Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

Well said Lewm - that IC is the achilles heel!
Until then we enjoy!!

I've got two spares for my Denon DP80, but I believe it is not the same IC as what was used in most of the other models. If the caps are kept tip-top, and if one does not plug a 100V Denon into a 115V AC outlet, all should be well. (I am pretty sure someone who owned it before me blew the IC in my DP80 by doing that. Or, as he told me, "we always plugged it into the wall directly with no problems". This means that since the turntable continued to rotate, there could not be a problem. No matter that it was off speed and that the strobe light no longer functioned as a strobe.)

To avoid hijacking Peterayer's Timeline Thread any longer.......I thought that we could post our recent travails with our vintage DD turntables in this more appropriate Thread......

Lewm has had a litany of problems with his TT-101, but has recently had it running more or less correctly at his home.

My Victor TT-101 began misbehaving about a month ago and whilst it was at the Technician's for a complete rebuild......I had my back-up TT-81 to play with.
Here are the innards of the TT-81 which is quite a bit different to that of the TT-101.
Another view of the TT-81 showing the single-sided PCB compared to the stack double-sided PCBs of the TT-101.

Today I picked up my TT-101 after the replacement of every single capacitor and the removal and replacement of all solder points and joints (thanks Banquo).
In other words....it has been completely rebuilt!
The most difficult problem apparently....was diagnosing and repairing the intermittently malfunctioning Power switch.
The switch works by way of a circular 'gear drive' which moves one position at each click which in turn activates the actual switch??
Why they design it this way is a mystery to me.....but after lubricating the gear drive and still finding the fault via a 'spark' from the switch......the Tech replaced the switch.
I have had one listening session today...and so far so good......:-)

I'm glad it worked out for you, Halcro. The good news for us is that you now believe the much more widely available tt 81 is just as good?

There appears to be some disagreement regarding whether the tt 81 has a coreless motor or not. The vintage knob asserts that it does, but 'caligari' on this thread says he's positive that it does not. If he's right, then I assume the two tables would sound different? Did you notice that? I'm asking because I wouldn't mind getting a back-up. Nearly every time I push play on my 101, I feel a touch of anxiety; how's that for living dangerously?

OK...let's try this again.....
TT-101
TT-81
TT-81
Yes Banquo......the TT-81 is a stunning performer as well....although I need to now listen to the differences with my 'new' rebuilt TT-101?
Initial impressions are that the 'old' TT-101 had suffered audibly before its demise and the 'new' TT-101 appears to be a 'new' animal?

I think that the information from Caligari about the motor differences may be correct as the Service Manual for the TT-81 specifies the motor as "DC Servomotor" whilst the TT-101 manual specifies "Coreless DC servomotor".......

I could happily live with the TT-81 nevertheless.....