That test record reminded me of the one I got with my Carver C1 Sonic Holography preamp with it’s purchase…I believe I had the CD version (versus vinyl) of the recording but can’t be certain. The recording guided you through setup, speaker placement and gave you a couple of audio tracks to test the Sonic Holography effect with. I have it buried somewhere…all good memories from way back. Thanks Dave for the continued quality content.
Thank you for this video, I have a old German automatic that after hours of fiddling it turned out to be a nice machine. After watching this thinking I will get the full auto function rocking.
Hello all... Just a precaution... slide the cartridge sled off (the part that holds the cartridge and needle) before attempting to service any turntable... the slightest bump and WHOOPS! - oh well.
These old Dual turntables were a legendary 70's product. Horrifyingly the brand name now gets used for incredibly low quality sh!t electronics sold on Amazon.
Hello and THANKS for helping a lot of us fix our stuff! Your guidance recently helped me get my JVC VHS player running again after sitting dormant for man years - also a dried lubricant issue. Regarding the Dual 1218, I bought mine in the early 70's through United Audio. This unit has also been idle for many years after it started acting up and the shift going to CD's etc. I have thoroughly cleaned the unit of all of the old dried grease and have it starting and stopping except for getting the automatic changing function working. I have narrowed down the problem to figuring out how to adjust the operation between the Parking Rail, part #248 and the Parking Lever, part #157. It appears that as the Tonearm is moved to towards the center of the record, nothing happens. It is difficult to watch the function between these two parts when manually rotating the turntable and trying to induce the auto-tonearm function. It appears, there is no contact between the two parts. Any guidance that you can offer here?
funny when they were playing those tones, my headphones must not be able to play those higher frequencies, i only heard the first two treble notes, but i heard 4 of the bass notes
I’m struggling with this turntable, wondering if you could provide some insight. I followed your video, but the “start/stop” switch still won’t work. It just gets stuck and won’t stop once it starts. Any common problems that cause this?
People who fear dropping records on each other are probably unaware that in the USA, and perhaps Canada, records were designed so the lip and the label were raised so the groove and land do not contact each other to any significant degree. I have separate records that I play on my dropper machines, like my vintage Columbia Masterworks portable suitcase record player from 1964 and a Magnavox Astrosonic console from 1965.
@@TD75 Abaddon’s Bolero, an orchestral piece, was recorded where the groove runs from the inside out. There is a mechanical advantage to this besides being a novelty. The song starts out soft, is 20 minutes long, it slowly builds in volume until it ends loud. Since the groove velocity is greatest at the outer part and can hold more energy this also has a practical reason for doing so. Edison cylinder is the only constant velocity mechanical recording, but were not practical.
Hi great video! I worked on my 1218 and everything except the tonearm lever does not do anything. what did I do wrong? Looking at your video it looks like i put it all together right. Help!!
Question: I have a 1218 too, my idler wheel is not touching the spindle just barely missing it… how can I adjust? 2.- when selecting start, I can’t put I back to the mid position or stop, I cleaned the same parts as you in this video minus the engine, any suggestions? Thank you love your channel
My turntable was not turning even after I replaced the idler wheel. My problem was dried up grease on the two shafts of the speed change (33,45,78) mechanism. I had cleaned the obvious one that moves the idler wheel up and down on the spindle but there is a shorter shaft that allows the idler wheel to rotate into position between the spindle and the inner rim of the turntable. Mine was so stiff I didn’t realize it was supposed to move.
Treat that headshells contacts with D100, they sucked. Had one of those similar Duals with a Shure V15 mk III cartridge on it. Built well aside from the stupid headshell, but not my cup o tea, so sold it. Mine had a strobe and variable pitch.
It was a bad headshell design. Also this one is missing the lock screw that keeps the thumb rest from moving back and releasing the cartridge. It was a propitiatory, quick release mount designed when Dual was owned by Ortofon. My Dual 505C used the same mount. To use a standard, 1/2 inch cartridge requires a now unobtainable adapter. Ortofon's cartridges, such as the DN 149s on my 505C, locked in without any adapter.
Yep the typical kind of metal deck with the plastic cog controlling the automation. Same idea as the old B.S.R decks, cheap but they did the job at the time. Most decks seemed to use the same idea, i wonder who invented the cog type control.
Hi. I'm considering buying this Dual 1218 with the purpose of using for many years ahead. I'm in a low budget now. Can you tell me if this turntable when is well serviced will last for a long time? I mean no problem with speed fluctuation or automatic etc. Thanks so much for your videos. Regards.
All these dual are constant maintenence. If you don't use it the mechanism will get gummed up. If you do parts like idler and the steuerpimple will wear out. Back in the 80s and 90s at the shop we tossed away more of these than repaired because people that only used them once a year to play bingo Crosby got tired if servicing them every year.
@@12voltvids thanks for the info. My purpose is to use it at least 3 or 4 days a week. Actually I'm going back to vinyls after 5 years break, I moved to another country and left my other player behind. But I'm willing to give the proper maintenance indeed. I found the manual online. I just don't know if the Dual 1218 is worth buying. Thanks again.
@@thiago.balon.oliveira if you can find one cheap enough. They run about 500 at the vintage audio stores which in my opinion is about 400 more than they are worth but it makes me feel better as I took one as partial payment for repairing a Hammond b3000 organ. Got a dual, teac 3340 and 3 other reel to reel and some cash for it but no video was done as it was repaired on site. Then the guy sold the now functional hammone for 6500.00 and i felt like i got screwed.
I am going to bring my Dual recordchanger back to life. Is Biltema synthetic grease good enough, I mean that white grease meant for highend bicycle bearings? This thing can take 5 records and play them continuously.
Hi. I download and save all your videos on audio DVD's. (don't need the video) I record in stereo at 44,000 KPS. I slowed down the treble tone tests to 16,000 KPS and clearly heard every one. Surprised. Figured CZcams audio smudging with have eliminated these. Could hear the 5 KHZ tone in real time and no other. Also? The large iddler wheel had a thump in it. Probably not put in neutral when stored. Would a bit of rubber renew have fixed that?
Hello there... I just bumped onto this video, BUT never use Molykote on plastic. It will damage it... don't believe me?, look at the precautions on the packaging or dispenser. Also 3in1 oil isn't the best quality, use Turbine oil, Magical Mystery Oil, or 5 - 30 Synthetic motor oil (they won't dry out long term).
This molykote was supplied by Mitsubishi with the replacement pinch rollers foe VCR to lubricate the metal and plastic parts. There are different formulations. This is basically a lithium soap grease. 3 in 1 electric motor oil is not the same as the 3 in 1 general purporse. It is non detergent sae20 oil. Designed for electric motors. I have used it on everything including old clock movements and have never had issues in 40+ years. I think that is good enough proof that it is good. Remember i have been repairing electronics for over 40 years and did it for a living for 20 years. Lots of experience.
These 1218's weren't the highest end, and may compared to some at the time they were "junk" But compared to a lot of cheaper end, and even mid range, turntables these days, they perform quite well, and consdiering there is no electronics, no quartz lock and the like, they run quite well and the speed tends to remain pretty stable for purely mechanical decks.
Dammit-you shoulda cleaned that record with at least isopropal alcohol.......if not smeared it with wood glue and peeled it off so that danged record would be like NEW before plaing it for us.....and OH yeah-my bung hole puckered RIGHT up toward the end when you dared to run that thing in multi play mode dropping the record like that!!!!----how dare you!!!!!....LMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is the speed control. 33 = 33 rpm (Revolutions Per Minute) which is for larger disks usually "Albums" with 12 inch diameter. 44 = 45 rpm which was usually for 7" "Single" (song).
Record speed control. This one is 33/45. Some have 16/33/45/78 and will play almost any record ever made. 78 requires a special, wide groove stylus to play.
Stick to your electronic servicing. Your turn table mechanical skills leave a lot to be desired. I have serviced Duals for many years and they out perform most other record changers, trouble free for years.
Serviced thousands of them over the years. We did toss many at the shop though because the salesmen found it easier to sell someone on a 99.00 new turntable as opposed to spending 75 to overhaul their old one. Still, i have probably serviced 1000 or more of these old units. I know them inside out. The service i do all depends on if the customer wants a 50.00 service or a 150.00 service. This was a 50.00 service and that's what 50 bucks gets you. A 150 would have taken apart everything. Some of these I get 30 bucks for.
That test record reminded me of the one I got with my Carver C1 Sonic Holography preamp with it’s purchase…I believe I had the CD version (versus vinyl) of the recording but can’t be certain. The recording guided you through setup, speaker placement and gave you a couple of audio tracks to test the Sonic Holography effect with. I have it buried somewhere…all good memories from way back. Thanks Dave for the continued quality content.
Thank you for this video, I have a old German automatic that after hours of fiddling it turned out to be a nice machine. After watching this thinking I will get the full auto function rocking.
Thank you for this video! I just finished my 1218 today in about 2h without any experience and it's working just fine! Greetings from Germany
I still have a Dual 1214 that I'm sure is gummed up as it hasn't been used in at least 20 years. Thanks for this refurbishment vid.
Hello all... Just a precaution... slide the cartridge sled off (the part that holds the cartridge and needle) before attempting to service any turntable... the slightest bump and WHOOPS! - oh well.
That's just common sense. I always remove head shell or stylus before working
Thanks. Didn’t know.
These old Dual turntables were a legendary 70's product. Horrifyingly the brand name now gets used for incredibly low quality sh!t electronics sold on Amazon.
Dual really didn't go to shit until somewhat recently. They were making crazy designs for micro systems into the early 2000s.
Hello and THANKS for helping a lot of us fix our stuff! Your guidance recently helped me get my JVC VHS player running again after sitting dormant for man years - also a dried lubricant issue. Regarding the Dual 1218, I bought mine in the early 70's through United Audio. This unit has also been idle for many years after it started acting up and the shift going to CD's etc. I have thoroughly cleaned the unit of all of the old dried grease and have it starting and stopping except for getting the automatic changing function working. I have narrowed down the problem to figuring out how to adjust the operation between the Parking Rail, part #248 and the Parking Lever, part #157. It appears that as the Tonearm is moved to towards the center of the record, nothing happens. It is difficult to watch the function between these two parts when manually rotating the turntable and trying to induce the auto-tonearm function. It appears, there is no contact between the two parts. Any guidance that you can offer here?
Thanks
funny when they were playing those tones, my headphones must not be able to play those higher frequencies, i only heard the first two treble notes, but i heard 4 of the bass notes
I’m struggling with this turntable, wondering if you could provide some insight. I followed your video, but the “start/stop” switch still won’t work. It just gets stuck and won’t stop once it starts. Any common problems that cause this?
Thanks for the video! I have my dad's old Dual and I get an intermittent hum. What could that be?
Loose deck earthing wire maybe, or the cartridge earths are sloppy perhaps.
But lubricating the mechanism with oil instead of grease as it was originally?
Will the oil not run down off it and it will be dry in a week or two?
No, it will sit in the ball bearing well at the bottom.
Mine was done 4 years ago still good.
i've done that with several Magnavox turntables and they worked like new again
They do, untill they sit around for years.
People who fear dropping records on each other are probably unaware that in the USA, and perhaps Canada, records were designed so the lip and the label were raised so the groove and land do not contact each other to any significant degree. I have separate records that I play on my dropper machines, like my vintage Columbia Masterworks portable suitcase record player from 1964 and a Magnavox Astrosonic console from 1965.
P.S. There is only one groove per side on a record. Not grooves!
All Vinyl records (all sizes) are designed like that. 78's were designed with the centre thicker, but not the edges (rim).
@@TD75 Abaddon’s Bolero, an orchestral piece, was recorded where the groove runs from the inside out. There is a mechanical advantage to this besides being a novelty. The song starts out soft, is 20 minutes long, it slowly builds in volume until it ends loud. Since the groove velocity is greatest at the outer part and can hold more energy this also has a practical reason for doing so. Edison cylinder is the only constant velocity mechanical recording, but were not practical.
There were some records that had two grooves. Depending on which groove the stylus landed in was a different program.
Interesting to see a *record* labeled 'Ampex'! Ampex was mostly involved with tape!
Pretty sure this was probably a contract pressing that Ampex gave away as promotional material to their dealers to promote their tape business.
@@12voltvids Yes. And, if I'm mistaken? The narrator had a Canidian accent. EH? LOL!
Hi great video! I worked on my 1218 and everything except the tonearm lever does not do anything. what did I do wrong? Looking at your video it looks like i put it all together right. Help!!
That's also called the Oh sh*t clip because when they go flying you say Oh Sh*t! LOL
Ah fu*k
Question: I have a 1218 too, my idler wheel is not touching the spindle just barely missing it… how can I adjust?
2.- when selecting start, I can’t put I back to the mid position or stop, I cleaned the same parts as you in this video minus the engine, any suggestions?
Thank you love your channel
You ever figure this out? I’m having the same problem
My turntable was not turning even after I replaced the idler wheel. My problem was dried up grease on the two shafts of the speed change (33,45,78) mechanism. I had cleaned the obvious one that moves the idler wheel up and down on the spindle but there is a shorter shaft that allows the idler wheel to rotate into position between the spindle and the inner rim of the turntable. Mine was so stiff I didn’t realize it was supposed to move.
Treat that headshells contacts with D100, they sucked. Had one of those similar Duals with a Shure V15 mk III cartridge on it. Built well aside from the stupid headshell, but not my cup o tea, so sold it. Mine had a strobe and variable pitch.
It was a bad headshell design. Also this one is missing the lock screw that keeps the thumb rest from moving back and releasing the cartridge. It was a propitiatory, quick release mount designed when Dual was owned by Ortofon. My Dual 505C used the same mount. To use a standard, 1/2 inch cartridge requires a now unobtainable adapter. Ortofon's cartridges, such as the DN 149s on my 505C, locked in without any adapter.
Yep the typical kind of metal deck with the plastic cog controlling the automation.
Same idea as the old B.S.R decks, cheap but they did the job at the time.
Most decks seemed to use the same idea, i wonder who invented the cog type control.
It`s all Gummed Up Haha
Hi. I'm considering buying this Dual 1218 with the purpose of using for many years ahead. I'm in a low budget now. Can you tell me if this turntable when is well serviced will last for a long time? I mean no problem with speed fluctuation or automatic etc. Thanks so much for your videos. Regards.
All these dual are constant maintenence.
If you don't use it the mechanism will get gummed up. If you do parts like idler and the steuerpimple will wear out. Back in the 80s and 90s at the shop we tossed away more of these than repaired because people that only used them once a year to play bingo Crosby got tired if servicing them every year.
@@12voltvids thanks for the info. My purpose is to use it at least 3 or 4 days a week. Actually I'm going back to vinyls after 5 years break, I moved to another country and left my other player behind. But I'm willing to give the proper maintenance indeed. I found the manual online. I just don't know if the Dual 1218 is worth buying. Thanks again.
@@thiago.balon.oliveira if you can find one cheap enough. They run about 500 at the vintage audio stores which in my opinion is about 400 more than they are worth but it makes me feel better as I took one as partial payment for repairing a Hammond b3000 organ. Got a dual, teac 3340 and 3 other reel to reel and some cash for it but no video was done as it was repaired on site. Then the guy sold the now functional hammone for 6500.00 and i felt like i got screwed.
@@thiago.balon.oliveira if they are maintained they last a long time.
I am going to bring my Dual recordchanger back to life. Is Biltema synthetic grease good enough, I mean that white grease meant for highend bicycle bearings? This thing can take 5 records and play them continuously.
Yes
Merhaba dual 1214 plak calarim var ama start stop dugmesi islevsiz içini açıp baktigimda bir adet yay yere düştü nerenin acaba yardimci olurmusun
Hi. I download and save all your videos on audio DVD's. (don't need the video)
I record in stereo at 44,000 KPS. I slowed down the treble tone tests to 16,000 KPS and clearly heard every one. Surprised. Figured CZcams audio smudging with have eliminated these. Could hear the 5 KHZ tone in real time and no other.
Also? The large iddler wheel had a thump in it. Probably not put in neutral when stored. Would a bit of rubber renew have fixed that?
Would you consider working as a tech while i refurbish an assemble a complete system? ship components to Canada I guess?
28:12 Hi John, could you please tell me the author and the title of this song please? Thanks in advance.
I've found it! The title is "All about the blues"... still I don't know the author... strange there's no information on the net 😟😟
I've found the author too🤣🤣 , it's "Carl Strommen" and apparently is an unknown musician... but I must say that he wrote a wonderful song!😉😉
Are you located in ontario?
Bc
Hello there... I just bumped onto this video, BUT never use Molykote on plastic. It will damage it... don't believe me?, look at the precautions on the packaging or dispenser. Also 3in1 oil isn't the best quality, use Turbine oil, Magical Mystery Oil, or 5 - 30 Synthetic motor oil (they won't dry out long term).
This molykote was supplied by Mitsubishi with the replacement pinch rollers foe VCR to lubricate the metal and plastic parts. There are different formulations. This is basically a lithium soap grease. 3 in 1 electric motor oil is not the same as the 3 in 1 general purporse. It is non detergent sae20 oil. Designed for electric motors. I have used it on everything including old clock movements and have never had issues in 40+ years. I think that is good enough proof that it is good. Remember i have been repairing electronics for over 40 years and did it for a living for 20 years. Lots of experience.
These 1218's weren't the highest end, and may compared to some at the time they were "junk" But compared to a lot of cheaper end, and even mid range, turntables these days, they perform quite well, and consdiering there is no electronics, no quartz lock and the like, they run quite well and the speed tends to remain pretty stable for purely mechanical decks.
Dammit-you shoulda cleaned that record with at least isopropal alcohol.......if not smeared it with wood glue and peeled it off so that danged record would be like NEW before plaing it for us.....and OH yeah-my bung hole puckered RIGHT up toward the end when you dared to run that thing in multi play mode dropping the record like that!!!!----how dare you!!!!!....LMBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not a fan of any of the mechanical linkage tables Gerrard etc.
Can you explain 33/45 switch what for use?
That is the speed control. 33 = 33 rpm (Revolutions Per Minute) which is for larger disks usually "Albums" with 12 inch diameter. 44 = 45 rpm which was usually for 7" "Single" (song).
@@johncoops6897 thanks Brother for your information
Record speed control. This one is 33/45. Some have 16/33/45/78 and will play almost any record ever made. 78 requires a special, wide groove stylus to play.
Duals were basically glorified Garrard turntables!
Duals were West German, Garrards were British.
Stick to your electronic servicing. Your turn table mechanical skills leave a lot to be desired. I have serviced Duals for many years and they out perform most other record changers, trouble free for years.
Serviced thousands of them over the years. We did toss many at the shop though because the salesmen found it easier to sell someone on a 99.00 new turntable as opposed to spending 75 to overhaul their old one. Still, i have probably serviced 1000 or more of these old units. I know them inside out. The service i do all depends on if the customer wants a 50.00 service or a 150.00 service. This was a 50.00 service and that's what 50 bucks gets you. A 150 would have taken apart everything. Some of these I get 30 bucks for.