Multi-Play Spindle Issues/Dual 1229q

[vintage_audiophile]

I have a 1229Q that is in MINT condition that I bought from a thrift store for $10. I even got the original Shure cartridge and the Dual encasement with a TOTALLY SCRATCH FREE dust cover! I have cleaned up the old grease and she functions beautifully... except...

The LP multi-play spindle was included with the unit and I had to purchase the 45 multi-play spindle. Here's the snag- neither are working properly and I'm not quite sure why. The LP spindle, when inserted, will not allow the stack to rest on the (lower) 3 prong rest UNLESS I press downward on the spindle at the top - then the upper prongs (which I assume keep more than one record from dropping at a time) will release the stack to the lower prongs. Is there something I'm missing here or is there some type of adjustment or setting that I've overlooked? Are BOTH my 45 AND LP spindles bad? I haven't attempted to press down on the 45 multi-play spindle, but I'm assuming if I did it would function properly as well.

Any help/suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks everyone!

[vintage_audiophile]

I took a tiny lock washer, flattened and opened it to be slightly larger than the size of the base of the spindle(s) and dropped it down the well where the spindle is inserted. I placed an entire stack of LP's on the spindle and they rested on the lower prongs as they should. I then fired up the automatic cycle and the entire stack played and dropped as they should. I haven't checked the 45 multi-play spindle yet, but I'm assuming that it too is going to function as it was intended to.

[Whitneyville]

Num, nub, num, nub. Youb tuk da woords outta my moutf. I think you need a new automatic spindle (about $10 from Garage-'A-Records or the Dual parts dealers), or see if your "fix" continues to work. There is a spacer washer on the bottom of the spindle which sometimes gets knocked off (worn down?) and causes the problems you describe. The normal spindle makes the 45 spindle work on most Dual models. The spindle has to go in and "engage and latch" when turned about a 1/4 of a turn according to the manual on my 1226, and most other Duals. I envy your find. I want a 3 speed Dual for my 78's. $30 no questions asked, and I'll pay S&H to OK!

[vintage_audiophile]

I think my fix is going to work. At least it did for the LP spindle. I'll have to check the 45 spindle when I get some time.

As for your offer... thanks, but I've recently swapped out my beater Panasonic multi-play turntable for my Dual 1229Q. Time to put the old horse to work!

Cheers!

[Whitneyville]

A 1229 Dual is one of the most desirable turret drive Dual TT's there is.With proper care and feeding it should be playing LP's 'til the next Century. What cartridge/stylus is on it? I suspect a Shure, but a 1229 can handle whatever your wallet can. Welcome to the Dual zoo!

[vintage_audiophile]

Well, after successfully playing about a dozen LP's I started having issues again. When I got to the end of the second to last LP, somehow the part that holds the spindle in had worked itself loose from whatever it is that's supposed to hold it in place and when the turntable cycled the tonearm stayed at the end of the record and collapsed the next record on top of the tonearm. When I went to see what the matter was, when I lifted the LP that had fallen on top of the tonearm, the LP that was still on the spindle, the spindle, AND the part that holds the spindle in (I will refer to it as a shroud) all came out at once.

I didn't notice anywhere to attach a clip or perhaps a spot where a side-mounted screw would hold in the spindle shroud, so I decided to stick it back in the hole it came from without the spindle inside and I could only get it to go about halfway in. I pulled off the platter (man, that platter is HEAVY!) and decided to try it with the spindle inside the shroud and it went fully in. So then I put everything back together and went about seeing if everything still worked.

I placed a stack of LP's on the spindle and when it cycled the records didn't drop. After messing around for a good 20 minutes, I decided to take out that lock washer that I had put down in the well that seemed to be functioning really well until it all came apart. After I fished that out and put the spindle back in and loaded it up everything seems to work as it should again. I cycled an entire stack of LP's and everything seems to be working just fine.

Is there a locking clip or something that is supposed to hold that spindle shroud in place? I have a feeling that is why it wasn't working in the first place - because that shroud had begun to work itself loose from whatever it is that holds it in place, which in turn caused the spindle to not operate properly.

I don't know if I'm using the proper terminology when I say "spindle shroud", but what I'm referring to is the part that the spindle locks into when inserted.

[Whitneyville]

Yeah the out-side part-of-da-spindle-thingey! On my 1226 there's a dimple (like it was tapped with a prick-punch) that evidently holds things together. Mine has a very dark grey "stepped-washer-like" thing that sticks out of the "shroud" and the "bayonet part" (that sticks into the center of the platter and twists clockwise) looks like it sticks out of the dark grey "stepped washer" part. (These hi-tech descriptions...) I think we're talking about the same things, anyway. Once the spindle comes apart, replacement is the only reliable fix. Look under "Dual Stickies" at the top of the topic list and you'll find at least 3 places you can get a replacement spindle from, and I don't think they are over $15. If mine fit your's I'd offer it as I use mine as a single play only, but if flies carried .45's , frogs wouldn't fool with them either. I work some synthetic gun grease into my spindle (if I think of it) for this very reason. I use a speck not much bigger than a round toothpick's "big part". That's everything I know about Dual spindles, frogs and flies! "Best of luck on your quest my son."-in his best Obie Wan Kanobie voice