Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

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.....

I have been liaising with a keen audiophile in Crete by the name of Antonis who has designed and assembled a 'sprung platform base' for the 'nude' mounting of his TT-81
I think he has done a marvellous job and his solution certainly addresses Lew's concerns regarding the armpods and turntable relationships....?
The 'Movement' appears to be gaining strength? :-)

Thanks for the links, Halcro. The boards of your 101 look immaculate. Did you relube the bearing?

Antonis's design sort of looks like what Ct0517 has done with his sp10. He also advocates bolting down the footers. What materials does he use? Slate, granite, marble: I can't tell.