Solotone repair

Share your phonograph repair & restoration techniques here
Post Reply
alco5
Victor Jr
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:47 am

Solotone repair

Post by alco5 »

I just acquired a SoloTone player. I don't know all the names of the parts so forgive me. The turntable will not turn, but when I take it off, the spindle spins. As soon as I put the turntable back on it stops. Is something missing? Any suggestions?

User avatar
Lucius1958
Victor VI
Posts: 3935
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2010 12:17 am
Location: Where there's "hamburger ALL OVER the highway"...

Re: Solotone repair

Post by Lucius1958 »

I assume the brake is off when you have the turntable on?

First thing to do is to disassemble the motor (WARNING: MAKE SURE THE SPRING IS COMPLETELY RUN DOWN FIRST!) and thoroughly clean it; when you've got it back together, oil all the bearings and the governor with sewing machine oil. See how it performs then.

If it still doesn't spin with the turntable on, chances are that the mainspring is weak, and needs to be replaced. Check the Links section of the Forum for repairers: there are some good sources for new mainsprings.

Once you've got the motor running properly, you can go on to rebuilding the reproducer.

Bill

Post Reply