Sony PS-FL99 - a record player with an unusual digital feature.
Added 2025-08-07 19:49:16 +0000 UTCThe PS-FL99 was Sony’s 1983 attempt to update the vinyl record player for the digital age. In this video I try to get one working properly so I can demonstrate its features, including one which might be unique on a record player with a stylus… unless of course you know differently.
This one took a while - so I hope it was worth it. Due to its length I’ve divided the video into chapters. This way if anyone needs to move things along a bit quicker they can always just jump to the next chapter by double-tapping two fingers on the right of the screen (on a touch interface). If you choose to skip all the chapters you’ll get a full 51 minutes back. Use this knowledge wisely, if you do it too often, time will fold back in on itself.
After spending a number of days troubleshooting this one I’d have welcomed a fast forward option at times. There were a few frustrating dead-ends that didn’t end up making their way into the final video.
In addition, at one point very near the end, it slipped and fell a foot or so to the floor (it's a bit front heavy with the drawer open and the lid and base removed). Then it just wouldn't work again, at all. This was the point where I decided it was time I should give up entirely on making videos and just go and live off grid in a cave instead.
Rightmove didn't have any caves listed so I returned to this cursed device and it took another day to get it back to a point where I was able to finish the video. It's been a long week...or two.
Given that I didn’t have a video out last week, I want to put this one out on Saturday so that YouTube doesn’t think I’m dead.
I’ll aim to do a really short, simple video next time. Famous last words.
Have a good random interval until the next one. Take care.
UPDATED: The record speed adjustment has been asked about so I reinstated a couple of seconds at 44:57 that I’d previously snipped out where I mention this. As usual this necessitated a complete video swap-out.
Comments
Did I miss this one at the time? Uh well I’ve watched it now. I loved the detail of this one and the result. Also happy to see the little bit of comedy at the end after the year you’ve had. Always found your ‘youf’ skits great to see in videos of retro tech! Now, let’s see if somehow there’s another video I carelessly missed (can’t honestly see how that could have happened… maybe it’s just age and a bad memory!). Specifically liked revisiting this video after the ‘it’s just a cable’ (synchro cable) video.
Kevin Allen
2025-10-25 10:28:04 +0000 UTCTook a while to find time to watch this one, but I'm super glad that I did. Thanks for taking the time to show us the repair process!
cstone
2025-08-19 15:33:59 +0000 UTCThis product can fix that scratched plastic but it will take about 2 hours of elbow grease, min. https://ebay.us/m/UPAjUn
Travis J
2025-08-13 23:42:17 +0000 UTCA working toilet is a lot more important than a second-perfect drop point through.
Techmoan
2025-08-12 17:09:24 +0000 UTCAbsolutely loved this video! Was amazed you were able to get it to drop at the right place for each track. Argh about it dropping to the floor though! You're right about the time you spend fixing things. I fixed my toilet this weekend, and every time I flush, I get a bit of a satisfaction that "I did it myself!" That being said, my toilet is no match for the beauty of this turntable.
Bill Smartt
2025-08-12 16:41:06 +0000 UTCNOT a "Mug's Eyeful" !
Adrian Whitfield
2025-08-10 02:22:12 +0000 UTCOh that tray mechanism is just beautiful. After so many things its age struggling with rotten belts and snapped teeth and stiff joints, it's lovely to see it smoothly drop the front down into the tray like that.
LionsPhil
2025-08-09 22:32:41 +0000 UTCWhat a beautiful machine! Glad you took the time to hunt one down. A very satisfying video, thank you! :^)
nownow
2025-08-09 18:07:22 +0000 UTCNice video! I got the lesser version (the FL-77) after I watched your video on the Sharp RP-117, because it was the only thing "similar" (as in: with a motorized drawer), and it did a good enough job that both my brother and our parents got one, each. Seems the system was quite popular in Germany. Sadly, mine has gone to storage since and replaced by one of the Technics ones. The drawer motor got weak all of the sudden, and is a pain to diagnose because it's attached to the drawer.
Benjamin Kleiner
2025-08-09 16:57:03 +0000 UTCI was able to get my hands on a PS-FL1 quite a few years ago. I love my manual table but the tray load, automatic table is really nice when I have company. No need to worry about it getting bumped or forgetting to turn it of. It's just tucked out of the way. This FL 99 is really nice though. Would have loved to have found one but they are very hard to find, not to mention having to type Sony PS into search makes things a real pain. The only win I would give to the lower end series is that the little access door (or window, depending on your model) is very quick and simple to remove, and probably wouldn't even be difficult to fabricate a replacement if needed. I've considered making a plexiglass top for mine. Anyway, really great to see you looking and hopefully feeling much better. Your videos have always made me smile even when I've had tough things going on. Thank you.
Phil Desnoyers
2025-08-09 16:54:46 +0000 UTCAnd of course include a frozen chocolate record played on a cardboard record player. 😁
Grace Robbins
2025-08-09 14:30:42 +0000 UTCExcellent video, thank you! Can't imagine how much time went into all the actual work on the device, let alone the editing... And I have so much sympathy about the drop: I had a somewhat similar experience when I was trying to replace the built-in battery of an old Ensoniq keyboard. I didn't have your patience, however, and I ended up totally hulking out and smashing the thing to pieces. This happened maybe 15 years ago and I still regret it, so you should be proud that you recovered both your composure and the device :)
MM
2025-08-09 14:13:11 +0000 UTCFinding them is the real problem. This one was under £400…and a good part of that would have been the delivery cost.
Techmoan
2025-08-09 11:41:35 +0000 UTCIf they made these now, i'd be buying one for sure. I'm guessing even if I found one on eBay, we're talking big money?
Josette Reynolds
2025-08-09 11:25:01 +0000 UTCAgreed! I also love the “lovely nonsense” description. Regards
James(UK)
2025-08-08 20:46:35 +0000 UTC💯. Regards
James(UK)
2025-08-08 20:44:28 +0000 UTCVery good video Mat: didn’t feel too long to me, kept me engaged. I think the chapters were a good idea although I watched it myself from start to finish. I do believe you can see an element of evolution to your videos with a constant tweak making good videos just that fraction better with each one you put out. Enjoyed the last chapter too for the humour. Regards
James(UK)
2025-08-08 20:40:07 +0000 UTCJust rewatched and now I'm wondering how commonplace it is for tech manufacturers to require specialized tools for, in this case, stylus adjustments. I can imagine future customer service issues. 😅
Grace Robbins
2025-08-08 18:07:56 +0000 UTCSeems like you've done so many record player reviews that you should have a review of the reviews. Lay out the dozen or so various types (including the dumb bus one that sounded awful) and sum up the pros, cons, differences, maybe group the auto-tracking ones in close proximity, the novelty ones, and just the boring/mundane ones that existed past vinyl's heyday.
Randall Jennings
2025-08-08 16:55:09 +0000 UTCAwesome, you evaluating record players with an edge. REAL TECHMOAN
Jasper Colijn
2025-08-08 16:49:12 +0000 UTCI loved this video. 51 minutes of enjoyment! Thanks Mat.
John Scott
2025-08-08 16:35:07 +0000 UTCOh, and just a quick thank you for the Brasso/Duraglit tip. I picked that up from one of your videos years ago and have used it numerous times on scratched plastic since, and it works a treat, so you've helped me a lot, cumulatively. (If I want a really good shine I use Meguiar's Plast-RX, but for quick, easy removal of scratches on things like the covers of LED/LCD displays on HiFis etc. it's unbeatably convenient.)
Drew Tavendale
2025-08-08 16:15:18 +0000 UTCThoroughly enjoyed that, Mat, thank you. Nothing more to say. Well, except maybe that I'd happily have watched a full two minutes of you handling and fingerprinting records to mess with certain people. Immature? Sure. Do I care? Not at all.
Drew Tavendale
2025-08-08 16:10:54 +0000 UTCLove the younger you! Thanks for this deep dive into the PS-FL99.
Bruce Grembowski
2025-08-08 16:05:43 +0000 UTC> time will fold back in on itself. Whoa, Doc, that's heavy! > I should give up entirely on making videos and just go and live off grid in a cave instead. Please don't. Also, RightMove must be a UK thing; never heard of it.
Randall Jennings
2025-08-08 16:02:56 +0000 UTCIt resets to zero every time it’s taken off the record and starts counting up from zero every time it’s placed back down…then resets again at the start of each new track.
Techmoan
2025-08-08 15:55:50 +0000 UTCIf you lift up the tonearm and then put it back down in the same place, does the time counter continue from where it stopped or does it reset to zero?
VWestlife
2025-08-08 15:45:46 +0000 UTCThis was Just Another Excellent Video, Mat.
Stephen Hamme
2025-08-08 15:36:54 +0000 UTCThe projector screens are over......good.
Stephen Hamme
2025-08-08 15:36:14 +0000 UTCLoved that little write up above. Going to watch the video next
James(UK)
2025-08-08 15:02:14 +0000 UTCInteresting record player, I once put a bid on one of those (probably the simpler one) because I was interested to have a record player in my then home office room, but no room for the top lid... Maybe sometime I'll still get one ;-)
MrHammond
2025-08-08 14:49:51 +0000 UTCThose Grundig speakers would go great with a Weltron 2005 and a Keracolor TV.
Duncan
2025-08-08 13:16:48 +0000 UTCBrothers in Arms has been called the CD that sold a million CD players. My theory is that it is the amount of silence on it that makes it a powerful demonstration of CD,
Duncan
2025-08-08 11:58:49 +0000 UTCGreat video as usual :) We had the PS-FL77 (and matching amp, tuner and cassette) when I was a teenager. I've since rebought the FL77 and the, hmm, TC-FX5 I think it was. The record player needs to warm up for +/- 10 minutes or the stylus will slide all the way across the record... The cassette deck has an annoying optical sensor that detects if the spindles are running and stops the motor if (it thinks) they're not. Hits the nostalgia-spot just right though, and the FL77 sounds great. We had a pair of Grundig Audiorama 8000 speakers on stands with it as well, which I might buy one day, just for the space age looks. Doesn't really fit the Sony design though.
Aslak Evang
2025-08-08 11:53:05 +0000 UTCPossibly, but if I were using this daily it'd be hidden in a stack and I'd never see the top.
Techmoan
2025-08-08 10:51:09 +0000 UTCGreat to see the non-tech-geek's simple approach to fixing complex issues. Would be hilarious though, to include a brief cut-in about dropping the player and deciding to live in a cave.
Jeremiah Jackson
2025-08-08 10:45:13 +0000 UTCHi - great video. Would Polywatch sort out the cover? I know you have some somewhere, though for that cover it might use the whole tube.
Rick Parsons
2025-08-08 10:25:33 +0000 UTCMade me happy.
Peter Jensen
2025-08-08 09:23:03 +0000 UTCThat was a really good episode. It was worth the time you spent (IMHO).
Big Car
2025-08-08 07:41:33 +0000 UTCFunny enough I have let (twice) some of these components go by. I didn't know the background, so that is great to know. I was indeed attracted to them except for the buttons. Then it didn't work with the pickup and away they went
Raul Ramos
2025-08-08 06:41:55 +0000 UTCReally impressed with the video, you've done a fantastic job! I also loved the record touching bit. Great hinitng at the repair frustration without making it boring I believe there shall be a pot to adjust speed, not that this is news to you but perhaps to someone. I do a lot of acoustics for work and I have a 20 min average time for "retention of the impression of sound" I couldn't quote the source to save my live though.
Raul Ramos
2025-08-08 06:22:12 +0000 UTCGreat Video. A lot of work to get it going properly. Good Job!!!!
Benjamin Giguere
2025-08-08 04:48:54 +0000 UTCI appreciate the projector tech, but I think I'd enjoy watching the movies on that specific setup even more. 😁
Grace Robbins
2025-08-08 04:12:35 +0000 UTCAfter reading through the comments thus far they seem to be mostly well-pleased with this "classic repair video." Me too! The 50+ minute run time is just perfect.💖👍
Mark Hesse
2025-08-08 01:40:09 +0000 UTCGreat video Matt. You have the patience of a saint! This to me is you at your best. Pitting your it has to be said, best endeavours, at some old tech. Glad you are past the projector period. Have to admit lost me thier for a while. But many people probably found that engaging. Thanks again for a fun and enjoyable video
Stewart Webb
2025-08-07 23:16:30 +0000 UTC• This is an entertaining and very satisfying repair video. • It's awesome to see the practical mechanical ingenuity that was put into this unit by Sony. Although you probably would have preferred not to, I am glad you fiddled around with it enough to explore its components. • It's awesome to see the practical mechanical ingenuity you employed to repair this record player. • The ending with the hip 'disguise' is hilarious. • Right now I can see the YouTube Comment Maniacs crying about the dust debris on the record surfaces. 🤦. • Random question I had planned to ask you: have you ever been able to find the Orrtronics Auto-Mate or P-100? Take care 🤍
Grace Robbins
2025-08-07 23:07:51 +0000 UTCTalking of first seeing a CD player in use, I can pinpoint my experience down to Boxing Day 1987 at my cousins house. One of my cousins had a new stacking system, with CD player, and demonstrated it to me with Michael Jackson's "Bad", which I assume was probably the best selling record of the year. Not only did the CD have an extra track, but he showed me that even if you didn't put the disc in the tray straight, it would nudge it into place when it closed itself! My dad finally got a player in 1988. One of his first discs was "Hello Children Everywhere". So £400 of state of the art laser equipment... and he tests it with "When Father Papered The Parlour", a track from a scratchy 78! (He did also buy "Brothers In Arms", as it was illegal not to.)
Brad Jones
2025-08-07 22:59:29 +0000 UTCExcellent video on a very interesting turntable. Well done with the repair work. Sony made some great innovative products, particularly in the 80s.
Gideon Jones-Davies
2025-08-07 22:53:26 +0000 UTCClever little machine. I've always been a fan of the Liberty series design, this turntable and the accompanying cassette player are what led me to get my similarly draw-loading Braun C1 cassette player.
Matt Tester
2025-08-07 22:48:08 +0000 UTCLooking forward to seeing this, remember the in the Sony NZ showroom, they had before we Sony shops, both distant memories...
Robin Capper
2025-08-07 22:39:53 +0000 UTCFor the question at the end I had to back and check the Fisher DAC-145 that Technology Connections made a video on (the record player where the turntable is also a 5-disc CD changer). Alas, it only shows the record speed when in record mode.
Pietro Gagliardi
2025-08-07 22:37:54 +0000 UTCApparently the PS-FL77 was the cheapest way of getting Sony's famed Biotracer tonearm. The tracking and anti-skating are adjusted dynamically electronically. A great idea providing it stays working properly.
Duncan
2025-08-07 22:14:57 +0000 UTCThe day after I recorded that I got recommended a video where a chap looked a bit like that (sans glasses) non-ironically. I just hope people don’t think I’m lampooning him. No namez.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 21:33:13 +0000 UTCThat's a wrap. Great repair, good sleuthing etc. Thanks for another goodun 👍
Simon Arnold
2025-08-07 21:33:08 +0000 UTCUndoubtedly one of your most enjoyable videos to date and in my opinion the "fixing old kit" genra is what you do best. Thanks for keeping up the entertainment.
Simon Kendall
2025-08-07 21:17:52 +0000 UTCIt’s still very much incomplete, I need to spend a couple of days connecting the recording side of things up. When I do I’ll be adding one or two new things so it’ll be a good time to record the process.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 21:09:41 +0000 UTCClassic Techmoan! Really enjoyed this one and grateful for the work you put into it. If you are looking for an idea for an easy video, I'd be interested to know what is the current state of your hi-fi now that it is moved into your office building. What is in it, what did you not keep in it, why, etc. Also, are the two stacks on each wall connected or separate?
Jason Wellband
2025-08-07 21:01:43 +0000 UTCIt’s still as I left it. I used it when I was editing and voicing over this one, but I’m slooooowly working on moving things across to the new space, it’s just that the next video is always a higher priority.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 20:52:48 +0000 UTCThe dressing up bit at the end resulted in an involuntary snort of laughter!
David Peaker
2025-08-07 20:50:33 +0000 UTCGreat video of course, but my burning question... What has become of the spare room/old studio? Has Mrs Moan (re)claimed it?
Stuart Hilpert
2025-08-07 20:49:33 +0000 UTCThis is fantastic! OG Techmoan all the way! I've missed the retro HiFi w/repairs!!!! 👍
Scott Burningham
2025-08-07 20:33:45 +0000 UTCIt’s a vicious rumour.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 20:28:26 +0000 UTCFortunately I wasn't recording, I was just moving things around ready for an early start the next day.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 20:27:02 +0000 UTCYour comments on these Patreon video alone justify the investment let alone the rest of your lovely nonsense. ❤️
Sean Smith
2025-08-07 20:25:19 +0000 UTCAm I to assume that the fall and accompanying strong words are not included in the video then?
Martijn Valk
2025-08-07 20:16:48 +0000 UTCPleased to hear you're not dead
Dave Velociraptor
2025-08-07 20:06:40 +0000 UTCMuch better solar power on a desert island. Oh and I only discovered the two-finger chapter trick today.
Techmoan
2025-08-07 20:02:33 +0000 UTCWhat is this two-finger double-tap sorcery? I didn't know that. I sympathise with the off-grid cave. I'd prefer a desert island.
CBits Tech
2025-08-07 19:59:53 +0000 UTC
