Rusty Tormat Ground Plate

[Brad]

Hi all.  I picked up a 161 that is showing symptoms of playing every selection endlessly until taken out of "play" and scanned, after which it scans twice and stops. Thought it would be an open ground issue with the RCA plug, but not so. Turns out the Tormat ground plate is really rusty, sparking as it scans the whole way down the line. Any suggestions on cleaning this? Thanks.

Brad

[Ron Rich]

Hi Brad,
Not possible to "clean it"-- sorry--re-silver it, or, if it has not already been done, flip it over--you will need to drill new mounting screws--a royal PIA, but it works. Be sure that silver is left on the pins that contact it, and the rivets. Ron Rich

[Brad]

Thanks Ron.
I'll take a look at the other side of the ground plate. The pins do have plenty of silver left, but I noticed that they have an inward concave shape. If I remember correctly, in another post you stated that the pins should be slightly rounded (domed). Is this correct, and what do you suggest shaping the pins with? Thanks.

Brad

[Ron Rich]

Hi Brad,
You do "remember correctly"-- see the "contacts posts" in our FAQ's section, above. Ron Rich

[Brad]

Thanks Ron.

Read through the suggested post. All good info.

Brad

[Matt]

When I rebuilt our DS100, I had to deal with the dreaded rusty ground plates. I ended up sanding the segments flat with a belt sander and tinning them with silver solder. Between that and doing the ground modification (through a 1/2a fuse) to the ground pin on the selection contact block, it's worked fine. Had this not worked, I was prepared to send it to a plating company. It probably wouldn't have cost more than $40 or so for an industrial plating company to do. Home silver electroplating kits exist as well, and are always handy to have.

[Ron Rich]

Matt,
I don't recommend the ground mod, at all ! Ron Rich

[Matt]

Ok, Thanks!