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Old 10th Oct 2015, 9:23 pm   #1
kirstyd
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Default Repairing old BSR cartridges.

Hi all
considering what replacement carts cost these days i decided to have a go at repairing one so after gently grinding off the rivet with a Dremmel i carefully prised it open with a knife sure enough the small metal terminals were all tarnished i polished them up [with the Dremmel]and also cleaned the strips of foil that come from the element i then gave it a little squirt of switch cleaner before carefully putting it back together and lo and behold it works a treat .I had four of these in my box of junk i gave each one the same treatment and every one works perfectly I have even done a stereo one granted a little more complicated but even that is working well heres a fiew photos of what i found inside them .These things are no longer a throw away item and are well worth spending a little time on
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 9:28 pm   #2
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

this is the stereo cart .Once tested all thats left to do is put a blob of Araldite on each one to stop it coming apart
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 10:05 pm   #3
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

I have also been repairing the old B.S.R. X5M AND X5H carts for some time now and the SX6M cart can be repaired as well - usually as you say its the foil connectors on the element and the metal that is part of the pins inside that gets really tarnished and dirty and these cartridges are kinder to your records than the old TC8 mono cartridges so I prefer to repair them , I don't use switch cleaner though just I.P.A. solvent or methylated spirit on the foil and metal of the pin inside and I make sure i don't get any on the crystal element as it can damage it ! , Tony .
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 11:05 pm   #4
kirstyd
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

thanks for that tip i will be carefull in future .i also have some Sonotone carts that seem to have the same fault have you ever had a go at one of those? .they are not as robust as the BSR ones
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Old 10th Oct 2015, 11:47 pm   #5
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

Very well done on the repairs!

All these type of cartridges suffer from this type of fault.

I’ve got a box of ‘duds’ that I need to get round to doing some time when I get some spare time.

You should certainly never bin a dud cartridge, as I’ve noticed that there’s always a market for selling them on-line, so It’s been fairly obvious for some time that there are a few people already repairing them.

Forum member ‘Ben’ has already produced a comprehensive post/thread on dismantling and repairing one of the Sonotone cartridges (do a search), so no need for repeats on this one.
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Old 11th Oct 2015, 12:22 am   #6
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

Ok, so I’ve just done a search and here’s the thread on the Sonotone repair:-

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=49319
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Old 11th Oct 2015, 12:33 am   #7
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

Fascinating ..... So then, the next question has got to be ..... Has anyone tried growing their own crystals of Rochelle Salt (sodium potassium tartarate tetrahydrate) and replacing the sensing element?
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Old 11th Oct 2015, 7:12 am   #8
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Default Re: repairing old BSR cartridges

Ha ha I read up on how to make it as I find this kind of stuff fascinating, but it is such a long and drawn out process I decided not to bother, but I may still give it a go sometime when I've not got much going on.
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Old 11th Oct 2015, 1:20 pm   #9
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Default Re: Repairing old BSR cartridges.

Quote:
Has anyone tried growing their own crystals of Rochelle Salt
Why not cut a piezo beeper into slices instead?
 
Old 11th Oct 2015, 8:15 pm   #10
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Default Re: Repairing old BSR cartridges.

Some cartridges that may be difficult to work on are the later Acos models such as the GP96 as used in Hacker record players and the once superior GP104 model. These used a form of silicon? grease around the ceramic elements to damp hf down. This stuff can get onto the inner terminals and a channel or two can become intermittent sadly. The GP104 seems to suffer some hardening of the main stylus to element coupling block and the sound becomes a little 'fiercer' than I remember it being when new.

Well done on these BSR cartridges, by the way
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Old 12th Oct 2015, 10:39 am   #11
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Default Re: Repairing old BSR cartridges.

Thanks, this is of great interest to me. Inevitably as suitable cartridges are not produced now we will need to get creative to keep this technology alive in the future. Id have thought replacing old Rochelle crystals with ceramic elements would have been a far better option given their longevity. I have some Garrard GCS8 cartridges Im looking to try this with, if I can find a suitable matierial
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Old 12th Oct 2015, 12:31 pm   #12
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Default Re: Repairing old BSR cartridges.

Reworking strain gauges has been suggested in the past: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...ad.php?t=51794
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