[speaklikeachild]

So I just had the find of my year, I picked up a Sota Comet at the local Goodwill today for $10. I suspected at least a little complication, but knew it would be worth my time. So here it is.

I have leveled the entire table with the 3 bottom screw balances, I have checked whether the platter was imbalanced and it was level all around, I also checked the ball bearing to see if it was the trouble and came up empty handed. I would love to get this guy working if I could! Someone want to give it a shot cause the platter is wobbling ever so slightly where the tonearm can't track properly. Thanks!

 

[carledwards]

Are you sure it's not the bearings? Really sounds like the issue from your description. Those are great turntables, BTW. Killer price. What cartridge do you have mounted?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I agree on the bearing. Why don't you take your bearing to a machine shop and see if it's true? They will know. You can also have them get you a new bearing for $15-$20 or so.

And that's a steal on a good deck! Put a little into it to straighten it out and happy listening!

 

[Bones13]

Does sound like a bearing issue, or an improper assembly issue, ie. some foreign materiel in with the shaft causing it to be off.

Otherwise I bet it was dropped and you find something in the bearing/shaft system is bent.

Nice find, I would defiantly try to fix that sucker.

 

[derekbmn]

Loooong time Comet owner here.

First thing I would do is pull the top platter off and then the lower sub platter off and make ABSOLUTLEY SURE that the bearing well is completely free of any debris. Also check to see if you can wobble the sub platter around. You should NOT be able to.
And next add a few drops of SAE 30 oil to the well.
Then run it without the top platter and make sure the sub platter is running true and without wobble.
If not ...the Comet has a rather strange plastic bearing well (Turcite I believe). It is very possible that it it has become deformed over the years and needs to be replaced. Sota does have replacement parts available and I would contact them to see what they have to say. It appears to be VERY easy to replace.(3 screws hold it in place)

Damn nice find and price !!! If you have any ??? feel free to PM me.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I'll second cleaning out the bearing and giving it fresh oil.

I like to use Mobil One 5W-30 synthetic. Yes, the same stuff you put in your car.

Get a quart at Napa or Pep Boys. Pull the bearing, clean it with a lint-free cloth and use Q-Tips and rags to clean all of the old oil out of the bearing. Then refill it with fresh oil and give it a spin. At the very least, you'll have plenty of oil left for future changes.

I'm not sure if it'll help, but you may want to install a fresh belt, too. Can't hurt and I'd recommend it as routine maintenance, anyway.

 

[speaklikeachild]

Great comments guys. I pulled the platter and subplatter off and looked into the bearing shaft and found that the bearing was rusted in spots and oddly there was a small piece of grass in it. Who was this previous owner? I mean seriously!

Anyway, I got the grass out and still got a wobble, and yes I can move the platter around just a bit. It could have been dropped because the feet on it are slightly damaged and cracked. I will try the other suggestions and get back to all of you as soon as I can.

And yeah, I can't wait to get this TT spinning for sure! I have some new Andrew Hill records that deserve a great table.

BTW, it came with a Sumiko Original Blue Point, but it is missing the stylus and those are just a pill to have replaced. Any suggestions on stylus? I have a Shure right now, but it is just a lower model.

Oh, and yes I already changed the belt.

Any thoughts on pulling the bearing out? Do I just unscrew it all? Does it just fall out? Any chance I can do more harm than good? I don't want to screw this table up...

 

[LAmitchell]

Loooong time Comet owner here.


First thing I would do is pull the top platter off and then the lower sub platter off and make ABSOLUTLEY SURE that the bearing well is completely free of any debris. Also check to see if you can wobble the sub platter around. You should NOT be able to.

And next add a few drops of SAE 30 oil to the well.

Then run it without the top platter and make sure the sub platter is running true and without wobble.

If not ...the Comet has a rather strange plastic bearing well (Turcite I believe). It is very possible that it it has become deformed over the years and needs to be replaced. Sota does have replacement parts available and I would contact them to see what they have to say. It appears to be VERY easy to replace.(3 screws hold it in place)


Damn nice find and price !!! If you have any ??? feel free to PM me.

WOW!!

Here it is SEVEN YEARS since this thread was started, and it is exactly the help I needed

Very happy with my SOTA Comet... didn't realize a little oil could make a difference. I guess that's one of the things that is so fascinating about TURNTABLES... everything affects the sound.

By the way, the SOTA Comet is beautiful. It's very hard to capture in a picture just how good it looks, but I tried...