of the common people"