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Old 3rd May 2016, 7:30 pm   #1
Valvepower
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Default Discatron motor strip down

Hi,

I’m in the throes of restoring a Discatron De-Luxe (idler/jockey wheel drive) where the record is not spinning, which is down to the motor not running.

There is power getting to the motor as its drawing current. The motor appears to be slightly seized as there is some resistance to the free rotation of the shaft. When it’s powered up you feel the shaft ‘lightening up a tad’ as if it wants to spin but there is something causing a resistance to it rotating freely.

I’ve taken the motor out of the player and I’m going to strip it down and inspect the brushes and see if I can soak the Oilite bearings etc., but before doing so has anyone stripped one of these motors down, and if so, is there anything to be wary of whilst doing so?

I’ve attached a few photos of the motor if it helps. The motor was manufactured by Lenco, Italy and marked with a Discatron part number label. Out of curiosity is there a connection between the Italian Lenco and the Swiss Lenco?

I’ve another earlier Discatron which uses a belt drive and the Discatron made amplifier and not the Mullard LP amplifier module as used in later units. This one the motor works and the record spins, but the amplifier appears not to work as there is no audio even when touching the signal connection on the cartridge.

Regards
Terry
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Old 29th May 2017, 12:42 pm   #2
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

Thread reopened at OP's request.
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Old 29th May 2017, 1:39 pm   #3
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

Hello,

Thanks for that Graham – appreciated.

I’ve been contacted about the rebuilding of a Discatron motor by a new member Gerry Dyer and it only makes sense to put my reply in a post on the forum thread just in case other members can add something better given the growth of interest in servicing these sort of players and "vinyl" in general – which I’m only too aware of

Wow that was about a year ago… I’ve got to remember exactly what I did, as the ‘ole grey cell’s ain't what they used to be!

One thing I can clearly remember if you take the motor apart don’t remove the bearings from the body and end cover/brush housing at either end of the motor. As they are a pain in the proverbial to get back in…… In fact, it’s more or less impossible without bending around the clips that hold them in the body of the motor – and possibly breaking a few in the process One very small drop of EP80 gearbox oil on the bearing before reassembly will do the job of re-lubricating the bearings. Others may have better advice on this though.

Take note of the shims/spacers on the shaft.

I cleaned the brushes, commutator, and the contacts of the speed governor on the armature as they had oxidised over the years.

From memory, I used a paper kitchen towel or cotton bud soaked in Servisol to wipe clean the commutator and brushes. Can’t fully remember how I cleaned the contacts on the speed governor, but I may have soaked a piece of card with Servisol and wiped it between the contacts. This from memory was under a cover, which I had to lift slightly to gain access.

I had to readjust the speed control, but I’d strongly advise trying the motor after cleaning the brushes, commutator, and the contacts of the speed governor and putting a very small drop of oil on the bearings to see if it’s running ok before adjusting the speed contacts as they were a pain to adjust.

I vaguely remember I had a couple of attempts to reassemble the motor body and line it up (for want of a better phrase) as it didn’t spin freely on the first few attempts. I had to back off the two screws slightly to 'free' up the motor and get it to spin.

The PP9 battery needs to be good as the motor puts a fair old load on it.

This was over year ago I may have forgotten some of the finer details etc., etc.

Ah, and finally I ran the motor out of the unit on the bench with a 9V power source to make sure it at least ran before fitting it back into the unit!

Regards
Terry
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Old 30th May 2017, 8:29 am   #4
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

Thank you so much for the info.

I will have a go at mine and let you know how I get on.

Regards, Gerry.
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Old 9th Jun 2017, 3:37 pm   #5
Gerry Dyer
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

Hello
Thanks once again for the info
I have stripped down my motor and cleaned and oiled as advised
Reassembled and all is working great
I did not play with the contact points at all
This forum gave me the confidence to attempt it
Cheers
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Old 9th Jun 2017, 3:56 pm   #6
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

That's very good news Gerry.

We like threads to reach a happy ending!
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Old 10th Jun 2017, 9:20 pm   #7
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Default Re: Discatron motor strip down

Hi Gerry,

Thanks for the post.

I was wondering how you’d got on – great stuff, good to hear it all worked out ok.

In hindsight, I should have left the bearings and the speed control alone, but inquisitiveness got the better of me. Anyway you have benefited from my experience. In essence the motor contacts just needed a clean and bearings a small drop of oil.

The Discatron is an interesting unit much loved by Northern soul aficionados and promoted by Pirate Radio. last year I appeared on BBC Essex radio with my Discatron.

http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/rl/scra...atroninfo.html

Terry.
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