A few weeks ago a customer requested me to repair one of his turntables, a Technics SL1300-MkII direct drive turntable:
This turntable is a variant of the famous Technics SL1200-MkII turntable but with a tonearm auto-return and auto-mute mechanism. This one had a faulty tonearm auto-return mechanism, a very common defect for this 35+ year old turntable model (issue is also present in all models with auto-return mechanism). The issue was a faulty plastic part that is not made anymore by Technics, but finally ended up sourcing it it from a 3D printing company in Europe.
The faulty part:
Replacement part after installing bushing:
New replacement part installed in tonearm auto-return mechanism:
New replacement part installed in tonearm auto-return mechanism:
Video of the final test:
Success!
Vic