Belt for Technics SLB101, SL-B101, B202, SLB202, B303, SLB303 - 181679600927

Description

Brand New Belt for Technics SL-B101, SL-B202, SL-B303
Welcome to
Atlanta Pro Sound
••••• Under Construction - Fix Colors! •••••
This is a relisting of a popular eBay item, not a new listing. This item was listed as eBay Item #181679600927. I sold 103 of them, I have 103 very happy customers! Then the listing mysteriously disappeared. Here is a pic of the old listing:
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Please be sure to compare shipping prices!!! Do not get tricked into spending almost .00
for US First Class delivery!
There is a myth that one belt fits 95% of all turntables. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. A belt that is an inch too large or small will probably run on your turntable, but if it is too small, it will wear out your motor years before it would under normal conditions. If it is too large, it might also be bad for the motor, but as belts get older, they expand, so in the best case, you need a replacement years before you should.
There are people online who have been selling belts for 5-10 years. Many have lots of feedback or websites that “look” like they know what they are doing. Do they
really
know what belt is the match for your turntable?
Technics
quit giving technical support on the models S-LB1, S-LB2, S-LB3 and S-LB5 (including part numbers) about a decade and a half ago. When the models SLB101, SLB202, and SLB303 rolled off the assembly line, I was Assistant Store Manager for the largest independent Technics dealer in the Southeastern US. Read the
Seller History
below for more information.
(In case you are wondering...I enter the model with the dash in different positions so those who search for the model can find it regardless of if they have the dash in the right place!)
5 Belt Measurements
All flat rubber belts have 5 measurements that affect the belt's performance.
Length
is the one most people think of right away. Length affects how tight the belt is. If it is too tight, the motor will not run (or if it is just a little too tight, the motor will wear out quickly).
Width
is one you might not think is important, however, the manufacturers specify this one down to the 64
th
of an inch! If the belt is too wide, the risk is the belt will hit the outsides of the capstan, which will create momentary bumps in the speed. If the belt is too narrow, it does not have enough contact with the capstan, causing it to slip. Either of these problems may be inaudible at first, but later? Who knows?
Thickness
of the belt is the smallest of the measurements. Most
Turntable
belts are close to the same thickness, but your parts provider who has only a decade of experience might buy their belts based on length and their cost alone. You could get a belt that they bought wholesale at 99 cents but is
way too thick
! A belt that is too thick will not fully fold around the capstan, causing more pitch problems. If you call to complain, you are told that your turntable has natural Wow and Flutter.
Friends: These models' Wow and Flutter is eight (8) times
below
the audible
limit
(Sources: Julian Hirsch - Hirsch-Houck Labs and the Technics models SL-B1, SL-B1A SL-B2, SL-B2A, SL-B2K SL-B3, SL-B3A, SL-B5 and SL-B5A Service Manuals)
.
Don't let them pull the wool over your eyes! If you hear wow and flutter (a.k.a. bad speed fluctuation), you might just have the wrong size belt!
External Diameter
. This one is a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and internal diameter.
Internal Diameter
. Like #4, this one is also a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and external diameter.
This belt is precision cut to meet original factory specifications for the following Technics models:
SLB101
SLB202
SLB303
SLB101M
SLB202M
SLB303M
SLB101MC
SLB202MC
SLB303MC
SL-B101
SL-B202
SL-B303
SL-B101K
SL-B202K
SL-B303K
SL-B101M
SL-B202M
SL-B303M
SL-B101MC
SL-B202MC
SL-B303MC
The belt you are about to receive was recently manufactured by the same company that made the first belts for the Technics models SL-B101, SL-B202 and SL-B303. My distributor,
Artistic Audio of Atlanta
, buys thousands of belts made by this company and has been sending them all over the United States for many years. Every few of weeks
Artistic Audio of Atlanta
reorders belts buy the hundred, replacing the stock they have sold. No belt is on their shelf more than a few weeks. Because they come into the distributor regularly, I can personally guarantee that the belt you get is
fresh
!
About these Models
:
The SL-B101 is a fully manual belt drive turntable with an S-shape arm, although it was marketed at a time when the straight arms were popular. It has a clear plastic dust cover. There is a pitch control, a Start/Stop switch and a cue mechanism to raise and lower the arm. To play a record, press the Start/Stop button so the platter will rotate, raise the arm with the cue, place it over the record, lower the arm with the cue. There is no auto-stop or auto lift mechanism, raise the arm and put it back on the arm rest, then hit Stop/Start to stop the platter.
The SL-B101A is the same as the SL-B101 except that Technics put a cartridge in the box before it went to the dealer. The A in the model number did not appear on the turntable itself, just the invoice that the dealer received from Technics. I stock replacement styluses for the cartridges that was used and for other cartridges that the dealer may have sold if you bought the SL-B101 without the Technics cartridge. If you need a stylus, please click on the
Ask Seller a Question
link on this page.
The SL-B202 is a semi-automatic belt drive turntable. It has a clear plastic dust cover. There is a pitch control, a Reject button, and a tone arm cue. To play a record, raise the tone arm cue, move the arm in the direction of the platter. The platter will start to rotate, place the arm over the record and lower the arm with the cue. There is an auto shut-off mechanism that will engage at the end of the record. If you want to stop before the end of the record, hit the Reject button to put the turntable in auto-stop.
The SL-B202A is the same as the SL-B202 except that Technics put a cartridge in the box before it went to the dealer. The A in the model number did not appear on the turntable itself, just the invoice that the dealer received from Technics. I stock replacement styluses for the cartridges that was used and for other cartridges that the dealer may have sold if you bought the SL-B101 without the Technics cartridge. If you need a stylus, please click on the
Ask Seller a Question
link on this page.
The SL-B303 is a fully automatic belt drive turntable. It has a clear plastic dust cover. There is a pitch control, a Start/Stop switch and a cue mechanism to raise and lower the arm. To play a record, press the Start/Stop button so the platter will rotate, the turntable will raise the arm with the cue, place it over the record, lower the arm with the cue automatically. If you want to stop before the end of the record, hit the Start/Stop button to put the turntable in auto-stop.
The SL-B303A is the same as the SL-B303 except that Technics put a cartridge in the box before it went to the dealer. The A in the model number did not appear on the turntable itself, just the invoice that the dealer received from Technics. I stock replacement styluses for the cartridges that was used and for other cartridges that the dealer may have sold if you bought the SL-B101 without the Technics cartridge. If you need a stylus, please click on the
Ask Seller a Question
link on this page.
The suffix M on any of these models is designated for export from Japan to the US. The suffix MC is designated for Canada. The suffix E or E plus another letter is designated for export to Europe. The suffix X was for other parts of the world. The presence of one of these does not effect the size of the belt. The suffix K means the turntable was what they call Technics Black, a very deep dark brown.
On the rear left corner of the turntable, there is a raised circle about 1/8” in diameter. This is
where you keep your 45 RPM adapter to play your 7-inch vinyl. If you need a 45 RPM Adapter, click on “Ask Seller a Question” below where it says “atlantaprosound” on the top right side of this offer.
Are you about to purchase one of these models
? The motor and drive system are built like a tank. Seeing it run may be your least concern. Here is what I check before buying:
It should have a headshell and cartridge. The headshell screws into the tone arm. To remove it, turn the silver “cuff” on the end of the tonearm COUNTER-CLOCKWISE. It feels like that is backwards, but its how things work! Once you have the headshell off of the tonearm, check to see that there are four wires (they should be Red, White, Blue, and Green) coming from the back of the head shell and going to the cartridge. If you need a headshell, I should get them online soon, click on “Ask Seller a Question”.
The cartridge should have a stylus. Styluses are “needles” that have the piece that touches the grove and plays the record. Look at the stylus. Does it have a piece of metal that lowers to the record, and is there a tip on the end of it? There are too many kinds of styluses to list them all on eBay. I have about 2,000 in stock, I probably have the one you need. If you need a stylus, click on “Ask Seller a Question” to send me a message.
This one is really simple, but important. Check to see that there is a counter balance on the back end of the tone arm. These are not generic and “one size does not fit all”, if fact, if you do not have one, you will need to find someone selling one of these models for parts, or find someone who has bought one and is selling parts. You should spend no more than on one, but finding one will be the trick!
The last one is really easy to check as well. There is a black plastic bar in front of the place where the tonearm pivots. That is the arm lifter. It should move up and down when you change the position of the “cue” switch (front right)
You may have heard someone say that the sound of vinyl sounds better than CDs.
“How can this be?” you may wonder...the CDs do not have that scratchy sound. It is a matter of detail, really. You can prove it yourself with a .00 thrift-store turntable and a generic stylus. Get a copy of something easy to get, something acoustic, something like James Taylor's, Carly Simon's or Carol King's greatest hits. (The demonstration works best with acoustic guitar, harp or lute, but once you have noticed the difference, you will be able to hear the difference on everything! The introduction to
Ventura
Highway by America will work well also.) Play it on your turntable, and listen especially to the very beginnings of each note in the guitar. Focus your attention to the very beginnings of each plucked string. The strings will sound almost like you can hear each of them roll off of the player's fingers. That is the way it
should
sound all of the time. Now, play the same selection on a CD. You will probably notice that the beginnings of the notes sound muffled or slow. The beginnings of the notes on the CD have much less detail than their counterparts on vinyl.
The reason is built into the way CD players work. CDs have a sampling rate of 44,100 samples per second. What this means is the volume level of a given sound is recorded at that frequency.
••••• Under Construction - Insert New Table Here! •••••
While the volume of the actual string is getting progressively louder, the volume on the CD recording is an average. As a note quickly gets louder, the CD sounds like stair steps, because we have a recording of averages for the length of time of the sample. This is why the vinyl sounds more like the original sound than the CD. Once you hear this, you will always look at listening for detail in the sound differently.
Buying a new belt so you can transfer all your vinyl to CD?
If you have read and understand the previous section, then you might want to re-think. The CD recording you make can not possibly sound the same as the vinyl, because in making the recording, you are creating the same stair-stepping sound that does not sound as good as the original vinyl! OK, OK, if you want to make CDs for the car, go ahead, but if you want to make CDs for detailed listening, maybe you should keep your vinyl.
Georgia Residents will pay 8% Sales Tax
Shipping and handling is only {{detail_product_description}}.99 to any point in the USA.
Belts are shipped by 1
st
Class Mail by the
USPS
.
Please, ask in advance about international shipping.
Priority Mail shipping to the US is available .90.
Most items are usually shipped within 1 business day.
Thanks in advance for your purchase!