Ok so I wanted to make a page dedicated to these two parts, the Transfer Rod Coupling and the 3rd Reduction gear. The two parts that CEDatum offers are new production parts that have been 3D printed. The original parts that RCA used were designed as a fail safe, should something go wrong with the player, the gear or the coupling would break to prevent further damage to the player. The new parts are NOT made from the same components/materials as the originals and therefore CANNOT be relied upon to operate as a fail safe. This is the USE AT YOUR OWN RISK WARNING. Should there be a malfunction and these replacement parts do not fail, further damage to the machine may be sustained and CEDatum is not liable for such occurrences. We will however do everything in our power to assist in any parts or repairs that may be required from a failure at the expense of the unit operator.
With that said, when you install the parts be sure that you are within reach of the power cord. Because if you power it up and the stylus arm is jammed or some other issue is prevalent then it may continue to grind the new replacement gear and the power button will not turn the unit off. It will need to be immediately unplugged and you will need to investigate as to why the gear is not operating as it should, typically something is blocking the stylus arm either preventing it to move forward or it moves backwards past the home position. There can be a number of reasons for this. I’m sure I will provide more videos to resolve these issues as they arise. The most common reason for failure of the 3rd reduction gear is the player being shipped without shipping screws in place to secure the stylus arm. The player then gets jostled or dropped in shipping and the force moves the stylus arm and breaks the gear.
With the transfer rod coupling, it typically breaks because the platter is not in the correct position for the transfer rod to come up though one of the 4 holes in the platter. But there may be other reasons why the previous coupling broke. So if the issue is not resolved before the new coupling goes on then when the unit is powered up, it may immediately snap the coupling again. Since I am purchasing these couplings from a supplier I cannot afford to give out replacement couplings should a coupling break due to previous issues with the player. I recommend buying two couplings at a time so that if there is a issue and it breaks upon power up, then you will have a back up to replace it when the issue has been located and resolved. If the coupling operates as it should then the 2nd coupling can be saved as a backup.
Please feel free to email me with any questions at videodiscjunkie@gmail.com
Thank you.
CEDatum Team