Is My Red Head Cartridge Dead?

Is it possible for my Seeburg Red Head Magnetic PC cartridge to play okay, but show no reading when removed from the tone arm and checked with an ohm meter. I checked it with two different meters set on RX1, RX10, RX1K and nothing. I was told it should read right around 560 ohms, no reading means the cartridge is shot.

I'm puzzled by how the cartridge produces volume output after failing to show any reading on an DMM. I did tap the needle a couple of times thinking it should produce a loud thumping sound through the amplifier like someone knocking on a regular microphone, sounded weak when tapping it so I placed a paper clip into the tone arm in place of the cartridge, tapped it with a pen and did get a very loud thump through the amp. Any thoughts on how to double check it would be appreciated.

If it is "producing sound", I would suspect your meter is bad--not the cartridge !
Ron Rich

Ron, I don't know, tried two different meters, digital and regular both Zero out and work fine. I'll try clip on test leads just to make sure and report back with results.

Magnetic phono cartridges rarely "go bad", it's the needles that wear out in time.
Possibile that moisture/corrosion can get into the cartridge body and cause the fine wires to finally deteriorate.

Victory Glass, among other sources online, have relacements.

I've even seen a custom-mounted dual Pickering/Stanton made as a replacement.

just retested cartridge with two working meters, clip on leads, no reading.

Well, to be "diplomatic"--I would need to assume that if that's the case, the reader, not the meter was at fault---
I just read two of them with a Fluke 77, and an HP 34--one read 1.631 K and the other read 1.943 k--If I recall, correctly,
most read between 1.5 and 2.1 k ohms-- Ron Rich

It could be the reader, it's all good. I ordered another cartridge from Victory Glass and will test it and post a followup when it arrives, need to make sure the reader can still read, wait a minute, that's me...lol.

Ah,ha--Now I know what to call you, since I can't decipher your name from anything---
Let us know what yo find, Reader !! Ron Rich

A new Jukebox Superhero, RED HEAD READER is born (;p

The Red Head replacement arrived yesterday, reads 1.976K ohms plays great. I double checked the original cartridge placing back into the Jukebox, and of course it is shot, no sound and nothing on the meter so I guess mystery solved.

Ron, you must not be a Trekkie, NCC-1701 is the number of the Star Ship Enterprise.

Eric,
You guy's got me on that one--- Never watched it ! Ron Rich

Ron's too busy huffing rosin core smoke from his soldering iron and misses a lot of things.

hahaha.

Matt,
I don't know you well enough to make any statements about your alleged habit of----with flocking---
Ron Rich

in a word... I'm nuts.