Empire-398-tt-sm维修电路原理图.pdf

K.deLanguillette 1 REFURBISH YOUR 208, 298 OR 398 HIGH END EMPIRE TURNTABLE RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 2 Empire Turntable Refurbishing BASIC INFORMATION TO CONSIDER Buying a used Empire Turntable. Which model is right for you? If you are interested in getting a high end turntable at a budget price, you will want to look for a Model 208 through 398. They are reasonably priced and a modern tone arm can provide you with a very nice unit. 498s and 598s are wonderful units, but use a suspension system that makes it less desirable to audiophiles. The suspension units offer some great dust cover systems and look very high end when redone properly. I prefer the look of the suspension units, but we are after sound quality and not esthetics. Why we prefer the 208 through 398 models? For one, solid tweak able damping. It is one solid unit and can be tweaked to minimize vibrations. Well, its not solid because the plinth attaches with screws, but we dont want to bore you with disclaimers through out this document. This unit lends itself well to user DIY modifications and can produce audiophile quality sound. The wood base can look very attractive providing there are only minor imperfections and not deep gouges. The aluminum construction lends itself well to machining. It is very easy to modify the tone arm mount area to accommodate a modern arm. An arm such as the SME 3009 is still affordable and sounds great with a suitable cartridge. PRICE- You can probably afford to refurbish one of these units on just about any budget if you take your time and do one thing at a time. If you are on a very strict budget, manage the project to do one process every week, or two weeks. Check your local recycling center for free products. Some people drop off unused and unopened stain, lacquer and other usable products. Dont use anything dated or half used. It might be contaminated. -Black Finish Plinth. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 3 Sources of used Empire Turntables. The most obvious is Ebay. The prices have risen quite a bit over the last 3 years, but you can still get a good deal if the unit is complete. If the seller does not state the platter turns, avoid it. One of the reasons these are great is because of the high quality motor. Without a good motor, it is useless unless you plan on using an external motor. Estate Sales are excellent sources. The best are actual estate sales and not the advertised sales that end up being a “tag” or “garage sale” misnamed. Another great source is your local “Thrift Store”. It is amazing what people donate to charity. You have to be tenacious because they do go quick. Do you actually want to redo it yourself? Expense- If you dont have an air compressor this will be your largest cash outlay. If you go minimum you will spend about $340.00 for a Craftsman or similar. Be forewarned look for the amperage rating on the motor. Many companies over market the unit and theres no way a 6 HP compressor will run on the 15 amp circuit they recommend. If it runs on 15 amps it is probably a 1-1/2 HP over-rated to 6 HP. So use a bit of trepidation when looking at these because you want at least 6.5 Cubic Feet per Minute at 90 PSI unless you have and hour to sand blast a 4” square area. Do you have a drill press or very steady hands? Aluminum machines easily so if doing custom tone arm mounts you will want precision. This is just preliminary; we will cover tool costs later on. For now analyze your shop inventory and keep in mind what you will have to spend to DIY. Time- Do you realistically have the time to spend hour upon hour on this unit? Will your labor savings justify the money you dont spend having someone do it? 2 Questions- 1. Do I have more money than time? Have someone do it. 2. Do I have more time than money? Do it yourself. Bottom Line- Compare your time and tool cost and compare that to having someone do it for a flat fee. If you have never done a turntable refurbishing, you will be amazed at the time involve. Some people dont mind the time or expense. You may find you will own some tools you did not have before and doing it yourself can give you a lot of satisfaction. You may even find a better way to do it than we recommend. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 4 Disassembly Tools- 1. Nut Drivers. 2. Screw Driver. 3. Pliers. 4. Bubble Wrap. 5. Paper Towel. 6. Parts Bags. To get a starting point, lets say you bought a turntable on Ebay and the seller had no clue how to ship it. So he boxed it up intact without anything removed. The motor is still mounted. Remove the Platter. Wipe off excess oil from the spindle bearing so it does not contaminate the plinth as you move it to a new safe location. Remove the 3 screws attaching the lower part of the spindle bearing to the plinth. Drain any residual oil and store the lower bearing in a sealable plastic bag till you can wipe out all the old oil. Find a box that you can use to place the unit upside down so the mounted tone arm does not get damaged. If the tone arm has been removed, you can just place the plinth face down on a soft cloth surface. Document the layout. Take digital pictures and written notes or drawings on the layout of wiring, screw locations, etc. Note the spiral oil groove which raises the oil upwards towards the platter for lubrication. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 5 Unplug the Tone Arm Wiring Harness. Remove the (3) nuts holding the Tone Arm assembly to the Plinth and lower the Tone Arm from the bottom and designate a box for all the Tone Arm parts. You can now place the unit face down on a soft cloth or soft work surface. Remove the Capacitor hold down screw, the wire harness clamp screws and Ground Wire. Remove the Pilot Light/On-Off Switch assembly. This is spring loaded so make sure the spring does not fly out and become invisible some where on the floor. With your hand underneath press the Motor Grommets inward towards the center of the hole, rotating your fingers around the Grommet until each has been pushed out of the hole. Remove the complete harness and store safely for future refurb and/or reinstallation. Be careful not to damage the wiring. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 6 Remove the Plinth from the wood base. Unscrew the wing nuts holding the plinth to the L-Brackets which are attached to the wood base. If the wing nuts will not come off without rotating the screws, you will need to hold the top of the screw with a screwdriver while using the pliers to remove the wing nuts. If the screw slot is damage and the wing nuts are sticking, find a rubber washer to protect the screw while you hold the screw tight with a pair of pliers. Preferably a small (6”) needle nose vise grip. You will have (4) angle brackets to remove. Mark the location of the L-Brackets with a sharpie (both on the wood and on the bracket 1-4) attached to the wood case before removing them if you intend to reuse them as intended. Refinish The Wood Base -Sand Side Panels with Parallel Strokes Length Wise. Tools- 1. Finish stripper. 2. Brushes 3. Scraper. I wont go into this too far because there is plenty of great information available on the Internet about wood refinishing. I will give you my preferences and hopefully some tips that are useful. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 7 Stripping- Lay down a tarp, garbage bag or the like to protect the surface you will be working on. There are many brands of stripper available. Use what makes sense to you. An environmentally friendly stripper is always a good thing. Gloves and a face mask are always recommended. If on a budget, check your local recycling centers reuse room. This can save a buck or two and stripper is usually poured into a second container and not contaminated. You might also find some free stain or clear coat. If you do find some freebies, always pour into a container and check the clarity before using it on your vintage treasure. We like to use foam brushes because they are inexpensive and disposable. Apply a thin coat and use light pressure or the brush will separate. Remove the stripper with a window scraper. The scraper I am trying to describe uses a single edge razor blade. I dont push the scraper. That can catch on the wood and cause a defect. Pull towards you. When you have removed the majority of the finish, allow the wood base to dry for a day. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 8 Sanding- Before you start sanding, consider how you want the finished base to look. Woodworking books will tell you to progressively sand with finer and finer grits. This is great for a really smooth finish. But the smoother the wood, the lighter the stain will be. If you want a dark finish, you dont want to end with a 220 grit paper. We have had some nice dark stain colors come out by final sanding with 100 grit without going courser. 100 grit should be adequate if you have done a good job on the stripping. Sand with the grain of the wood. That means lengthwise on the sides and up and down on the wood corners. Empire did add some putty on the machined end blocks but it seems to take dark stain well. After sanding blow off well with compressed air and wipe off dust with a cloth. If you feel the need to use a tack cloth, make one. Take a clean lint free cloth (best is cheese cloth) and apply a small amount of whatever solvent is recommended for your stain type. Use just enough solvent to attract sawdust and not leave a layer of solvent on the wood. In between sanding you may have some holes or gouges that require adding a bit of putty to fill them in. Whatever you do, dont use a cheap off the shelf consumer putty. You will not be happy with the results. A very fast dry alcohol based putty will give you the least visibility of the defect. If you have the time, you can experiment by retaining the sanding dust and mixing it with a small bit of quality wood glue. This can be tricky so experiment on a scrap piece of wood. Stain over your DIY filler and see how it will take your stain. Sand Corners Vertically. Staining- I prefer MinWax stains. Since your wood base is most likely Walnut, the Dark Walnut stain is an excellent choice. This brand is relatively forgiving as to wiping time and recoating. If you make a mistake, you can most likely correct it. Other stains are not as forgiving. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 9 Apply several coats of stain if you wish to have a dark color. Start with the top edges. Immediately wipe off any excess that drips on to the side panel. Then wipe the edges that you have just stained. Next apply stain to the corner blocks. Always wiping as you sanded- in the same direction as the grain. You may have to wipe vertically to fill in voids, but always finish in the direction of the grain. Continue to wipe the overlapping edges so the stain does not darken the adjoining section. Lastly, apply stain to the main panels. Continue wiping the edges to remove excess. Repeat these procedures until you have achieved the darkness level you desire. Allow the stain to dry and place in a garbage bag or suitable container until you are ready to clear coat. Clear Coating the Wood Base- I prefer just oiling the stained finish. It looks rich but takes more effort to oil it every so often. If you have to clear coat, I recommend you use a clear coat from the same manufacture of the stain that you chose. Many different brands are compatible, but again, test on scrap before you commit. I will cover clear coating more in the aluminum section. Linseed Oil adds a nice semi gloss finish if done in the right amount. Try to avoid any product that contains a silicone. The silicone can cause a problem if you decide to refinish the base again at a later date. You will have to totally strip it or the silicone will cause orange peel and your new finish will be terrible. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 10 Aluminum Finishing- Clear Coated Motor Cover with Raw Sandblasted Plinth. Walnut Stain on Base. First a brief discussion of sand blasting and the finish. If you have a small air compressor you will have a problem. Aluminum oxidizes as soon as you open up the finish. If you cant do the sandblasting in one session, you will have oxidation. Nothing major but the point is it oxidation starts immediately. This is a good argument for buying the largest compressor you can afford. Abrasive Types DONT USE THE BASIC SILICA SAND unless you have complete protection. This media gives off chemicals that will hurt your lungs. I cant stress this enough. Protect yourself first at all costs. Try to choose a media with the least amount of Silica. The major types of abrasives are Glass Bead, Grit Types such as Aluminum Oxide and Walnut Shells. There are others but for the sake of this discussion, these types are what are recommended. The condensed version is that the finish you desire will dictate which medium to use. For a Bright Sparkling Finish use Aluminum Oxide angular abrasives which cut very well. The best is White Aluminum Oxide which will not leave a residue such as the Black Aluminum Oxide will. The trade off is price. The White Aluminum Oxide will be more expensive but will provide a better finish for clear coating. The Black Oxide will leave a residue and require more cleaning before the clear coat. For a Satin Finish use Glass Bead. Glass Bead tends to leave a Satin Type finish. Prices vary from the source. 20 pounds can cost as low as $20.00 or as high as $40.00. RadioFans.CN 收音机爱 好者资料库 K.deLanguillette 11 For a Buffed Satin Finish use Walnut Shells. These are more available than you might think. The shells are a softer more forgiving media but the dullest finish of the three types. Finish Brightness The clear coat will add a grayish tint to the final look of the aluminum. So a general rule of thumb, no matter which abrasive you chose, is that the coarser the grit the brighter your finish will be. Buy the Best Protection that you can afford. Minimum is a good respirator and face shield. If you can invest in a complete hood so much the better. You will be amazed where sand will land. In your ears, nose and open pockets of your jeans. If you can afford or already have a blasting cabinet you have it made. Budget Sand Blasting 1. Air Compressor. Min. 6 CFM at 90 PSI (est. $300.00) 2. Siphon Sand Blasting Gun (est. $30.00) 3. Water Trap. (est. $20.00) 4. Respirator. (est. $28.00) 5. Face Shield. (est. $12.00) Total Estimate Budget Blasting Outfit - $400.00 (No Enclosure) Air Compressor- Try not to buy an oil - less compressor with the motor mounted directly to the compressor unless it is basically meant for light home use and an occasional project such as this one. In most cases the motor is proprietary and find