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Help - Thorens TD-145 Auto Shut Off Engages Immediately

I recently acquired a Thorens TD-145 from its original owner. I have been going through the process of restoring and tuning it.  It was already in great shape, so I haven’t needed to do anything major.  It worked fine as soon as I brought it home. Since then I have adjusted the tone arm bearings to remove any play, put on a new cartridge (DL103 with custom wood body), and I adjusted the springs to get the desired “15 second bounce”.  But since making those changes, the auto shut off now engages before the needle even hits the record. I’ve tried putting the tone arm in all different positions to see if it is the placement of the tone arm but no change. Any ideas?

 

bobelton
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,180 posts
 

You can download the service manual at manualzz.com.

Please also read how to adjust the auto shutoff position on a Thorens TD-145? at audiokarma.org

bobelton OP
12 posts
 

The key advice on there says: “The position of the unit on the base of the tonearm that has the antiskating dial has to be at the correct angle.To move it you need to loosen the two allen screws that you would loosen to adjust the VTA.”

My question is, do they mean that the VTA needs to be adjusted up or down? Or do they mean the “unit on the base of the tonearm” needs to be twisted on its pivot so that the anti skating dial is facing a slightly different direction? If so, how do I figure out what is the correct adjustment to make?

imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,180 posts
 

I think what they mean is you loosen the two allen screws and you can twisted its pivot so that the anti skating dial is facing a slightly different direction, and that will change the auto shut-off position.

If so, how do I figure out what is the correct adjustment to make?

Please read post #18:

And this is exactly what happened with me. I owned my table since new and while I went through many cartridges never was the VTA messed with. The auto stop always worked. I took mine to a shop to mount a new Ortofon and they adjusted the VTA (incorrectly as it turns out but that is another story) and even after I corrected their misalignment and got it to track properly the auto-stop ceased to work. I could tell that while the tonearm base was going up and down to correct the VTA it was also rotating somewhat and I am sure that was messing with the auto-stop. You are correct about how finicky this was to get back, and I hope it stays fixed now that it appears to be working properly again. Minute movement of the pieces, totally imperceptible to me, and a lot of trial-and-error. I am leaving well enough alone now.

Trial-and-error until you get it working properly again. Good luck!

:)

bobelton OP
12 posts
 

Thanks! I really appreciate it. Will report back!

bobelton OP
12 posts
 

Totally worked!  Well mostly. I was able to get it to not shut off instantly anymore. I haven’t yet found a position where the auto shut off works at the end of the record. But at least it’s functional again. I’ll try and find the sweet spot to get the auto shut off fully function later when I have more patience. Amazing how finicky this thing is. If I adjust the tracking force even slightly, it goes out again and I have to adjust it. 

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