Technics SL-1610 MK 2 specifications

General

Connections

Tech nical data

Special equipment

Changing the gear requires some manual skill, since you have to disassemble the tonearm mechanism for pressing on the new gear, but it is feasible. The replacement gear is a KS 0-5-32- B4 (plastic spur gear (polyacetal), module 0.5 with 32 teeth and a 4mm bore). Can be found on the Internet via Google. If the hub axle has an extension, it does not matter if you press the gear correctly around. The hub extension even has the advantage that the new gear is more stable and does not tear open so quickly. The disassembly of the device is very well described in the service Manual. However, if you want to take off the top part, you have to either cut the two blue cables that run from the transformer and the control board to the motor board or unwind them from the motor board. I recommend tweaking the cables with a side cutter and installing a plug and socket from RC model making. This has the advantage that you only have to pull the plug out of the socket when disassembling it again. Why Tech nics didn't do it this way from the factory is beyond me. The two blue wires on the motor board are wound only on the contacts, and then they should be soldered.

Manufacturer: Tech nics
Model: SL-1610 MKII
Type: Turntable
Years of manufacture: 1977 - 1979
Manufactured in: Japan
Color: Black
Power Consumption: 18.5 W
Dimensions: 453 x 149 x 399 mm (WxHxD)
Weight: 10 kg
Factory price approx.: 990 DM

Outputs: 2 x RCA (cable permanently mounted), 1 x Ground connection (permanently mounted)
Inputs: None

Drive: Direct drive
Motor: quartz-controlled, phase-locked DC motor
Speed: 33 1/3.45 rpm
Synchronisation fluctuations: 0.025% WRMS (JIS 5521), ±0.035% (IEC 98A)
Rumble noise distance:
- IEC 98A unvalued: 56 dB
- IEC 98A Rated: 78 dB
Turntable: Aluminum Injection molding, 332 mm
a956e985535b8d57732d14dfa0e4c71ating Mode: Fully Automatic
Pitch: ± 6 %
Tonearm: tubular arm, statically balanced
- Needle support: 0 - 2.5 g
- effective axle length: 230 mm
- Overhang: 15 mm
- Angle of curvature: 22°
Pickup: Technics EPC-207 C (MM)

IEC 98A rated: 78 dB

Needle pad: 0 - 2.5g
effective axle length: 230 mm
Overhang: 15 mm
Angle of curvature: 22°

Automatic plate size detection ( IR), but the speed must be set manually, because the turntable is always at 33 rpm after switching on!
Construction with SUBCHASSIS
Needle light

The covers of the Tech nics SL-1200MK2/1210MK2, which are still available for about 50€ to 60€, also fit on the SL-1600MK2/1610MK2 if you still have its original hinges. The cover of the SL-1200MK2/1210MK2 is slightly flatter than that of the SL-1600MK2/1610MK2 and has a small dome at the back right, where the tonearm suspension sits.

The turntable does not have a built-in phono preamplifier and therefore requires an amplifier with a phono input. If the amplifier has only normal line inputs, you have to insert a small phono preamplifier between the turntable and the amplifier. These phono preamplifiers are available from about 40 €.

The plate size is detected via an infrared transmitter (is the small pillar at the back, between the turntable and the tonearm suspension). The receivers of the infrared signal are the holes in the rubber mat of the turntable. If no plate is in contact, the pickup does not pick up at all when the start button is pressed. If you put a Slipmat on, the function is also disturbed. Meanwhile, there are colored or transparent vinyl records, with which the turntable also can not cope because he can not recognize the size of the record. You can still play these records if you operate the turntable manually.

The turntable and the tonearm unit are mounted on four rubber-damped springs (called subchassis on Tech nics). As a result, vibrations of the turntable are intercepted by the housing without being transferred to the running turntable and the tonearm with the pickup (comparable to the earthquake-resistant building construction of the Japanese :)). You can adjust the tension of the springs by turning the turntable (with cover) upside down. (important: remove the turntable first, otherwise it may pop into the cover!) For this you need a 7'er pipe wrench. If the spring nuts are tightened too tightly, the damping effect of the springs is gone. If they are too loose then the turntable grinds on the housing. If they are tightened unevenly, then the turntable hangs crookedly in the housing. In new condition, this turntable was delivered with 4 blue transport screws which are located under the turntable. These must be removed before commissioning otherwise the spring damping will not work.

The automatic lift is driven by a separate motor via a small rubber belt. In used equipment, this rubber is often cracked or it has dissolved. Replacement belts are still available today and replacing the belt is a fumble, but not rocket science. Suitable household household rubbers (red or beige) can also be used as a temporary emergency solution, but with them the plasticizers are out after half a year and they become hard and dissolve into hard crumbs.

Another weak point is a small plastic gear that is located under the tonearm unit and gets radial cracks after 40 years. As a rule, the fat in the gears is then also hardened. The automatic system also works with a cracked gear, but if the crack gets too big and the grease hardens, the tonearm no longer runs evenly, but jerks and makes noises. If the gear wheel falls off completely, nothing works anymore, as if the rubber belt had been torn.

Other models of the same series:
- Tech nics SL-23
- Tech nics SL-1300 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1310 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1400 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1410 MK 2
- Tech nics SL- 1500 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1510 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1600 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1610 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1700 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1710 MK 2
- Tech nics SL-1900
- Tech nics SL-2000