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AR turntable drive belt


Guest regor

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Guest regor

Hi. I'm looking for an AR turntable drive belt that has enough "snap back" left in its elasticity so it will grip the platter firmly enough so as not to slip or slide off. Anyone know if such a thing can be had?

Regor

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Hi there

Here in Vancouver almost every electronic store sells replacement belt for tape decks , etc.

You will need to run a string around the pulley and the platter for the measurement.

They have hundreds of sizes available at around $5.00 each so buy one just shy of your measurement and see if you can return for exchange if they will.

Otherwise carefully take the turntable to the store with you.

You don't need a lot of tension on the belt and actually shouldn't because of bearing wear and drag.

If you don't have the original AR turntable instructions, you should apply a few drops of sewing machine oil in the platter well and tone arm well.

There will be slight slippage of the belt but this is normal and acceptable on startup only.

If I remember correctly, AR recommended talc powder be rubbed on the belt, but, unless someone else confirms this, I would leave out this step. I never did it or ever heard of anyone elso for that matter. The original belts were machined and that may be where the differences are.

Hope this helps,

Vern

>Hi. I'm looking for an AR turntable drive belt that has

>enough "snap back" left in its elasticity so it will grip the

>platter firmly enough so as not to slip or slide off. Anyone

>know if such a thing can be had?

>

>Regor

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Guest regor

Thank you so much, Vern. Wow! What a wealth of information. I'll try the sewing machine oil first -- that may be that will be required as the old belt is still working, even if barely.

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Hi there

When you raise the platter or the arm gently out of their wells you may as well wipe the shafts clean with a lint free cloth. There may be dust or grit and maybe a Q-tip might clean out the well, at the same time.

Be careful, the ball bearing, which usually clings to the bottom of the shafts doesn't get lost or confirm that they are there.

A great, simple turntable which if mounted on a solid surface provides accurate playback and no feedback.

There is tips on eliminating the tonearm damping, but if you don't have a problem with it leave well enough alone. It was usually with extremely warped records.

I have an AR turntable, I bought new and as much as I like original equipment, an opportunity to add a Rabco SL8E tonearm came along and why not.

Is my setup better than original?

Don't know, don't care.

Good luck and enjoy many years of simplicity.

Vern

>Thank you so much, Vern. Wow! What a wealth of information.

>I'll try the sewing machine oil first -- that may be that will

>be required as the old belt is still working, even if barely.

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Guest regor

Thank you again, Vern, for the additional information.

By-the-way, I notice you use the on-line moniker "Dynaco Dan," so I assume you're a Dynaco fan. The system I still use I bought when I graduated from college in 1965. It consisted of a Dynakit 70 tube amp and preamp, AR3 speakers and the AR turntable. This classic combination was considered the best bang for the buck at the time (and maybe for all time). Later I added a Dynado tuner, and also eventually upgraded to a Crown amp (I still have the Dynakit, however). The system has survived both a flood and a fire. The AR speakers look like they've been through the wars, but they still sound great. I've replaced the tweeters twice, and refomed the woolfers once, and also replaced one woolfer over the years.

Take care,

Regor

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Hi Regor

Here is another of my rattle, rattle, rattle sessions.

When my heart is feeling better, I enjoy passing on my life experiences that I've had.

When I chose my moniker, I just thought that it had a nice ring to it.

KKantor would have been my first choice but it was already taken. LOL

I seem to be called Dan most often but I'm Vern but you can call me anything you want, as long as you don't call me late for supper.

Maybe I'll think of something, more me, later on.

Yes, I do also like Dynaco electronics as well as A-25's, A-50's, A-35's and A-10's.

Dry sounding might be a fair comment about describing them, but with my DC300A I can live with any of these models for a long period and be quite happy.

They have the family sound similar to but not exactly as AR, KLH, NHT and Advent, very liveable.

I use a Stereo 120, Pat4, FM-5 and the Panasonic walkman cd player on my test bench.

My overcrowded home museum has also Super Zeros, KLH Twelves, Advent large and small, AR-4x's, as well as AR-3's, the various Dynaco models, Dyna amps and a few other misc. models.

A smaller nice system I want to use in my kitchen is Dyna 150, Pat5 Bi-Fet, AR turntable and maybe the NHT Super Zeros.

Maybe with nce music it might inspire me to learn to cook something other than Hamburger Helper. LOL

My main system is double AR-LST's and AR-3A's but also a Double Dyna 400 amp, Crown IC-150 pre-amp, AR turntable with a Rabco SL8E tonearm, AR tuner, and Marantz 63 SE CD player.

I use oxy free 10 guage stranded speaker wire, perhaps, Carol brand.

When I was suckered in for my first system, the salesman gave me 50' of speaker cable that was similar to telephone cable in size and he made you feel like he gave you a million bucks.

My shielded cables are Kimber PBJ because they were available cheap when I had more money than brains.

I didn't even try to compare the sound difference between cables to the original, probably from a drug store cheap shielded cables.

The Panasonic walkman ( Consumer Reports rated best buy at the time ) with wall wart, was in my main system first.

I bought the Marantz after reading a Stereophile listing as a group C or D ( there wasn't any lower rated ). I could afford it at least, it was still about $700+ cdn here.

Could I hear a difference?

Don't know, don't care.

The Panasonic walkman certainly gave me a lot of joy for about $75. cdn.. Enya never sounded better, especially the deep bass. Was there any sound deficiencies, could well have been but I can appreciate simplicity at times. I'm not a snob.

A side note about the walkman.

I met a chap when I was using it in my main system. He had just listened to the Wilson ( $112,000. cdn ) model speakers and I asked what did he think.

He said he wasn't impressed.

I told him what I had and he said the walkman would have no bass or highs.

With AR-3A's at the time and my Crown DC-300A, Enya had deep bass, highs and clarity to my enjoyment at least, and I use tone controls at the flat position.

Don't ever believe everything other people tell you.

There was a "hifi fever" back in the old days, that one could catch when you started A-B'ing, if another item sounded better you would want it, and so on, and so on.

It never seemed to have an end in sight.

How many readers have an excellent system and no groceries in their fridge. Heh?

Been there, done that.

You have excellent taste and ears and obviously food in your fridge. LOL

If only more folks way back had bought the same as you first time around.

An excellent choice you made.

I downloaded a sheet in the AR section before I got sick, regarding AR's recommended speaker refinishing techniques.

You might be amazed on the improvement to your enclosures with a few hours of love, labour and polish.

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

Good luck,

Vern

>Thank you again, Vern, for the additional information.

>

>By-the-way, I notice you use the on-line moniker "Dynaco Dan,"

>so I assume you're a Dynaco fan. The system I still use I

>bought when I graduated from college in 1965. It consisted of

>a Dynakit 70 tube amp and preamp, AR3 speakers and the AR

>turntable. This classic combination was considered the best

>bang for the buck at the time (and maybe for all time). Later

>I added a Dynado tuner, and also eventually upgraded to a

>Crown amp (I still have the Dynakit, however). The system has

>survived both a flood and a fire. The AR speakers look like

>they've been through the wars, but they still sound great.

>I've replaced the tweeters twice, and refomed the woolfers

>once, and also replaced one woolfer over the years.

>

>Take care,

>

>Regor

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi again Regor

Another 2 1/2 cdn cents worth of advice from me.

You now have at least two choices now.

Either a local electronic repair store at about $5.00 each or Jerry Raskin's at $18.00 plus maybe tax and S&H each.

I don't have either one in my hand to say they are or aren't the exact same.

I myself have spare OEM AR belts, so my only experience was buying from a local supplier a replacement belt for a Pioneer manual turntable, but that's me.

This was not OEM but a tape drive generic belt.

There was hundreds of sizes from I will guess small o-rings to several feet in diameter.

Did it work?

It does what it's suppose to, turns the platter when the motor starts up.

By the way I left out one little detail from my earlier writings, when the AR turntable starts up, you usually hear a little grinding sound if your ear is really close to the turntable.

I'm guessing that this is belt slippage, for lack of a better description and has been like that as well as when I worked at the AR warantee depot.

If you go to pick up a belt, the belt will have only a slight amount of tension on the inner platter and the motor pulley, not tight like a belt in a car.

When you first install the belt and turn on the motor, before putting the outer platter back on, the belt will ride almost off of the inner platters bottom.

If it should fall off of the inner platter on its own and won't stay riding on the inner platter, un-plug the turntable first, take two teaspoons and place them on opposite sides of the motor pulley and placing the tips under the bottom of the pulley pry gently evenly upwords as much as needed.

The pulley is aluminum and has a split housing on the bottom and is held onto the motor shaft by friction only, there is not threads or setscrews to worry about.

When the outter platter is installed it rides higher up so it won't fall off.

I almost forgot, after all this, I am assuming you have the single motor drive and not the dual motor version.

I don't think a manufacturer will buy a die for casting or mould injecting an AR belt only. Dies are expensive, but there may be.

Good luck again, Regor.

>http://www.needledoctor.com/app/site/site....ry.137/id.98/.f

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  • 3 months later...

Hey all,

Sorry I was late in finding the info. I purchased 2 new belts for my AR-XA from:

AB Tech Services

17C Airport Drive

Hopedale, MA 01747

Ph: 508-478-9800

Fax 508-478-9816

They state on the invoice that they are

Factory Authorized Part-Service-Tech Support for

Advent-AR-NHT-Jensen

Hope someone can use the info.

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>Hey all,

>

>Sorry I was late in finding the info. I purchased 2 new belts

>for my AR-XA from:

>

>AB Tech Services

>17C Airport Drive

>Hopedale, MA 01747

>

>Ph: 508-478-9800

>Fax 508-478-9816

>

>They state on the invoice that they are

>Factory Authorized Part-Service-Tech Support for

>Advent-AR-NHT-Jensen

>

>Hope someone can use the info.

Do you have the part number and price please?

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