Just another TurnTable site
Sansui FR-D35 2 Speed Automatic Direct Drive Turntable, vintage early 80’s record player comes with adjustable counter weight on the “S” tone arm and a unique anti-skate control. This is a great table and I used it daily until I upgraded. I don’t have room for it now. This was the first turntable that I repaired. The tone arm was not tripping the motor, so it would never shut off.
My wife and I found this turntable at a Value Village for $12. It was the nicest record player we had found to date, and has remained in the permanent collection. The dust cover was damaged beyond repair. I am currently having a new one made. (It is now completed and installed.) I replaced the missing headshell with new-old-stock. The pitch control belt is still missing, because I can not bring myself to spend $40 on a tiny rubber belt with teeth, although, all attempts to rig something up have failed. I had to clean and re-lube the motor action, because it worked sporadically, if at all. One of my favorites.
Update: I added 2 new pictures of the new dust cover. There it is in all of its glory. New problem: The dust cover is too heavy and will not remain open under its own power… I am currently brainstorming solutions.
Update: I added some tiny washers between the top of the hinge and the plinth that tilted it back far enough to bring the dust cover center of gravity to where it needed to be. Now it stays open on its own!
Update: Added the Pickering cartridge. I really like the way it looks.
Update: I had to clean and lube some mechanisms (again), as the tone arm would no longer engage the motor. I also replaced the belt and added the missing pitch adjustment belt. The price had come down almost half. This table is almost 100%, except for the broken tone arm rest.
The internet hates this turntable. Even though it is missing some key features, like a counter weight and anti-skate, I found it reliable and it sounded good for what it is.
I found this BSR McDonald 4800 Record Player / Changer at a Value Village in decent condition. The “START, STOP, AUTO” slider was locked up and it needed a good overall cleaning. I fixed the level by lubricating it and working it free. It came with flip over needle for playing 33.3 and 78 RPM, and it has a changer function so you can stack records on the top and it would drop them and play one after another. I have another one of these that was inherited from family, so it is not for sale.
This Sony PS-1100 Record Player / Turntable I got at Value Village. It was in pretty good shape. I cleaned it down and lubed it up. I had to fabricate a new anti-skate weight, as the original was missing. I installed an Audio Technica Cartridge / Stylus. This record player is driven by an idler wheel, so no belts are needed. I had never dealt with an idler wheel before. The headshell accommodates standard cartridges. There are some very MINOR blemishes on the body and dust cover. I just recently sold this one. I hated to let this one go, it is one of the nicer, more unique tables I have found.
This Gemini GL-101 Belt Drive Turntable I found at Goodwill. I had to give it a good cleaning and some lubrication. Installed a new Audio Technica Cartridge / Stylus. It has an adjustable counter weight on the tone arm and anti-skate control. The headshell accommodates standard cartridges. There are some blemishes on the body and dust cover as seen in the pictures. The hinges for the dust cover were missing. This one was sold.
This GE SK235 AM/FM Turntable I picked up from a Goodwill. This one was dirty and the bulbs that light the radio dial were burnt out. I replaced the old style bulbs with LEDs (and resistors to level out the voltage) and repaired the back of the dial where the paint had cracked a bit due to the heat. It was letting light come through where it was not supposed to. I gave this one a good cleaning and lubing. It has a changer function so you can stack records on the top and it would drop them and play one after another. I am pretty proud of this one. I have not sold it yet, but I have a feeling it will be on the chopping block soon enough.
I found this record at a Goodwill store in Atlanta at a cost of $0.77. The only information I could find on this album was a Discogs page with none on sale, and an ebay listing that had been up for years. The asking price was $150.00, but no one had bid.
The back cover reads:
A celebration of the south's musical heritage is held each year in Atlanta at the Georgia Grassroots Music Festival. The foot-stomping sound of fiddle bands, the moving wails of blues singers, the rollicking tunes of banjo pickers and the spirited shouts of gospel groups are enjoyed by thousands at this free two-day event. From blues, ballads and bluegrass, to gospel, old-time and country, almost every type of regional traditional music is represented on three stages with more than 35 performers and groups appearing. The festival culminates an annual extensive field research effort to locate the best down-home musicians in every part of Georgia from the mountains and the cities to the sea coast and the swamp. All the musicians to appear at the festival are truly traditional in the sense that they have grown up with their music rather than learning it in school or from records. For most of the musicians the festival marks the first time they have appeared before a large audience outside of their own communities. This album features a representative sample of the music to be heard at the festival. The selections were taken from tapes made at the 1976 and 1977 festivals and from field tapes made prior to the festivals. Those who enjoy the spirit captured in these grooves are invited to attend the fourth annual Georgia Grassroots Music Festival, which will be held September 16 and 17 at the Atlanta Civic Center. Sponsored by the City of Atlanta in cooperation with the Georgia Folklore Society with assistance of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Produced and edited by George Mitchell Front cover illustration by Art Rosenbaum Photography by John Miller Back cover design by Walton Harris Not for sale commercially
I pick up old stereo equipment and turntables, when I can find them, and fix them up to sell them. I get sentimentally attached to them after repairing them, but I sell them anyway because who needs 20 record players laying around? Here, I will aggregate all of my repair jobs so I can look back at the cool equipment I have repaired and sold.
I also collect vinyl records. I acquire most of my records from thrift stores. Occasionally I come across records that have very little information about them available on the internet. The purpose of this blog is to provide high quality images and description of the rare records I find.