Hi Rich,
A friend of mine had the same thing happen recently with his Technics 1100a direct drive turntable... He hasn't fixed it yet, but bought a similar armless 1100a TT and just switched the arm from the old one to the recently acquired one. That was his solution.
Anyway, its been about 5 months since you posted, so I was wondering if you solved it ?
BTW - I've been supplying a DIY Servo Fix Kit for most AKAI RTR machines that use direct-drive servo-controlled capstan motors, since the late 1990's. Turns out these RTR's often exhibit similar symptoms when they age after 25 to 30 years.
-Steven L. Bender
Went to use my Technics 1500 yesterday and it refused to lock on speed. It apprears to be 'whining', as if the servo has gone berserk. I never noticed any strange noises like this before. I've owned about 7 of these decks over the last 15 years and this is the first instance of a servo issue I've experienced. Any ideas about where to start on this?
Rich Brown
Acoustic Arts
Portland, Oregon