SP10 Mk II vs Mk III

Lewm, all the electrolytic caps in power supply should be replaced. If you do the job with Nichicon and Black Gates performance will go up and cost is still very low.

I got mine from Mike Percy Audio, but there are dozens of suppliers out there that offer caps.

Thanks, Albert. I just completed the total restoration of a physically mint condition Denon DP80. I used the new Panasonic TS series of caps, which have incredibly low ESR. I also replaced all the transistors and the one major IC. I'll probably replace only the electrolytics in my SP10, because it's running fine. Mike Percy and I are well acquainted after all these years, but I bought the Panasonics from Digikey. I am anxious to compare the DP80 to the SP10 MkII.

While we are talking about SP10s, May I ask SP10 MKII owners a question??
I have a Strobe question. I had 2 SP10 MKIIs and two Power supplies. I sold one of each locally and realized that only one of the power supplies allowed the strobe to function??? Does this make sense??? Both Strobes worked, but only with one of the power supplies. I ended up giving my local buyer the combo that allowed a working strobe. So my question is this, has anyone had the experience of a none working strobe under these circumstances?
Am I correct in thinking that the Power supply controls the strobe?? IF it does a competent tech should be able to look at my PS and spot the issue??

My SP10 MKII project will finished tomorrow (Hopefully), It is a Heavy Ply/mdf Plinth with Black Ash veneer, a Fidelity Research FR64S with a New SPU Eliptical.
Cant wait, Thanks in advance.
John T

The answer to your question about whether or not the power supply governs the strobe function must be "yes", based on your own observation. It's most likely that the power supply supplies a voltage to the circuitry that runs the strobe. If that voltage is not present, the whole strobe circuit would not work. If it's as simple as that, repair should be no big deal. Have you replaced the electrolytic caps in the power supply? In a Mk II, if they have never been replaced before, then they are at least 25 years old. That's ancient for an electrolytic cap and maybe failure of one of those caps could account for your problem. Does the PS that can't power up the strobe still work properly for all other functions?

I have never replaced the caps, when I got my first SP10 about 10-12 years ago, It was in a McCurdy Plinth with some strange broadcast arm. The strobe did not work on it, so I began a several year hunt for a strobe. I found one on Ebay (remember the good old days on Ebay?? 1997-8!!) You could find anything there!!I never did try to replace the bulb assembly, my tech did not want to open the SP10 up. I never imagined it was a problem in the Power supply. That SP10 got sent down the road as I jumped into some other mad Turntable project. It was not until the last two SP10s that I started to suspect it was some kind of Power supply issue. Somewhere in my basement is an SP10 strobe!?
Thanks Lewm, I will get that PS looked at this week. Is a schematic needed or is it pretty obvious/straight forward?
John T