Budget Linear track table?

I owned a Rabco ST-4 and still have an HK/Rabco ST-8, which has worked perfectly since 1978. I'd be a leary about buying an ST-4 sight unseen. That design was a mechanical mess. The ST-7 and ST-8 were better and, as Willster's friend said, can often be rehabilitated with replacement rubber belts and an O-ring for the dried out rubber tire that supports and moves the arm. BTW, I have the ST-8 service manual if you go that route and need a copy.

The really hard part of a Rabco rehab is finding a decent armwand if the original is missing, damaged or needs a rewire (nightmare job). HK/Rabco armwands in good shape are getting difficult to find.

Will these compare with an ET or an MG-1 on a decent rig? No. The HK/Rabco tables are too resonant and rumbly for anything like "high end" sound, and these ills would be difficult to tweak away. But it might be a fun project that could produce worthwhile, entry-level sound for very little cost. It's all a matter of your goals and budget.

I still have a Technics SL-QL1 Linear Tracking Turntable which came as a package when I purchased a used JBL L-212 some twenty years ago. This quartz direct drive plug-in p-mount cartridge turntable still works flawlessly today although it is hardly used as it is confined to an unoccupied 4th bedroom. I note in the 1984 Stereo Buyer's Guide that listed for $470 and was more expensive than the Sl-1200 Disco Turntable which listed for $400. In the same guide, there were lesser priced linear tracking models, SL-7 at $300 and SL-6 at $240.

The SL-QL1 is robustly built with a net weight of 16.3 lbs. and good working examples should still be able to be found.

The only thing I have done with mine was to replace the cartridge with a Shure/Radio Shack cartridge. I think that a tribute to its dependability is that it performs flawlessly despite not being exercised often, and I can think of only a few brands of cameras whose shutters will still work flawlessly after being unexercised for many years.

Please keep us informed of what your thoughts and searches lead you to.

Why dont more care for the older BO tables? Seems to me they were not terrible, maybe not the end all be all but were they not easy on the ears?

I had mine for 25 years before the motor in the arm gave out, and I've literally played 10 of thousands of albums on it. I'm buying another I found on Ebay.

Bob