AC-201 OR AC-205 LIFTER REPLACEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT

           REMOVING THE AMPLIFIER FROM THE CASE

Remove the cover from the unit, lift out the turntable platter and set it aside. Turn the unit upside down onto a pillow, foam or other material, be sure it is thick enough to support the amplifier and protect the tone arm. Remove the four screws, one near each spring foot. AT THIS POINT THE CHASSIS IS FREE FROM THE CASE AND EXTREME CARE SHOULD BE USED TO PREVENT DROPPING EITHER THE CASE OR CHASSIS. Holding the chassis and the case together, carefully turn the entire unit over to its upright position. The chassis can now be lifted out of its case, lifting the front first so as to clear the jacks on the rear panel.

               INSPECTION AND FAMILIARIZATION

Turn the unit upside down on the padding with the controls toward you. The lifter electronics are contained on the printed circuit board located on the left side of the set. Check the cables to be sure they are in place. There are two plugs on the board, the 8 pin control /voltage and the lifter motor. Inspect these cables and note the orientation of the plugs. Check the plug that connects the control / voltage cable to the main board also.

                    BOARD REPLACEMENT

Remove the control / voltage cable from the lifter board. Unscrew the 4 screws on the left side of the chassis that secure the lifter board. Remove the motor cable and slide the tie-downs off the spacers. CHECK THE LENGTH OF THE SPACERS. Two sizes were used in production. If they are different change them.

Plug in the motor wire, black wire closest to the edge of the board. If you can slide the tie-downs on the spacers on the bottom of the board (away from the switch). Remount the board insuring the on/off switch is free to operate. Connect the control / voltage cable with the wires pointing to the front of the set.

INSPECT THE PLUG PLACEMENT. BEING OFF BY ONE PIN WILL CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE. The motor plug should have the black wire closest to the topdeck for the set (bottom as viewed). The extra two connectors on the board should be in the middle of the board. The control / voltage plug should have the wires pointing to the front of the set and no pins showing on either side of the plug.

                     ADJUSTMENTS

Turn the set right side up with the platter in place. On the right side of the set there is a 1 inch square opening with access to three screwdriver adjustments. The top left sets the low or rest point. The bottom center sets the high or up point. The top right is a factory set adjustment of the cycle speed, this should be the last adjustment made and then only if needed.

Set the lifter arm stop point so that the arm would drop in the leading grove of a record. With the power off manually move the reset arm to find the proper setting.

Place the tone arm on its rest and turn the set and the lifter on. Adjust the low (top left) so that the lifter arm is just above the top deck. Press and hold the reset button and adjust the high adj (lower) so the needle is about 1/8 inch off the record. Release the reset button and reset the low point. The low and high adjustments interact slightly and you must work back and forth a couple of times.

                 REFINING THE ADJUSTMENTS

Most callers never reset to the start of the record. You may place the stop to the point you are going to use for your records and reset the high point. This will result in a lower setting off the record and a softer needle drop. However it will have to be reset if the stop is moved.

If necessary the speed may be adjusted to your desires. If the tone-arm bounces when lifted from the center of the record, the speed is TOO FAST. If the high point is correct and the needle slides across the record the speed is TOO SLOW.