I recently was given a record player along with a tape player and receiver. I was told that they hadn't been used for years and have just been collecting dust. The receiver and tape player are working. The record player turns on but that seems to be it???
My question is.....do I venture down the path to try and fix it or just look into purchasing a new one?
Let's begin with the brand: "SEARS". Sears did not make these products, they had them made by a third party and put their name on the front. However, like a product from Radio Shack, no one other than Sears ever had any information on the product. Sears has no interest in repairing this product at this time, I can guarantee that.
I doubt any working tech would even give it fifteen minutes since there is no information available and parts would be largely unavailable. Given the age of the unit, there is a strong chance something else will fail rather soon and no tech wants to be tied to that anchor. FYI; when a piece of electronics has been in storage for years, it should not be plugged directly into a 120 Volt outlet and powered up. The best way to treat older components is to have them brought up to full power slowly by way of a "Variac" on a test bench. I can't guarantee this, though there's a good chance parts will begin to fail in a short while after being slammed full force with 120 Volts at start up. It normally begins with a low, 60Hz hum coming from the speakers. If you hear that sound, the unit should be disconnected and basically trashed or, better yet, recycled.
The turntable is pretty much junk. Unfortunately, it was junk when the unit was new. It's a "rim drive" model which is very low quality and it uses a ceramic phono cartridge. The safest bet is the stylus (needle) is worn to the point of being dangerous to any LP played with it. Once again, there are virtually no replacement parts for this cartridge and the cost of troubleshooting/repairs will, even if possible, far outstrip the worth of this component.
You'll have to further explain "The record player turns on but that seems to be it???), (which, by the way, is not a question as written). Does the platter turn? If not, then there really is no point putting money into any part of this component. Unless you can do the work yourself, this is like fixing an old house. It's simply not worth the effort and what you will put into the project. Normally, if you have to ask whether you should fix the unit, you aren't really in a position to perform repairs. I would warn you not to poke around the inside of this unit. There are Voltages which can kill you just waiting for the unsuspecting troubleshooter to put their hand on the wrong spot.
If you have a collection of LP's, then save up to buy a half way decent system. You can check prices and get an idea of a budget by looking here; http://www.audioadvisor.com/ Any turntable you buy from a retailer such as this will require a "phono pre amp". That can be either a stand alone item which feeds into an "integrated amplifier" or the phono section can be built into some integrated units.
