TT-101 turntables…or any DD decks

Dear Lew, Even if the bearing or motor was not tampered with, there can be slight wear of the bearing plate resulting in the bearing sitting lower.

As mentioned I experienced the same symptoms that you have. On 33 there was no scraping sound but at 45 there was a scraping sound. I cannot explain why this would only occur at 45rpm and not at 33rpm. Adjusting the bearing screw solved the problem.

I also have a TT-101 motor that I have opened up and there are three thin washers separating the top and bottom motor cover. If I omit the washers and spin the motor manually there is a scraping sound due to the motor touching the upper motor cover.

You can experiment and raise the bearing spindle by turning the bearing screw just 1 millimetre at a time and checking the 45rpm speed after each adjustment. I remember I only had a range of adjustment of about 6-8 mm.

A couple of thoughts: I have left my TT-101 powered up continuously for months now. I start it spinning when I want to play. No apparent ill effects and no problems with power supply glitches that were starting to appear before I adopted this approach.

I concur with the suggestions to Lew that the motor height is off slightly leading to the scraping sounds. Both suggested solutions: checking the screws that hold the motor cover in place - they use two different metal washers, stacked,and adjusting the bearing cap are the right ones. I would also add that the motor itself is screwed down onto two thin washers (that I replaced with rubber/steel)

Inside the bearing cap is a white nylon or similar thrust pad that on mine has an indentation where the ball sits. I wanted to take it out and replace it with Lignum Vitae but was unable to remove it without causing damage so left it alone.

I believe that the indentation in the thrust pad is original but have no evidence for that - it could have been worn into it by the years of rotation. I tend to believe that the ball is held by the end of the spindle (it is cupped) and rotates on the thrust pad which because of the indentation has a rather large contact area with the ball. To my thinking this creates a large area that needs lubrication and it is critical that the lubricant is not squeezed out leaving a dry center - so I used a 5w-20 Mobil one that I have on hand. Next time I take it apart I will switch to an even lighter synthetic (0w-5 Redline Racing).

The ball I put in is Si3N4 (Silicon Nitride)and it is 4.06mm in diameter (even though I bought it at 4.0mm and the original steel ball is 4.01 mm it all seems fine).

Aigenga, I have some of that Redline Racing oil. It was recommended by Howard G Stern for use in the Kenwood L07D bearing. (Howard is the L07D guru and keeper of the L07D website, not the radio jerk.) Thanks to all for your suggestions. At the moment, I sent off the TT101 for repair of a persisting problem that neither I nor Bill Thalmann have been able to cure. I don't expect to have it back for a few months, but I will keep the ideas in mind. If the problem cannot be fixed, the rubbing noise is not going to concern me very much; I will have to put the TT101 on display as a museum piece or use it as a doorstop or a boat anchor.

Sorry to hear about the 'persisting problem', Lewm. Can you describe what it is and tell us who you sent it to? There exists a higher authority than Thalmann? I'd like to know his/her name for future reference.

I was afraid someone would ask. I described this once before.
Here is what it does, in my house. (It did not do this in Bill Thalmann's shop, last time I picked it up there; it worked perfectly.) When you start it up at either 33 or 45, it gets up to speed, but the tach reads typically 33.32 or 33.34, instead of 33.33. It will run properly for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then it shuts down back to "Power on" condition. When it thus shuts itself down, the brake action also fails to engage; the platter just continues to spin until friction and loss of inertia bring it to a stop. IF you press the STOP button while it is still up to speed, it DOES activate its brake (which in this case is simply the reverse servo activating). It was doing this when I brought it to Bill for a second time, several months ago. He re-soldered some questionable tracings, etc, and got it to work fine in his shop, as noted above. When I went to retrieve it, I also observed that it was working fine. Not so, when I got it back home to my house. (Bill's shop is about 30 minutes from my home, driving on the DC beltway, Rte 495.) I then took it apart and soldered the leads at some of those through-hole posts; Bill had already done some of that. Someone here, I think Aigenga recommended that approach, too. My efforts did nothing to correct the problem. In fact, if anything I made the problem a bit worse, because prior to that the tach would first go to 33.33, as it should, and only then start to show 33.34 before the shutdown. Frankly, I was embarrassed to take the thing back to Bill yet again. I Googled "Victor turntable repair" and found a place near Philadelphia, BC Electronics. Another hobbyist said that the guy at BC repaired his Sony 8750 very nicely after others had failed. He has my TT101 at this time. I am not optimistic that BC has any particular genius or insight into the TT101; he admitted that he had never worked on one.