Phonoland

Hello

I just inherited a Micromatic cabinet record player that is pretty much identical to this one:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=2036

Anyway, when I got it, the switch was on 78 instead of 45. I turned it on and it seemed to work fine. But when I actually bought a record and switched it to 45, the record will drop, the needle will move and drop in the right place, but the turntable immediately stops spinning. It seems strange to me that it would work fine on 78 but not on 45. Not to mention the fact that my grandparents were just using this record player, and I'm sure they were not listening to their Andy Williams records at fast speeds. The only thing I can figure is that maybe something got knocked loose in transit?

Regardless, this is my first record player and I know pretty much nothing about record players nor am I particularly mechanically inclined... so I'm secretly hoping someone is like, "there actually a secret red button you just need to push that you didn't see," but I doubt I'll be that lucky.

Any thoughts or words of advice for how to fix this?

Thanks so much!!!

I've stated on other threads that Collaro Micromatics arn't simple mechanisms for a novice to mess with.
Best suggestion, get a qualified expert go over it.

These turntables have two separate idler wheels...one for the change cycle and the other one for speed. The first idler wheel (in proper condition) will cycle without the second one. The second one may have issues like being gummed up and not pushing outward to make a firm contact against the inside of the turntable platter, motor mounts deteriorated making the motor drop lower, not contacting the different sizes on the motor shaft. Some parts are to be oiled/lube while others are supposed to be clean/dry.

You said you know nothing about these, please don't experiment, unless this is a guinea pig you want to work on. You could open up a can of worms...like MattTech said.............. --BB


Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Welcome to the world of vinyl!! You may be correct that something got jammed while moving it, especially if nobody bothered to turn down the changer shipping screws. These are designed to prevent damage while moving the unit. I would normally suggest you look under the changer to try and discover what has fallen out of order, however I am also with Matt on this one. If you are not mechanically inclined find a tech who knows what he's doing. There is no "secret red button". As old as this one is, it should have a good going over anyway. The changer will need cleaned and lubricated and the amplifier will most likely need it's electrolitic capacitors replaced. Then it will give you many more years of enjoyment. If the cabinet is in good shape it is certainly worth doing.

The bearings of the jockey arms that move the idler are dried out. Clean and relube them with light machine oil.