Any advice on a 25-year-old SL-J2 that's never been used?

[The Pounder]

I recently obtained an SL-J2 (linear tracker) still in the original box, and it appears to have never been set up. I'm not an expert on turntables and wondered if I should be checking anything before I try to use it. The top of the lid has some kind of dried adhesive on it, which makes me wonder if it got hot at one time and something stuck to it. Could there be potential problems with the linear tracking drive? Should I lube anything? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[flavio81]

[Trajic]

I just bought a low miles SL-10 and had no problem just plugging it in and playing it. My advice would be to just play the 'table and see how it sounds. Chances are you're in the clear. As was previously stated, you can't screw up the cartridge alignment since it's a P-mount. As long as your record is clean and the stylus is clean you should be in business. Download the manual and figure out how the tonearm transport works. A little proactive maintenance will go a long way. In the meantime just enjoy.

Brett Schultz
_________________
All Technics, all the time.

[fscl]

Tpder,

Welcome to VE.

CONGRATULATIONS on the SL. An "in original box never set up unit" is a real vintage pirate's treasure booty......

ALL manuals are here:

http://www.vinylengine.com/lib.....l-j2.shtml

You probably have the original Owner's Manual. The service manual is great to have for future reference.

My fellow linear fans have already dispensed with good advise. So yes, just plug and play and see how she does.

I believe, the SL-J2 is a further evolved SL-6 with direct access to songs via multiple button pushes and LED display in lieu of actual direct access push buttons.

I cross referenced the EPS 30 stylus on JICO's site:

http://www.export-japan.com/ma.....cts_id=638

and it looks like Technics OEMed an Audio Technica P-mount for the SL-J2 instead of using one of their own cartridges supplied / referenced on the SL-6. It's a conical and should sound good if the tt was not used / used much. If in fact it is an AT cartridge, you can move up to an elliptical stylus replacement in the future. AT cartridge bodies are fairly standard and can accommodate a range of their replacement styli.

Oh yes, the sticky stuff on the cover?, probably left over residue from a peel off plastic protective cover, like on new cell phone screens and protects the units soft plastic from scratches during shipment.

Somebody's peeled off the plastic, however, as the unit was not used, the sticky stuff stuck to the unit instead of lifting off with the disposable plastic. Try using some cleaner, Fantastic, Windex, isopropyl alcohol, WD-40...etc, sprayed on a soft cloth (diaper) to see what dissolves the adhesive, use the best acting one to remove it all.

Then, pick out a nice vinyl and play, using it to experiment with all of the tt controls outlined in the Owner's Manual.

Edit: Hey, I see you already have an SL-7, this should sound very similar and further automates vinyl play and why I added an SL-QL15 to my collection (looking to further ease my vinyl transfer process)...... I've also noticed that Technics had 2 types of linears, lightweight and heavyweight and noticed that they were priced accordingly (See MSRP).

http://www.vintagetechnics.info/turntables.htm

Good luck.

Fred and addicted to Technics linears after my first SL-7.....
_________________
Music is Everything....Except Predictable....WFUV Fan.

[flavio81]

[fscl]

f81 wites:

[flavio81]

[The Pounder]

I finally tried it out. Hooked it up to the old Kenwood KA-7300 amp and JBL L65 speakers, and it sounds great! Makes a nice vintage setup.

I think my old SL-7 probably sounds a little better than the SL-J2, but not much. The J2 came with an Audio Technica DR400E cartridge. It's hard to compare them since the SL-7 died on me (very sad; I bought it new in '81).

The J2 seems to work fine except that the track skip feature is a bit finicky. Setting the sensitivity to High helps. I still can't get the residue off the cover. I tried some soapy water and then tried the WD-40; neither one did much. I 'll try Windex and alcohol next.

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. It's nice to find other people that are into the Technics linear trackers. Since my original one died I've bought 4 others, a couple of which are barely usable but it's fun to play around with them.

[flavio81]

[The Pounder]

[quote="flavio81"]

[flavio81]

[quote="The Pounder"]

[fscl]

Tpder writes:

[flavio81]