Rock-ola 1454 turntable/motor height not right

Hi group,
I'm finishing up a Rock-ola 1454. The only problem I'm having is the
turntable motor. It's working fine, but when I try to put the turntable
(re-flocked, of course) on, and engage the rubber idler wheel, the
motor is too low to engage the rim of the turntable to make it spin
during record play. I've replaced the rubber grommets for the
turntable, and the screws that go through these grommets are tightened
all the way, so I can't bring the height of the motor up all the way to
engage the drive wheel. Has anyone ever had this happen to them before?
I really don't know what to do......the motor just simply won't come up
high enough for the drive wheel to engage the turntable platter
properly. Thanks a lot! Rob

I found out part of the problem. There is a bolt toward the front of
the turntable that was sticking up through the steel parts of the
turntable. This bolt was pushing down the on the metal plate above the
turntable motor, the plate where the three bolts through the rubber
grommets attach to. I do not know what this bolt does, or is used for.
If I leave it where it was, it appears to keep the turntable from
settling down properly onto the center shaft where it rotates. If I
screw the bolt farther down into the steel plate, again it pushes down
against the steel plate the motor mounts to. I can't see why this bolt
is there, or what function it serves.
Also, there is still some up and down "slop" with respect to the front
rubber grommet and left rubber grommet of the turntable motor. The rear
grommet (toward the right side) appears to be tight. If I lift up under
the turntable motor on the left side or the front edge of the motor, it
falls back down when I let go of it. Again, the bolts through the
rubber grommets are as tight as they can go, preventing additional
turning of the bolts to raise the turntable idler wheel to a height
sufficient to engage the rim of the turntable platter, even with the
bolt (mentioned above) removed. Thanks for the help/insights, Rob






Hi group,
I'm finishing up a Rock-ola 1454. The only problem I'm having is the
turntable motor. It's working fine, but when I try to put the turntable
(re-flocked, of course) on, and engage the rubber idler wheel, the
motor is too low to engage the rim of the turntable to make it spin
during record play. I've replaced the rubber grommets for the
turntable, and the screws that go through these grommets are tightened
all the way, so I can't bring the height of the motor up all the way to
engage the drive wheel. Has anyone ever had this happen to them before?
I really don't know what to do......the motor just simply won't come up
high enough for the drive wheel to engage the turntable platter
properly. Thanks a lot! Rob

I figured it out......had to shim the motor a bit with a couple of
washers; still don't know what that bolt toward the front is about.
I'll have to drive to my Dad's tomorrow to look at my 1448 there. It
should be about the same as the 1454. Best to all, Rob




I found out part of the problem. There is a bolt toward the front of
the turntable that was sticking up through the steel parts of the
turntable. This bolt was pushing down the on the metal plate above the
turntable motor, the plate where the three bolts through the rubber
grommets attach to. I do not know what this bolt does, or is used for.
If I leave it where it was, it appears to keep the turntable from
settling down properly onto the center shaft where it rotates. If I
screw the bolt farther down into the steel plate, again it pushes down
against the steel plate the motor mounts to. I can't see why this bolt
is there, or what function it serves.
Also, there is still some up and down "slop" with respect to the front
rubber grommet and left rubber grommet of the turntable motor. The rear
grommet (toward the right side) appears to be tight. If I lift up under
the turntable motor on the left side or the front edge of the motor, it
falls back down when I let go of it. Again, the bolts through the
rubber grommets are as tight as they can go, preventing additional
turning of the bolts to raise the turntable idler wheel to a height
sufficient to engage the rim of the turntable platter, even with the
bolt (mentioned above) removed. Thanks for the help/insights, Rob






Hi group,
I'm finishing up a Rock-ola 1454. The only problem I'm having is the
turntable motor. It's working fine, but when I try to put the turntable
(re-flocked, of course) on, and engage the rubber idler wheel, the
motor is too low to engage the rim of the turntable to make it spin
during record play. I've replaced the rubber grommets for the
turntable, and the screws that go through these grommets are tightened
all the way, so I can't bring the height of the motor up all the way to
engage the drive wheel. Has anyone ever had this happen to them before?
I really don't know what to do......the motor just simply won't come up
high enough for the drive wheel to engage the turntable platter
properly. Thanks a lot! Rob

I usually need an older machine in fron tof my do diagnose mechanical
problems, but lets try some basics. Firsrt, was the motor changed?
SEcond, there should be brass tubes on the motor mounting screws. THey
set the height and are not adjustable. Without them you crush the
grommets. Last , you say the motor doesn't turn the turntable? Am I
wrong, but doesn't the motor turn the idler wheel which in turn, turns
the platter?
Charlie

Hi Charlie,
No, the motor wasn't changed. New grommets were installed, but for some
reason the front (and left) edges of the turntable motor were dropping
away about 3/8" away from the rest of the frame....even with the new
grommets.
Yes, the motor does turn the idler wheel, but because of the motor
dropping (at this slight angle mentioned above), it was dropping the
upper portion (the narrower top part of the idler wheel) away from
catching under the lip of the turntable. On Rock-olas, this is the part
of the rubber idler wheel you "tuck under" the turntable as you nestle
it onto the center shaft it rests in. I think the lower fat part of the
idler wheel turns from the motor, and the upper rubber portion helps
"spin" the turntable platter....kind of working in tandem, so to speak.
I did solve the dropping problem of the motor by shimming it up with a
washer above the rubber grommet. It's working fine now. Thanks for the
help. It really had me going there for a while....that's why I thought
I would ask for help. Best, Rob







I usually need an older machine in fron tof my do diagnose mechanical
problems, but lets try some basics. Firsrt, was the motor changed?
SEcond, there should be brass tubes on the motor mounting screws. THey
set the height and are not adjustable. Without them you crush the
grommets. Last , you say the motor doesn't turn the turntable? Am I
wrong, but doesn't the motor turn the idler wheel which in turn, turns
the platter?
Charlie

I remembdr now. assembly from the top is the screw, an external tooth
star washer, a flat washer. The screw goes thru the brass bushing,
which goes thru the rubber grommet.You need the bushings to prevent
crushing the grommet and the washers to prevent thr screw head from
going thru the grommet. You had me a little confused when you
opriginally stated that the motor was not turning the platter.
Charlie

No problem Charlie....I didn't mean to confuse you; sometimes I even
confuse myself, so I can imagine how it is to read some of my posts!
Maybe you can answer me this question....once I did get the turmntable
to operate properly, I plugged in my rebuilt volume control and
recapped amp (1454 model). The sound blew my eardrums out for about 5
seconds, then the volume went down as if there was a short somewhere. I
added solder to the caps that I replaced (all of them), and it made no
difference. There is sound/volume, but not nearly as much as there
should be with the volume pot cranked all the way up. One of the 6l6s
was glowing blue, instead of orange (like the second 6L6), so I
replaced it with another good one. No difference.
Then I noticed a resistor (original) on the speaker plug (across pins 2
and pins 5) that had some of the resistor material eroded away.
Although I haven't ohmed it yet with my meter, I am pretty sure it is
bad. I called Bill Bickers at Jukebox Friday Night, and he said it was
a 7 ohm, 5 watt resistor. I left it in the circuit, as I did not have
one to replace it with. Bill said this would not affect the volume
cutting in and out. I believed him, as I know he "knows his stuff".
Not knowing much about amp theory, should I replace this resistor (on
the speaker female plug to the amp), or is it better to just cut it out
from the circuit? What does this resistor do? How important is it? And
better yet, why is the volume low when I re-capped the whole amp? The
volume control worked well on my 1448 (the previous year's model).
What little I know about amps, I did look on the schematic for the 1454
amp, and I couldn't find this resistor (from pin 2 to pin 5) on the
schematic. I do admit I may have a little inexperience in reading
schematics....so I'm not totally sure I'm reading it correctly. What do
you think, Charlie? Best, Rob




thru the brass bushing,
which goes thru the rubber grommet.You need the bushings to prevent
crushing the grommet and the washers to prevent thr screw head from
going thru the grommet. You had me a little confused when you
opriginally stated that the motor was not turning the platter.
Charlie

This amp does not have AVC, so you can't blame that. When you replaced
the 6L6, did that glw blue also?? Hae you installed a new ceramic
cartridge?? I sell them if you need one. AS for the resistor, the
original speaker has a field winding. Are you using an original or
replacement speaker. Recapping an amp does not cure all ills. You could
have a bad tube, transformer, or resistor.
Charlie

This amp does not have AVC, so you can't blame that. When you replaced
the 6L6, did that glw blue also?? Hae you installed a new ceramic
cartridge?? I sell them if you need one. AS for the resistor, the
original speaker has a field winding. Are you using an original or
replacement speaker. Recapping an amp does not cure all ills. You could
have a bad tube, transformer, or resistor.
Charlie

Hi Charlie,
When I replaced the 6L6 that glowed blue, the replacement did glow the
familiar warm orange glow. No, I did not replace the cartridge; it is
the original astatic 51 that came from the factory with these models.
While a new cartridge could be a possible cure, does what I stated
earlier sound symptomatic of this? That is, the volume initially "blew
my ears out" the first 5 or 6 seconds, and then immediately dropped off
(not gradually like in the AVC which you correctly said it did not
have) as if a short were in the circuit somewhere.
I do suppose a bad resistor could cause this, and that maybe the sound
suddenly "cutting out" at full volume would be a result of a defective
resistor. The speaker is original. I can't find a number on the amp,
although I am sure it is the amp that came with it. I could try a new
cartridge when she returns from Florida in May. I still think the bad
resistor on the speaker could have something to do with it, but I was
told by someone who rebuilds amps for a living that this would not have
anything to do with the sound suddenl;y dropping off, after it
initially started out at full volume. Thank you for your ideas,
Charlie. Rob






This amp does not have AVC, so you can't blame that. When you replaced
the 6L6, did that glw blue also?? Hae you installed a new ceramic
cartridge?? I sell them if you need one. AS for the resistor, the
original speaker has a field winding. Are you using an original or
replacement speaker. Recapping an amp does not cure all ills. You could
have a bad tube, transformer, or resistor.
Charlie