Hacker headshell cartridge fixing screw.

[barnettiuk]

AT6 deck. Headshell has no cartridge fixing screw. Can I get a replacement? Anyone know what I need to ask for in terms of dimensions? It's obviously very short and not your run-of-the-mill tobacco-tin screw....

thanks

[Edward Huggins]

It's possible that Members here have have spares. Assume you are using wth a lightweight ceramic cartridge. Double sided tape seems an obvious fix, but these soften with heat and move. I'll see if I can find one when I can get to my storage space.

[barnettiuk]

Thanks Edward. The player was a good price but was sold without cartridge. I get a new cartridge, go to affix it and..............

[Edward Huggins]

What type of cartridge are you trying to fix?

[Radiocruncher]

A quick ebay search for cartridge mounting kit will bring up lots of hits. Here’s one example http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=290947523860 I bought one for my deck a few months ago and it fitted well. I’m not sure of yours though so you might need to have a look at the dimensions on offer.

Good luck

Graham

[Edward Huggins]

That's an interesting link. But I think the OP is looking for small screws not bolts. Ideally we need to kno the type of cartridge he wishes to install.

[barnettiuk]

It's a BSR SC12M.

[Edward Huggins]

Thanks. Next question and quite important. Does it come with its sprung mounting bracket - or is it just the cartridge body with a small pre-drillled screw hole in the top?

[barnettiuk]

No, it came with its own plastic bracket it fits into which has a hole right through it for the screw.

[Edward Huggins]

OK, it will need to be short. To get you going, can you not get a small woodscrew or bolt (it will not need a nut) from B&Q so that t will self-tap itself into that plastic mount?

[Station X]

I have literally thousands of small screws. I'm sure I could find something to do the job if I had more information.

Is the screw a self tapping type, or does it screw into a thread cut into the mounting bracket, or perhaps require a nut?

What is the thread diameter and type?

What type of screw head? ie countersunk, cheese head, or W.H.Y?

A picture would help in the first instance.

[Audio1950]

The Garrard AT6 headshell doesn't have a countersunk hole in the aluminium top, so it will need to be either round or slightly raised. The plastic bracket is pre-tapped to take a countersunk, cross headed screw, as fitted to BSR arms.

[Tom_I]

Let's try to clarify things. Are you talking about the screw visible on the top of the headshell, as shown in the first photo?

If so, it has a slightly domed, countersunk head, 6 BA thread, and its overall length is 5.5 mm, or about 1/4 inch. It is used to fix the cartridge mounting plate into the headshell, as shown in the second photo. This plate has two short studs, half an inch apart, again tapped 6 BA, which the cartridge is fixed on to. The cartridge fixing screws are visible in the photo.

If you don't have the screw, then you may not have the plate, in which case you will either have to try to obtain the right parts, or use a different method of mounting the cartridge.

You may be able to get away with using the central tapped screw hole in the SC12M fixing bracket. What screw you need will depend on what thread that has. You'd need to check that that method would position the cartridge correctly in the headshell.

[barnettiuk]

Firstly thank you all for your help. I don't think the headshell has the plate. Is it easier to try to find another headshell? It looks very similar to one from a Garrard SP25 Mk II- are they interchangeable?

[Edward Huggins]

No, there's no point in finding another headshell, they will be the same.
If you have the BSR SC12M already fitted into mounting bracket, usually white plastic, then all you need is the 6BA screw advised in detail above.

[Tom_I]

They are not exactly the same shape, but a headshell from an SP25, AT60 or related deck should fit OK. That may be the best way to go.

[Tom_I]

Originally Posted by Edward Huggins

No, there's no point in finding another headshell, they will be the same.

But it looks as if the headshell in question has some hardware missing, so a replacement might be the best way to proceed.

[lazythread]

What you can't see clearly in the picture is the SC12M. It's mounted directly to the headshell without the plate, via the single hole in the headshell and the centre hole in the cartridge bracket. I did tap the bracket 6BA, but a self tapping screw will do just as well.

The plate is required only when you have a cartridge that needs the standard ½inch mount, or you have a very shallow cartridge. By the way, the mounting plate came in at least three tapped stud heights, so you have to make sure you get the right one.

Anyway the short version is: you don't need one and your headshell is just fine. Use the single holes.

Regards.

n.b. It's the deep AT6 headshell, so you may need to add a bit of packing (a large washer or two will do) to make sure the headshell doesn't ground on your records.

[D_S_J_R]

Forgive me for possibly unnecessary info, but the Garrard arm slopes down a hell of a lot when playing single records as is normal for these auto-change decks. NOT having the mounting plate in the headshell will only serve to make this worse and the stylus rake angle will be even greater than it usually is. (I know this would have been taken into account when the cartridge was designed, but...)

The SC11 and SC12 do seem to be very good ceramic pickups indeed - among the best sounding I feel - and it pays a little to help them perform at their best, even in an AT6 - in my opinion. The mounting hardware for the headshell was similar in the later cutaway-skirt M7 and in fact, different heights of half-inch fixings were available in an attempt to get the arm less 'slanted' when playing. My SC11M tracks at 4g very well in this deck.

If the castings for half-inch fixings cannot be obtained, may I suggest trying to fabricate a spacer of 1/4" or so to get the arm slightly less 'angled?' I suspect the variable spacers were more to get the bottom of the cartridge slightly below the bottom of the original headshell 'skirt' in all honesty, but every little helps when playing often irreplaceable vinyl and the AT6 when working properly isn't too bad at all if my slightly tatty one is anything to go by...

[lazythread]

Good point Dave, but the SC11/12 when in their brackets are deeper than many ceramic cartridges, and indeed many magnetics. If you've a single play Garrard like the SP25 series there is a tilt wedge (it was available as part of pick up installation kit 59048/072 which came with new SP25 mark 3 and 4 turntables) which brings the cartridge almost level with the platter. You can't see it in the picture but there's one installed and the cartridge is pretty well level with the record. The cartridge is mounted on the middle length mounting plate here though. The Stanton has replaced the SC12M in the earlier photo.

The trade off in an AT6, or any changer, is being able to clear a stack of records - frankly it's less of an issue in that situation, as the cartridge is only going to be level mid-stackish Depends how many 45s you want to stack Sorry for the pedantry.