Blake wrote:


"Andy" wrote in message
ups.com...


Well, what is the worst that could happen if you spent a coupla
bucks
on a ceramic element and it didn't work as well ?

I suspect that the next step would be to find the cost of a
compatible
replacement cartridge and decide if it is worth the extra money.....

Probly not..... Sometimes you have to spend a few bucks just to
find stuff out...

I would, personally, never consider repairing the inside of a phono
cartridge. It's too tiny. Throw some bucks at the problem. That's
the
American way :))))) !!!

Andy in Texas


Thanks for the comments, Andy. Actually, the cartridge in this 1952
phono I'm working on is luxuriously spacious. Overall, the cartridge
is about 2" long and 3/4" wide. I only had to drill out four rivets to
open the shell. The space for the crystal is over 1/2" wide and fully
1" long. This was obviously made before the word "miniaturization"
took root in the electronics industry.

And I follow your logic completely. It will cost me a big 75c to try
this piezo see how it works. Compare that to $50 for a rebuilt
cartridge, and you can probably guess which I will try first.

But it never hurts to see what experiences others have had first. No
point in learning the same lessons over again.

Looking through my junk box I have a couple of old mono phonograph
shells ! Like yours the elements have long gone !

However both have a pair of screws, maybe 6ba thread and set 11/16th
inch apart that holds in the cartridge. On one these the screws are
tapped into the metal of the shell. On the other there is a Bakelite
pad, about 3/16th thick with two holes in it for the cartridge and a
tapped centre one that goes right through, with a matching hole in the
top of the shell.

Maybe you could do something along these lines with yours and fit a
cheap Xtal cartridge insert ?

--
Baron: