Akai AP-206 speed control problem

jimbo1421

Hello,

A year ago a friend gave me an Akai AP-206. At that time I sent to a repair shop for servicing and cleaning. But it has never held its RPM speed well, always tending to slow down slightly. Audibly this is manifested as a slight souring of sustained notes. Recently I have had drastic slowdowns.

I cleaned pots of the two speed controls with Caig DeoxIT D5 and vigorous knob twirling. This cured the drastic slowdowns, but not the gradual ones. A second cleaning made no difference. Is there anything else I should try before sending it back to the shop? There is a $50 diagnostic fee that I would like to avoid.

If it must go to the shop, what are the likely problems? Could it be a circuitry problem that is easily fixed? Could it be the motor? It had a label that read "Japan-Servo DDM-33". I searched the Japan Servo web site for "DDM-33" but no results. Is this motor replaceable with something equivalent? I have the owner's manual which says the motor is self lubricating "so that no further lubrication is required".

Is this turntable even worth spending another $100-200 on or is it time to move on?

Jim

PS: If I let the platter spin to a stop from 33 RPM it takes about 9 seconds. That seems short to me.

jimbo1421

I pulled the platter off to observe how the spindle turned without a load or if maybe the gearing was interfering with its free spinning. The spindle is turning as if powered in pulses every 100-150 degrees. It is only the flywheel effect of the platter that is keeping the RPMs somewhat constant. That can't be right, can it?

Jim

jimbo1421

Anyone?

Jim