Micromatic Stylus/Cartridge

maxwelljd · by **maxwelljd** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:31 pm

Hi All,

FIrst off I really wanted to thank everyone, I've learned so much already. I recently picked up a Micromatic portable that was working but the sound quality wasn't that great. I got the idler running smoother and the speed changing mechanism working but then when I moved on to the needle things didn't go as well.

I'm not even certain what counts ad the "cartridge" and what counts as the needle. In the head there is a grey plastic piece that had an arm sticking out that had "LP.S" on one side and "78" on the other. The plastic piece also has "L" and "R" on one side and number on the other.
It could filp 180 degrees and there was a small needle on both sides. The plastic arm got broke off and I'm not sure if the grey plastic piece counts is the cartridge or if the whole assembly is the stylus. I can't seem to find a way to remove the grey plastic piece.

I was able to pull the two needles out but I'm not certain if that was a smart thing to do! Any help? I've posted some pictures here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13109136@N06/

Thanks!!

Record-changer · by **Record-changer** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:58 pm

The wires connect to the cartridge.

The part that rotates 180 degrees is part of the stylus assembly.

There is usually some kind of spring catch that holds that kind of stylus assembly in the cartridge.

shane · by **shane** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:46 am

Make sure your using the right stylus for the right type of record too. The L is for long play vinyl 33's and 45's. The R is for regular 78's. Some of these styli are maked R, others S for standard, or just 78. If you play a vinyl record with the 78 needle, you'll get pretty bad sound usually, because the stylus is basically too fat for the groove.

maxwelljd · by **maxwelljd** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:44 am

Thanks, looks like from what I can find the cartridge is an ev 26. Is the ev 26D an acceptable replacement?

Thanks,

shane · by **shane** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 1:36 am

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you'll find the D probably stands for Diamond stylus, and the sapphire stylus version is the ev26.

Bobby Basham · by **Bobby Basham** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 7:56 pm

Howdie:

I posted somewhere back in early March of 2006 about the different cartridges and styli. I think it was listed "Magnavox Needles $4.99-$5.99"
or something similar. If you can't find an ElectroVoice 26, there may be an Astatic equivalent. EV-275 was popular back in the day, too.

maxwelljd wrote:Thanks, looks like from what I can find the cartridge is an ev 26. Is the ev 26D an acceptable replacement?

Thanks,

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

shedradios · by **shedradios** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:03 am

Your Magnavox dates to 1962/63. It has a 10 transistor stereo amplifier. The chassis number is 500-01-?? If you do a search on this site "Record Changer" has info posted on the various Magnavox record changers. If your cartridge has EV-26, by all means get one with the "D". There's one now on Ebay, Item number: 330156938437. Look at the picture, yours? Or do a web search and might get one cheaper. If you do get to the underside of your record changer please post the reference numbers there.