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" <[email protected]>
To: "Antique Phonograph List" <[email protected]>
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, [email protected] 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
[email protected]
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