I have finally decided to get back into my vinyl listening again, after about 20 years. To achieve this I am going to give my old turntable, Technics SL-Q303 some TLC. I bought this new in 1982 or 83, and it's been sitting idle since 1996. It still has the original EPC-U25 cartridge, but I can't remember when, or even if, I ever replaced the original stylus (EPS-25ES or EPS-25CS). I gave it a clean up, and sat it on a marble plinth with rubber feet on the entertainment stand, ready for action.
I plugged it into my Kenwood KRF-V5020's phono I/P, and turned it on, and immediately heard a very loud hum and some feint crackling and pops, before even cueing up a disc. Then I remembered to connect the earth lead, which took care of the noise, but I'm thinking the feint crackle and pops probably indicate some dodgy electrolytics somewhere. The hum is obviously mains hum though and probably expected, without the earth lead connected.
I played a couple of LPs on it, and apart from needing to turn the volume up a little more than I expected, they sounded pretty good. The listening volume needs to be turned up noticeably more than listening to a source via either CD AUX TAPE inputs. Mechanically it seems to be working well though, strobe is steady, and even the auto cue mechanism works, although the drop is very slow.
What I intend to do is firstly get a new stylus, or possibly a new cartridge. Replace any electrolytic caps, and give it a lube job. What I'm keen to hear though, is if anyone with experience in this TT, or similar, has any suggestions of what to look at in particular with these. Also keen to hear any cartridge recommendations as well.
The big thing I'm not looking forward to is cleaning up all my vinyl, and having to make the decision about which ones need to be binned.