Determining The Age of An SL-1200
It is possible to tell the year (and the month) when the SL-1200 was manufactured from the serial number on the back or bottom of the turntable. SL-1200 serial numbers are in two different formats, depending on the date of manufacture. It isn't exactly possible to determine the decade in which the SL-1200 in question was manufactured, as the serial number contains only the last digit of the year. If the year digit is 8, the turntable may have been manufactured in 1978, 1988, 1998 or 2008. If the year digit is 0, the turntable may have been manufactured in 1980, 1990 or 2000. One rule of thumb is that old-format serial numbers belong to SL-1200s manufactured during the 1970s and 1980s, while new-format serial numbers belong to SL-1200s manufactured during the 1990s and beyond.
Old-format serial number: NHOJF20765 (SL-1200 manufactured 1982)
The first digit shows the year when the turntable was manufactured. These serial numbers contain no indication of the month of manufacture. It should be noted that serial numbers in this format contain no letters following digits.
New-format serial number: GE4FB001154 (SL-1200MK2 manufactured June 2004)
The first digit shows the year when the turntable was manufactured, while the month of manufacture is indicated by the letter following it. Months are coded as letters between A and L inclusive; A indicates January, B indicates February, and so on, so F indicates June.
There are also at least two other serial number formats that were used by Technics on early SL1200MK2 models. "DA22 17D142" and "MJ7821F287" are examples of serial numbers seen on early production units that both lacked mounting provisions for the internal "bottom base" (Technics part # SFAU122-02) and possessed a different style of dust cover hinges.
In addition to the above, all the SL-1200MK2s from the 1970s and early 1980s have a 4-inch-diameter (100 mm) plate where the RCA and ground wires enter the chassis in the rubber base of the unit. The later models have a smaller hole through which the wires enter the unit.
Read more about this topic: Technics SL-1200
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