Motorola SK77WA, Tone arm doesn't quite reach record

I Googled around for hours trying to find the answer to my question. I finally discovered Phonoland, so now I'm a member and hope one of you can provide me with some good advice.

After years of thinking they were lost forever, I found all my old 45s and couldn't wait to play them. I hadn't used the 45 function on my old Motorola stereo hi-fi for years. I have played albums and everything works great. But about the 45s: I put a half-dozen or so on the spindle. First one dropped down, played great. Second one dropped down, tone arm came down just short of the record and landed on the turntable, making a horrible noise as it bounced around on the turntable's textured surface. The tone arm landed just a hair shy of the record. I auto rejected so the next record would come down, tone arm reached it just fine. But the next one didn't quite make it. Sometimes the needle hits the record, sometimes it doesn't go over quite far enough. This makes me crazy because I can't just listen to records and leave the stereo unattended. Everytime a song ends, I have to run over to the phonograph and monitor it so make sure everything is OK. Otherwise, I'll ruin the needle, not to mention that horrid thump-thump-thump noise as the needle bounces around on the turntable.

So the question is: is this something that can be fixed? Some minor adjustment to get that tone arm to move just a hair further inward, a 16th of an inch or something, to make sure it lands on the record? Is this something that can be adjusted by me, without taking everything apart? Or will it require a professional? If I can't fix this myself, I'll go thru the Yellow Pages and find someone if you think this is a fixable problem. I really want to get this fixed because I'm just itching to dance around the house to my old music as I go about my chores.

If anyone reads this and can answer my question - thank you very, very much!

Could be dried up grease or oil. If you are mechanically inclined I would suggest you clean and lube the changer. Put fresh grease or a drop of high quality oil (sewing machine oil is very good) where warranted. If you find an area that seems to have no lubrication from the factory, do not lube it. Some parts require no lubrication in order to work properly. IE; changer trip mechanism. Many times when I don't have a schematic I put the changer up on stilts and watch & study how it works. Eventually, I find the problem. Good luck.

Several possibilities:

1. The needle might be bent or not centered in its saddle. Or the turnover cartridge might not be fully turned to the LP position. Check this first.

2. The setdown adjustment is misadjusted. There should be a screw on the tonearm for that. On the V-M changers, the screw is on the hinge plate under the tonearm. Lift the arm up to get to it.

3. On the shelf changers, the record pusher shelf might not be fully in the 7" position.

4. The spindle might be bent, causing the 45 spindle to seat wrong.

5. Dry grease in the safety drive plate on a V-M changer (where the setdown adjustment is).

6. Loose or bent index selector lever or 7-inch lever.

7. The safety spring might be loose or disconnected. This is in the arm hinge assembly.

8. The pickup leads might be tight when the arm is raised in the 7" position.

9. If the retainer is missing from the bottom of the 45 spindle, it can cause the spindle to wobble.

10. Off-center holes in records.

11. If spiders are used, the spider might be off-center.

12. Slightly undersized records (rare, but I have two).

13. The arm return lever might be binding or its spring might be weak.

Thom & Record-Changer -- Thank you both for the solid advice. Tomorow, when there's some good light in the room, I'll grab my reading glasses and a magnifying glass and take a look under the tone arm to see if there's an adjustment screw. I have a feeling that would solve the problem - if I can just get it to always position itself a mere hair more toward center. Of course, I'm not sure if I'll be turning the screw clockwise or counter clockwise, but there's only one way to find out. If that doesn't take care of it, I'll print out your list of possible fixes and try to find a qualified professional. I'll let you know if the adjustment works. I really do appreciate the time and thought it took for you guys to so thoroughly answer my question, and will pay attention to your advice. Thanks again!!!

I am constantly amazed by the power of the internet, especially its ability to reach great minds and gather knowledge that I'd otherwise not have access to. That being said, I want Record Changer and Thom to know how much I appreciate their advice. I just looked under the tone arm, and there it was, this little thumbscrew - no tools required! I turned it a bit, put on a stack of records, the tone arm came in just a little too far. So I backed off on the screw a hair, and now I am sitting here listening to a stack of 45's. I'm listening to them without being on edge the whole time, worried that the needle will miss the next record and land on the turntable. I so enjoy my old music. I know I could probably get it all on CD - might have a lot of it already on CD. But there's just something about putting the same record on the same turntable that you had in your youth. Making this thing work was very important to me. In a mostly frustrating world, I owe this moment of joy to Thom and Record-Changer. Thank you so very, very much!!!