Technics SL-D20 1980s Turntable Restoration and Repair

[@kevinh6622]

I still have my SL-D20 that I bought new around 1981. Works like a charm.

[@RenoSaxGuy]

Thanks for the video. I picked up an SL-D20 at a thrift store a couple decades ago for pennies and used it until my receiver that had a phono input failed. I decided to use again to convert my vinyl to mp3 with better fidelity than the inexpensive turntables that have USB interfaces. First, I had to get it operational again as some of the lubricants in the SL-D20 had hardened. Your video made this task much less daunting. The turntable is now fully functional.

[@milk-it]

I'm really glad you're posting videos on the repair of other retro gear, Jan. In addition to several Commodore computers and a Nintendo 64, I have a 1990s Sony hi-fi, CD player, and a Sony hi-fi stereo VCR - most of which need some attention. Keep these videos coming! Danke Dir!

[@snacpak89]

I'm currently working on this table and I just discovered this video with most of it done lol This is great and you do everything exactly how it should be done. I didn't put that much effort into re-routing the ground wire. All I did was run a long ground wire through the existing jack and soldered it to the chassis making it a permanent ground wire. No need to make a new hole. And for cleaning the plastic, use a good degreaser first with a toothbrush, and then take some plastic polish to it. I used some Meguiars headlight polish. It gets that deep layer of grime off the whole body and you can use it on the metal pieces too. I used the same polish on the dust cover which helped a lot, but still plenty of blemishes. I have a kit devoted to dust cover restoration but it's honestly a lot of work and rarely use it unless absolutely necessary. I highly recommend the Carbon Fidelity replacement styli and cartridges from LPgear.com for P-Mount tables like this. They make excellent elliptical styli for $50 that outperform name brands costing a lot more. Great value if you're trying to restore and resell these types of tables. PS: the Marantz is beautiful and it's rare to see them in black. I restored a Kenwood KR5030 which is what the SL-D20 is playing on now. Thanks for a great video!!

[@yereverluvinuncleber]

I used to have one of those in the 80s and loved it. I am currently restoring an SL-JS1 and a DUAL 505-2. You can polish that acrylic lid with buffing wheels and polish, it works a treat.

[@jimcabezola3051]

I like Shure cartridges, too! My Shure V15 Type IV served me over 20 years. It wore out 3 styli during the time I used it. My V15 cartridge “lived” in a Pioneer and a Denon turntable over its lifetime, but right now, it sits in its original box waiting to “live” again in a new turntable. All my friends had Technics turntables. Mahalo for a superb video! I would enjoy more of this on your channel! Aloha!

[@JanBeta]

Yes! Shure cartridges are generally great sounding workhorses. Can't go wrong with one of those, I guess. I used a classic Shure 75-6 on an elderly Dual turntable for ages. And the M92E is a very good and versatile cartridge, too. Not "audiophile" grade stuff but very reliable and neutral sounding (aka decent for lots of different styles of music) usually.

[@stevesstuff1450]

@@JanBeta : Yes indeed; that M92E is a very good sounding 'workhorse', and plays music of any type very cleanly, with detailed and lively performance! I remember over 10 years ago, all the 'snobs' on audio forums disliked it and criticised anyone who admitted they used one (myself included!), and yet now it's been discontinued, they all lament it's passing and want to try and get hold of a 'cheap' one .... audiophools..!! 😂

[@aussie_retro_dude9253]

Excellent video Jan. Would enjoy more of these retro hifi videos 😊. Maybe a cassette deck next ?

[@milk-it]

I second that!

[@JeHaVe]

Yes, please! A cassettedeck, for instance an Akai GX-75/95 or Nakamichi LX-3/LX-5...😃

[@bitoxic]

Jan, you should also look into getting a boombox / ghettoblaster! 🙂👍

[@JanBeta]

Coming soon, actually! I have a pretty special one waiting for some repairs. ;)

[@rosariodagosto6484]

Jan I'm really excited your back 😂

[@cesarmontaz]

Impresionante hermano, que video. Tremendo tutorial. Gracias...un abrazo desde Bogotá Colombia. Awesome brother, that video. Tremendous tutorial. Thank you...a hug from Bogota Colombia.

[@len9518]

No doubt, you're aware, that Technics has a special spindle oil. Also, the ideal new lube, would be Superlube synthetic. I really like how you improvised, as issues came up. Super, how you addressed the cables and ground.This unit, is likely in factory condition, as for specs, and it looks very nice. I'm subscribing.

[@Asriazh]

Thank You Jan. This was very enjoyable to watch ^_^ It's always nice to see something old, thats most likely better than most things you can buy today, restored. You can still tell companies back then still wanted good quality even for their low or mid tier products. Btw, seams for reglued plastic disappear almost completely if you put a bit of salad oil on. It kinda seeps into the cracks and seams and gives them back their original color. It has to be plant based oil though, or the plastic might melt. I wouldn't mind some more hifi related things in the future :D

[@tiemanowo]

6:32 Really interesting that only few turns of PCB traces can form a coil powerful enough to turn entire plater with a record.

[@JanBeta]

The actual coils have a lot more windings and are located between the PCB and the mechanism, actually. I should probably have pointed that out in the video! :D

[@domramsey]

Jan, we want to see a polishing video! 🙂

[@SidebandSamurai]

Jan, I really love your channel. Love to see content come out of Germany. BTW have you tried mending plastic with superglue and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). how this works is apply the glue to the plastic part then sprinkle "Baking Soda" on the glue joint. IT turns rock hard almost instantly. the best plastic mender I have ever used.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yes, I’ve used the baking soda and super glue method a couple of times, mostly to fill gaps and such or reconstruct missing parts in general. Works really well! The glue I used for this repair melts the plastics so you basically get a weld bond which I prefer for things like this where there’s only cracked parts that completely fill the gaps. :)

[@meirlefler8371]

Thank you Jan. A great video. I have a question and maybe you can assist... I recently purchase the SL-D20 turntable which works great, with one exception. the start/stop button doesn't work. The return mechanism does work at the end of the record. any suggestions how to fix?

[@stephanemignot100]

The used to make great CD players too, great DAC, great sound, I still use two of these.

[@JanBeta]

Indeed! I'm currently using a 90s Technics CD Player that I rescued from the dumpster some years ago. :)

[@zvonimirkomar2309]

Jan, check the tonearm bearings as well. Set the counterweight so the tonearm floats and then try nudging it very gently up/down and left/right and see if it floats without any sticking both horizontally and vertically. Do it without stylus on there, obviously. Also, check that vertical tracking force is right with a gauge. This system ensurec that cartridge alignment is right, but your counterweight might have moved during shipping and repairs...you need to check tracking force.

[@JanBeta]

Good call! Seems to work as intended but I'm going to take a look at that, too. Thanks!

[@milk-it]

You're on the money. Good tips!

[@SergZak2023]

Thanks for the outstanding content, Jan👍

[@JanBeta]

Thank you! Glad you like the videos! :D

[@mstorrente]

More videos of audio vintage staff please!!!!

[@JanBeta]

I have a Sony hifi amp repair coming up next. Video is going to be released in a couple of days. :)

[@JamieOrlando]

Nice video! I have a very similar SL-D30 table with an Audio Technica AT92E cartridge. These Technics direct drive tables seem to be very reliable.

[@JanBeta]

They are! Even the lower tier ones like these are very well built in my experience and basically last forever if you give them a little bit of love (and lubricant) from time to time. :)

[@Vijaysoni53]

Very good video. I wish I could send you my Technics SL QD 33 for repair and restoration.. it is dead. Power supply ok. Nothing else works.

[@Vintageelectronics2296]

I bought a Technics sl 1500 turntable and like yours mine had shipping damage broke the counter weight shaft off did repair it but not as good as it was when new sad to see a Technics turntable in this kind of condition

[@twocvbloke]

As for polishing the dust cover/lid/whatever it is, on my 400 (which got its' lid from the 720, which inherited a wrong size generic lid from the 300!) I polished up the plastic with Peek polish, took a few "wax on, wax off" sessions, but it came out nice and shiny with minimal effort really, some deeper scratches remained (especially on the front) but they were so out-shone by the shine and clarity that it didn't matter to me... :)

[@JanBeta]

I'm going to take a similar approach I think. Probably going to start with some fine grit sandpaper to get rid of the deeper scratches and finish with some acrylic polish.

[@twocvbloke]

@@JanBeta That'd probably be best for a fully clean & glossy finish, mine was just on a whim, was in the midst of tidying up and rearranging things and saw my tube of polish next to the PL-400, and thought I'd try it, and it did nice for what really was just a half-arsed job on my part... :D

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Ah yes remember this class of Technics from the 80s. Had the dual cassette deck and one of their first CD players in ‘85. For the needle cartridge get Audio Technica for sure.

[@JanBeta]

Audio Technica makes some very good cartridges indeed! Would have been my first choice for a new P-mount system if I didn't have the Shure at hand (which I love, too). Technics made some pretty decent stuff back in the 80s. My main CD player is an early nineties Technics I rescued from the elctronic waste bin at work a while back. Best sounding CD player I ever owned, actually!

[@fkthewhat]

The presence of a slip mat suggests that someone’s been using it to scratch or at least cue tracks and mix them - probably with another turntable. That r&s records slipmat might be worth something - that is an important label in dance music history and a favourite label of mine. The platter and direct drive system looks a lot like what’s on the newer more expensive 1200s, compared to the tried and tested mk2, mk3d, mk5s etc It’s great to see a consumer level direct drive technics that has a lot of bells and whistles you’d see on their 1200 model. Despite the poor quality packing it’s great that the dust cover survived! This model has removable power cable, ground and rcas plugs - it took until the mk7s for the 1200s to get those, and competitors used to boast about their models having this ‘feature’ It would be interesting to see if the pitch regulation ICs are the same as in the 1200s - they are almost like a SID chip on the 1200s in that when they fail they are expensive to replace and are highly sought after for 1200 service and repair business. Great work as always Jan!

[@JanBeta]

Oh, good call! I am not that deep into dance music so I didn't recognize the label. Thanks for the info! I agree, probably the previous owner did some scratching with the turntable. Which probably stressed the stylus quite a bit (but that was completely dislocated and bent during shipping anyway). It's not really designed for that purpose but I guess the direct drive did an okay job for that. Should have been used with a dj type stylus/cartridge though.

[@fkthewhat]

@@JanBeta yeah haha. It looks like the headshell is fixed on this model? I guess that would limit the stylus options you have?

[@twocvbloke]

I'm glad I got my two Pioneer models when I did (PL-400 and PL-720) given prices for such things have gone up, sure they don't give audiophiles the trouser tingles, but, I'm not that way inclined, I just like my records to play nicely which they both do, the 400 being the better one... :)

[@JanBeta]

I guess if you put proper cartridges on those they are even going to satisfy most audiophiles! ;)

[@twocvbloke]

@@JanBeta Well, the 400 has an AT-95 (not even the 'e' version, it came with the PL-300 I had that was mostly spare parts) and the 720 I think has a Pioneer 3MC, apparently excrement in the audiphile community, but I like it, it's meaty powerful!!! :D

[@roheinz5007]

Awesome 🤩

[@mrAq_pA]

The speed depends (lets presume that the voltage there at the motor is regulated... ) on the Feq. deviations ... + - 0.1 Hz can make it "dance" a bit. I have a quartz lock system (not Technics) ... that has of course no manual adjust dial.

[@olik136]

I have several turntables from the 70s (because they are the most common really) and there are even less electronics in there. Besides the switch for 110V/220V it is just an AC motor and the cartridge- everything else works mechanically using the motor as a power source.

[@JanBeta]

My main turntable is a Technics SL 1710 from 1978, they were really proud of using an IC for the speed regulation for the first time back then (I think it's the same IC used in the one from the video even). Before that, it was rare to have any kind of electronic speed alignment indeed, as you mentioned. Got the job done, I guess. :D

[@SuperVirus1978]

I could imagine that a normal 2mm banana plug would do the job for connecting to the ground

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I think that would be a reasonable solution. The original plug looks very similar to a banana plug but is somewhere between 2 and 3mm in diameter as far as I can tell. A 4mm banana plug I had at hand didn't fit, the inner lug of an RCA plug roughly fits but I decided to just add an additional jack to be sure I have the correct connector for it. :)

[@fu1r4]

35:30 Use a magic eraser sponge ...

[@jeffm2787]

Thought that looked familiar. Then I saw the model number and yep, I had an SL-D20. Not sure of the suffix.

[@jeffredd9965]

i love my 1989 1210s

[@JanBeta]

Yes, the 1210 is a real classic for good reasons! Extremely well built turntables indeed!

[@talideon]

Wait, this isn't Techmoan! 😁

[@shrishri5956]

Can i get SL D3 TURN TABLE. IC

[@wimwiddershins]

Quite annoying when a device that has survived for decades get busted up in transit. 😠

[@JanBeta]

Yep. Very unfortunate. At least it was savable to an extend (the cracks are going to remain slightly visible though, I just consider them battle scars now).

[@sideburn]

Could fill in the cracks and match the paint and make them go away

[@MacMelmac]

Technics made a lot of good stuff in the 90s. I remember the first portable cd player I had from Tedhnics had 3sec buffer memory! Wow!😂

[@JanBeta]

Those were the days! My main CD player currently is an early 90s Technics I rescued from the electronics waste bin at work a while back. Best sounding CD Player I ever owned, actually! :)

[@JosephSochet]

It’s the stop button symbol maybe?

[@JanBeta]

I don't think there is a symbol on there originally. Must be some kind of dirt or possibly corrosion (the button is made from alumin(i)um as far as I can tell, maybe something caused it to corrode in that spot).

[@SimonQuigley]

The 13th February 1982 is also when I was made.

[@JanBeta]

Ha! That's a funny coincidence! Also, happy belated birthday! :D

[@edmondomazzantini]

Great! Considering you only spent 50€, it was a real bargain!!

[@JanBeta]

It definitely was! I would have preferred proper packaging but it’s still a good price (plus some tinkering which I planned to do anyway). :D

[@meh3247]

_>Inserting obligatory comment to raise the channels algorithmic popularity.

[@JanBeta]

Haha, thanks!

[@granitepenguin]

Don't forget thread engagement ;-)

[@BerndFelsche]

​@@granitepenguin That's why he turns screws to the left before right. 😉😛

[@JanBeta]

Lol. 😅

[@granitepenguin]

@@BerndFelsche well played

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

Stylus would be the first thing to change as it will damage any other record played with it.

[@JanBeta]

Yep, did that. I used my own used cartridge/stylus to replace the original broken one. It has some miles on it but it’s not going to do any more damage than necessary. And getting a replacement stylus is the next step.

[@MrFixiit]

nice video D.J an Beta :p

[@bufordmaddogtannen]

If that's acrylic then you should be able to remove small scratches by simply heating the plastic. Look on KZbin how to do that.

[@tedmarcum2676]

Got one like that has no sound

[@Ramdileo_sys]

at 54:18 .... tester says 12 ohms?? ...... in a cable of 70cm..?? ..... bad soder or absolutely awful chopper Jan...

[@JanBeta]

It's .12 ohms, actually. ;)

[@transcanada9028]

My God. JT

[@Phenomz75]

please polish the turntable lid ... see instructions and results here kzbin.info/www/bejne/faecm3hufrebirs and here kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKiklqGrabaLrrc

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I’m definitely going to do that (as I mentioned), thanks for the links! :)

[@borayurt66]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6qth5KdiLBlbrc In case you want to go in deeper...

[@JanBeta]

That's a great video, thanks! :D