Collaro Microgram. Heavy arm.

[AD360 Rob]

Evening all, just been given a collar microgram to look at for a friend. He said it's working but the arm feels wobbly. Investigation revealed that not only was the arm pillar loose (tightened the nut, cured) the arm is also very heavy. Indeed the spring for the weight adjustment appears to have nowhere to attach. I found an odd bit of metal inside the player which has holes and a right angled bend (a bit like mini meccano) but I'm convinced there's more missing. Can anyone help with photos of the underneath of the arm or possibly parts that I am missing? All costs met of course.

Rob

[AD360 Rob]

Forgot to mention, it's a later model with an ecl 82

[slidertogrid]

I think there should be a little peg on one of the criss-cross mouldings . The spring then hooks onto the little strip with the holes in it the weight being then adjustable by hooking the strip onto the peg on the desired hole.
The peg often breaks off as the plastic seems to get brittle with age.
I have repaired them before by inserting a wire peg into the underside of the arm and re enforcing the new peg with araldite.

The arm adjustment is fairly crude and usually has to be set a little on the heavy side to get it to play without jumping or the sound sounding a little thin.
A lot of course depends on the cartridge used but not really a record player for your best records!


Rich.

[AD360 Rob]

Thanks for that Rich, I'll get the magnifier and strong light out tomorrow and see if I can determine where the peg was.

Cheers
Rob

[Techman]

I've got an example of that exact deck somewhere, so I can probably go and take a picture of what's under the back end of the arm if necessary.

[Techman]

Any good?

[AD360 Rob]

That's fantastic, thanks Techman. I've araldited a pin in place of the plastic peg which is doing the job just fine but great to see exactly how the bracket fits (I've got it on the wrong way round and my cartridge wires aren't routed through the hole) Need to replace the motor mounts next and the cartridge as it currently needs a lot of pressure (in excess of 10 grams) to get a reasonable output even with a new stylus. I suspect the rubber has hardened also, there's evidence of the crystal starting to deteriorate (green deposits around the pins) It's a TC8 which are known for that and not being stereo compatible either. And, as Slidertogrid mentioned, it's not something I would want to play my decent records on

[dalgwcobl]

That turntable and arm unit were fitted to my first record player given to me when I was seven years old! I always thought they were of BSR origin, not Collaro. Maybe the TC8 made me think that.
What model was it then?

[Audio1950]

You're right, that deck is a later BSR replacement. The original was a single play Collaro, hence the name .

[peter_sol]

Yes the only thing original is the case.

[Edward Huggins]

The turntable unit is a BSR TU9 model from 1956. If the amplifier uses an ECL82, then you can fit a lighter, stereo-compatible medium output cartridge.

[AD360 Rob]

To be honest Edward, I did think it odd that a Collaro player would use a BSR cartridge plus, the arm is very reminiscent of a later BSR unit although it's been there a very long time. The owner doesn't want to spend heaps of money on it and it also needs motor mounts and a new on/off/volume pot plus some electronic work (hums) so has basically given it to me. I have found a goldring MX2M mono cart with mount for a reasonable price but am unsure if its stereo compatible. I like this cart because it is a turnover type so I wont have an ugly hole at the front of the headshell. Other alternatives are an Acos GP101 which is compatible but only plays LP unless you change the stylus (TC8 type) I also have a BSR X5M knocking around too.

[dalgwcobl]

Well I'm glad i'm not going round the twist - a BSR TU9 it is! I'd fit the BSRX5M and forget about the hole in the front of the headshell. It would be stereo compatible and track at about 5-7 grams and be better than the MX2M which I think is only mono. The TC8, of any version, is pretty grim these days.

[ben]

I'd go with a ceramic cart too. It will make the player more usable. You can always cover the hole with some suitably coloured adhesive tape or insulation tape or even a piece of coloured plastic!

[AD360 Rob]

I've had a dig around in my cartridge box and come up with a couple of unbranded stereo carts. I'll try these in the player as I'd rather keep the X5M for a better quality player (There's a Bush srp31D and a Hacker cavalier in the roundtuit pile). I'll let you know how it goes and how my search for compatible motor mounts goes too.

[Edward Huggins]

In the last few years, we've recommended here the very capable BSR X5M many times as an ideal replacement stereo-compatible mono cartridge. I expect that UK stocks must now be at a very low level. That now leaves very little choice other than to use the still available Stereo arts and bridge them.

[Heatercathodeshort]

The case as mentioned is the only original bit! It dates from the 1939/46 78 only player with of course a Collaro deck. The original amplifier was quite a good unit employing EF37, CL33 and CY31 octal valves in a series circuit. They sounded good for an early portable [? it weighed a ton] record player. John.