My first record player - 1967 Zenith Microtouch - NEED HELP!

I just got my first record player. I bought it from a salvation army and it is in great shape but I hardly know anything about record players at this point in time. I'm having one difficulty with it and i'm not sure how to fix it. I turn it on and the arm moves over, drops, plays for a second or two then goes back and repeats over and over again. the mat is unglued which makes the record all wobbly so i took the mat off to see if it was the cause of the problem but it still does the same thing - just keeps resetting. how do i fix this?? thank you in advance

i know there is a thread about this already but as much as i hate to say it... none of the terminology makes sense to me. please help

If you don't understand any of what was already written here I'm not sure how we can help. You must first know what it is that you are looking at. Remove the platter. That's the big round thing the records sit on while playing. There will be a ring around the spindle that must be removed first to take the platter off. Then look at the bottom of the spindle and try to identify the parts as they relate to the posts here. Also look up VM on the web. They may be able to sell you a service manual or if you posts pics and a model number of the turntable (located on the underside of turntable) I may have a service manual I can scan for you. I can tell you now that the turntable needs a full service IE; cleaned and lubricated. The old grease has hardened. Not difficult to do IF you are mechanicly inclined and patient.

Sounds like that trip mechanism is not retracting fully and it's kicking in too early when the arm moves across the record. Some parts are meant to be lubed, while others should be clean/dry.

If you have the turntable removed, you can barely see a little lever/blade off to the side that will move inward toward the spindle post when you move the tonearm over toward the spindle. It would normally engage into the grooved teeth of the bottom of the turntable to trip the change cycle. After the cycle, that blade retracts out of the way and you can play a record all the way through, that blade moving slowly toward the point where the needle hits that last groove and moves in toward the spindle to trigger that blade. Sorry, I don't know the name of the parts, either, but been there, done that. --BB


Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

What Bobby said... You can see how it works by peering down at the bottom of the spindle while carefully moving the tonearm towards the center. You should see the trip pawl (little piece of metal beside the spindle) move towards the spindle... or not if it is stuck in the trip position, and then that's the problem. Why is it stuck? Damage maybe but not likely. Most likely it is just dried up lubricant and dirt. Note: A very good portion of this particular part gets cleaned ONLY. Do not lubricate anywhere you do not see old lubricant. These are general guidelines as I have not had time to consult the service manuals. By the way, I love these turntables. They are dependable, easy on records, and track warped records really well. The only negative I have with these is more turntable rumble than I would like to hear.