Webster-Chicago 256 cartridge/stylus?
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:51 am
I'm restoring a TV combination that has this changer. It dates from about 1949 to 1950. The cartridge has an interesting mechanism for selecting stylus tips. A lever on the back of the tonearm tilts the cartridge forward and back on a pivot. A single setscrew holds a two-tipped stylus, 1 and 3 mils. The selection lever is also weighted so that it changes the tracking force (heavier for 3-mil 78).
The cartridge is die-cast, has a sticker identifying it as Webster.
It's dead. Probably like most/all crystal cartridges of the era.
I've heard of west-tech services as a cartridge rebuilder but their site seems to be down.
Any suggestions on how to get this going again? It mounts in a typical 1/2 inch cartridge mount. I would love to get it going as original. I could replace it with a regular ceramic cartridge but really want to keep the unique stylus shifter.
These Webster changers are really well put together.
The cartridge is die-cast, has a sticker identifying it as Webster.
It's dead. Probably like most/all crystal cartridges of the era.
I've heard of west-tech services as a cartridge rebuilder but their site seems to be down.
Any suggestions on how to get this going again? It mounts in a typical 1/2 inch cartridge mount. I would love to get it going as original. I could replace it with a regular ceramic cartridge but really want to keep the unique stylus shifter.
These Webster changers are really well put together.