Trouble shooting Audiotronics 303E

Hello! I'm hoping someone can help me trouble shoot my skipping issue.

THE ISSUE:
I'm playing 33's that normally work on other record players. However, with this player my records like Grateful Dead's American Beauty play beautifully, while others like Billy Joel's greatest hits skips erratically.

STEPS TAKEN:
I've search for the replacement needles online and bought two needles, part number 911-D7. Neither of them have solved the issue.
I've also tried to change the speed from 33 to 16 and 45. No luck.

HYPOTHESIS:
I'm wondering if the angle of the needle is the culprit or if the player is just too old to work with "modern" records (gooves geometry isn't compatible). I wish i knew more about these things!

What should I try next? Any ideas welcome.

With gratitude,

Marissa in SF

arissa,
I am not at all familiar with that brand of phono, but some of the common causes of skipping can be: the turntable is "bolted down" (for shipment)--the whole thing should be loose on "suspension springs". The "tracking force" may have been "messed-with". The tone arm wire can "stiffen".
The brand and age of record should make no difference--
If you can't change speeds (why do you want to ?), there is something wrong internally in the unit. You probably will need to take it to a "pro" for service, Ron Rich

If the tone arm wires were stiff, wouldn't that keep the needle stuck in one groove, restricting movement? Does the needle literally skip across the record, or is it stuck in one place? Maybe it's not recommended, but after some disassembly a little cleaning, I use a little Hammond oil on all the pivoting joints of the arm and all the connecting parts that extend beneath the turntable.

Occasionally, I have come across a defective record (mainly 45's) where the grooves were not centered perfectly, and the arm moved inward and outward along with the grooves. If the arm was too stiff or the tracking force too light, it couldn't keep up with that in and out motion and that would create the skipping. The groove would come back in line with the needle for a rotation, maybe moving the arm inward abit, then move back out of line. Then the groove would come back in line on a different part of the record. If you do have a record where the grooves are centered normally, you may have an "anti-skating" issue (stiff arm) not moving laterally. Cleaning/lubrication is in order. And check the underside of the armpost. It serves several purposes and engages/trips alot of other mechanics under there. Just my two cents. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Those Audiotronics units are old "schoolhouse' record players... er, record-chewers.
If you want your records to last, get something better.

Thanks for replying Bobby, Ron, and Matt. I appreciate it.
Sounds like maybe the “schoolhouse” record player might not be the best for playing records despite the fact that it has that great nostalgic feeling to it.

To answer your questions….

- The turn table moves freely.
- The needle skips across the record in different spots. It will play fine for a bit and then skip. It rarely gets stuck in one place, though.

I'll try the Hammond Oil and a good cleaning. Don't want to give up on her just yet. But if that doesn’t work, I’ll take Matt’s advice and get something better.

Marissa

Oh, I forgot to mention...

I have a little 300-E Audiotronics classroom record player. I used to keep it in the hallway between the bedrooms and played occasionally. Sounds pretty good when you put your ear up close to that oval speaker. It tracks pretty heavily, so I wouldn't play any cherished albums on it, but since I've got thousands of LP's and many duplicates, I still play records on it occasionally. I think it has one little 12AX7 tube in it. There is a ext speaker/headphone jack on it also. The plastic/rubber feet are spring-loaded, so the whole cabinet floats...no bolting down here.

I'm more interested in the automatic changers..just love watching a change cycle. Still looking for a specific VM model from the early 60's. I went to the website, but they don't have pics for all the models. I like to keep a little history up in the camp... --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

Nobody has mentioned tracking force. Measure what the tracking force is, and then find out what it should be for that pickup.