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Fluffy73
Joined: 26 Aug 2014 Posts: 15
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:57 pm Post subject: Bad Stylus? |
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Just won an NOS stylus on ebay and I'm not sure it's the one for me.
I have an SJT-200 Stereo Model which is supposed to take a 154216 stylus and cartridge - Which is what I supposedly won. Says so on the little RCA box.
However, upon installation in my player, I get a very wobbly picture and a high pitched whine present in the audio output.
I also noticed my cartridge was blue and the replacement was white - if that makes any difference. Mono/Stereo perhaps?
Did I get taken? Did somebody replace a mono cartridge and stuff it in a stereo box?
I put my old cartridge back in and everything was glorious again. So it was definitely this new suspect cartridge. |
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dmbjunky
Joined: 23 Jan 2017 Posts: 88 Location: Odon, IN
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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I noticed those NOS stylii (?) on ebay. I thought about buying one but figured CEDatum can take of me with their services. I may be wrong on that assumption though as I have no experience with them except from what I've read on the forum. |
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jsdspif
Joined: 16 Jan 2016 Posts: 278
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 8:49 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.cedmagic.com/tech-info/stylus-cart-guide/stylus-cart-guide.html
http://www.cedmagic.com/home/cedfaq.html#twoseven
Those 2 pages should tell you all you need to know. I thought a while back there was a post about many of the NOS cartridges on ebay needing repair/rebuild and if that was a concern for a potential buyer they should make sure that the cartridge has been tested and found working. With the cartridges it seems like a bad stylus could be in a proper box and someone buys it and doesn't know anything about them and thinks "this looks just like new" and then lists it as NOS, when it's actually a defective cartridge someone has placed in the box.
Another item I always wonder about are the discs that say "still sealed". It seems like there is probably a way to seal a disc back up and then label it still sealed. Or someone buys it after someone has re-sealed it and they aren't aware of it, and they re-sell it as still sealed.
With the cartridges though I can imagine someone buying one in a proper box and then think "Oh, this looks just like new...". At any rate, I just sent 4 cartridges to CEDatum and a couple days later got a report on the status of them and a couple days later got another email the cartridges had been repaired/rebuilt and were ready to be shipped back to me. I would just send it to them and they'll let you know it's condition. There is no charge for that other than shipping there and back which would probably be about $8 (?) total. |
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Fluffy73
Joined: 26 Aug 2014 Posts: 15
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 9:40 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm, well it's definitely a "216" according to that page, but it must be bad. Well, that means it's a good candidate to go off to CEDatum and at least I have my old stylus to use for now.
Thanks for the help. |
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CEDatum
Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 104 Location: South Central Indiana, USA.
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Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2017 3:03 pm Post subject: Bad Stylus |
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The 2 CEDMagic stylus info sites linked from jsdspif are well worth reading. RCA sourced diamond stylus from several suppliers. The Blue cartridges use mostly a man made diamond, the white a natural diamond. They are industrial grade diamonds and have the same performance spec.
The last year of RCA stylus manufacturing was 1985. - 32 years ago. Any stylus available now is Vintage and should not be sold as NEW.
Stylus cartridges in the original RCA stylus box can degrade with time. The fly-lead ( thin metal spring that connects the diamond tip to the cartridge body) can weaken, and under poor storage can corrode or break. So the stylus may show performance problems or not work at all.
Folks, Never, NEVER buy a CED stylus cartridge from E-Bay or other on-line source that does not carry a warranty or money back statement.
CEDatum will be glad to evaluate your stylus at no charge and send you a report. You just pay for the round trip mailing. |
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