RX-2 won’t track; resets to outer groove.

[GeorgeHatesFun]

I just picked up an RX-2 along with a couple of other vintage turntables. It was handed off in a parking lot and unfortunately no tranport screws or anything had been set.

Fortunately, it’s MMC4 cartridge was stored under the platter. It looks to be OK from what I can see with my very limited magnification options, but it’s hard to say for sure (it definitely has a sharper stylus than another I have lying around).

Unfortunately, I can’t get it to follw a groove. When I press play, the needle moves where it should but resets to the outer edge of the lead-in groove before it starts playing anything. When I turned the tracking force up to 2g (from hte 1.3 recommended) I could get it to play part of track one before resetting itself again, but very quietly and with terrible sound quality.

Is this a symptom of a trashed cartridge?
If so, how can I be sure before dropping the $200+ on a replacement?

[Glitch]

GeorgeHatesFun wrote:

Is this a symptom of a trashed cartridge?

Possibly. Can you post some pictures of the cartridge? (especially the cantilever from the front, top and side)

Glitch

[GeorgeHatesFun]

Thanks for your help; here’s a few photos of the cartridge I was using with as much detail as my iphone can manage.

[Dillen]

Stylus tip looks round.
If indeed so, that would be the reason.

Martin

[Glitch]

I agree that the tip of the stylus doesn’t look quite right (but is hard to tell from the pictures). You might want to try cleaning it in case it just has crud build up. There are many ways to clean a stylus (some good, others not so much). I usually start with a dry 5/0 artist brush and only progress to something more aggressive if needed.

After cleaning, reevaluate the condition of the tip. Search online for macro photos of styli for a comparison.

Martin:  In the first picture, is the cantilever skewing to the left an indication of a failing suspension?

Glitch

[Mark-sf]

Image shows the stylus is long gone. Time for re-tip or replacement.

[Author]

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