Thanks Greg,
I stand corrected (and better educated).
Note: Maybe when they refer to "featherweight tracking" they have
Pterodactyl feathers in view? lol...
Walt
Greg Bogantz wrote:
Walt, the tracking force used in the early Capehart 16-E changer
which used the "fan head" black pickup was very nearly the same as
that of the other early horseshoe-magnet magnetic pickups. They track
at 120 - 150 grams or so, making the tungsten wire needles the only
good choice for multiple-play use. That would include the changers
thru about the E or F-line Capeharts (ca. 1938 and earlier). The
G-line series was about when the later, smaller brown pickup heads
came into use on the Capeharts. The early versions of these were also
magnetic and tracked at around 100 grams or so. The later versions of
the 16-E changer with the similar-looking brown pickup head were
fitted with the early Astatic crystal cartridges which tracked at 40 -
50 grams. Still, this is too high a force to use with a hard
jewel-point needle, even though this was common practice at the time.
As you say and as I say in my other post on this subject, jewel-point
needles were really never the correct choice for these cartridges that
tracked at anything much over 12 grams or so.
You record collectors might have noticed that the records you get
from the mid to late 1930s tend to be more worn, distorted, and noisy
than the records from the 1920s and earlier. This is because the
record players made from the mid '30s to the early postwar period
often used jewelled needles in these crystal cartridges that tracked
at 30 grams or more. The advertising of the day called this
"featherweight" tracking at only one ounce! That's a pretty heavy
feather. But they ground up the records mercilessly. Unfortunately,
this situation continued until the advent of the GE variable
reluctance (VR) magnetic cartridge that tracked at around 10 - 12
grams and which came into common use with the Capehart 41-E changer
and other top-end record players after WWII. Even after the war, most
cheap record players continued to use crystal cartridges tracking at
30 grams or so until microgroove vinyl records came into use after
1948. This brought the need and application of much better cartridges
that could track at 8 grams or less.
Greg Bogantz
----- Original Message ----- From: "Walt Sommers"
<waltsomm...@comcast.net>
To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l@oldcrank.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Capehart
Bob,
Do you know the approximate tracking mass of the Capehart pick up? I
am guess it is probably 25 to 40 grams? The RCA Chromium needles
would be a concern on the 10-50 or other Victor automatics that use
the #5 acoustic Orthophonic reproducer (tracking at a whopping 130
grams or so) but assuming that the Capehart's pickup is something
like 25 to 40 grams I can't imagine the RCA Chromium needles would be
an issue. I recall reading an RCA patent (which I can't specifically
call to mind right now) concerning the use of chromium on the needles
which briefly discussed the issue of the relatively low mass of
electrical pickups versus the higher mass of the acoustic reproducers.
The Victor Soft or Full Tungs~Tone stylus would be ideal for the
Capehart as well as most of the early electrical pickups. I can't say
I would recommend the Extra Loud Tungs~Tone stylus simply because
they are quite aggressive. Others swear by them. Whatever you choose,
I would stay as far away from jeweled styli (sapphires, diamonds,
etc.) as possible. Sapphires and diamonds would be great if only the
designs of the early pickups were better.
I have a feeling I am in Dr. Bogantz's area of expertise
here...Perhaps he will jump in.
Walt
RBaumbach wrote:
Tungstone needles are probably the best choice for either the 10-50
or the Capehart, and were recommended by both manufacturers. In the
mid-thirties Capehart recommended the RCA Chromium needles, but some
collectors feel that these are hard on records. Both the Tungstone
and Chromium needles are still rather plentiful. There is a more
comprehensive discussion of needles on the bonus page for the
Capehart book (see page 5).
Contact me privately regarding the owner's manual and schematics.
Bob
On TuesdayJuly 14, 2009, at 10:11 AM, jim...@earthlink.net wrote:
After many years, my 1937 Capehart 404G (serial number 10627E) is
now functioning & sounds great & is fun to watch as it changes
records. I have noticed quite a bit of "needle noise" in the
magnetic pickup when the volume is turned down even though the pickup
has been restored. Is this endemic to a properly performing
Capehart as I suspect because all the doors to the record playing
compartment are sealed with rubber gaskets, presumable to contain
mechanical noise or does the pickup need further work? Also,
where can one obtain needles for playing large numbers of 78s
without being changed in the Capehart or Orthophonic Victrola 1050?
I have Mr. Baumbach's excellent book on the Capeharts without which
the repairman who usually works on 1950s & 1960s hifi gear
would have been completely at sea in working on the Capehart
changer but would like to obtain copies of the owner's manual &
schematics of the tuner & amplifiers.
Jim Cartwright
Immortal Performances
jim...@earthlink.net
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