Do new cartridges go bad from age?

I am looking into buying a 30 year old NOS cartridge.I was wondering if
cartridges go
bad from simply being stored on an operators shelf?If this is the case
would I be better
off buying a used one for much less money.
P.S. The one I have now is original and works.I was thinking a back up
for my 30
year old juke might be a good idea.
thanks,
Ike

You don't say what type of jukebox or what kind of cartridge. A
magnetic cartridge will probably last forever. Ceramic and crystal dry
up, like a salt shaker left on the kitchen table to long. A Cobra will
also dry up, but can be rebuilt with new silicon.
Charlie

Hi Ike,
Rock-ola Charlie is absolutely 100% correct....it depends on the
cartridge (which, as he says, DOES depend on the model of Jukebox you
are inquiring about).
Look on the back (rear) of your juke....it will have either a black and
silver metal i.d tag, or a blue and silver (some Seeburg models) tag;
look for where it says "Model number"/model #. Let us know what you
have, and we will be glad to answer your original question regarding a
NOS cartridge. Best, Rob

Hi Charlie and Rob,
The Juke is a Seeburg STD-2.(Year 1975).It uses a Pickering
Cartridge(silver and black in color/with yellow diamond needles)
The price to buy the NOS cartridge is $150,or $25.00 for a
tested working used one.Which (if any) would you recommend
for a back-up?
Thanks,
Ike

Hi Ike,
If it were me, I'd go with the tested used one for $25.00 (since you're
considering it as a back up for your existing cartridge). Unless of
course you're one of the rare souls who has "money to burn". If so,
then heck....why not!
Seriously though, before you get either one, ask them to check it with
a meter to make sure both channels (stereo cartridge) are coming
through fine. I've had two or three where the sound is only coming
through one channel. Good luck, Rob






Hi Charlie and Rob,
The Juke is a Seeburg STD-2.(Year 1975).It uses a Pickering
Cartridge(silver and black in color/with yellow diamond needles)
The price to buy the NOS cartridge is $150,or $25.00 for a
tested working used one.Which (if any) would you recommend
for a back-up?
Thanks,
Ike

Would this be a magnetic cartridge?If so it sounds like I might be ok
with purchasing neither one.
How can I tell without opening it up?
Thanks
Ike

Yes, it's magnetic

Speaking of magnetic cartridges,I just ran into a magnetic cartridge
needle that went bad not from wear but lack of sound.It wasn't NOS.I
recently aquired a Rockola 490 with the Shure M44 cartridge in it.While
the needle was tracking the record fine you could barely hear it with
the volume all the way up.Same if I rubbed my finger across it.Usually
you can hear that very loud even if the tip is bad.I got out a NOS
Shure needle and installed it and it nearly blew me out of the room.I
figure the moving magnet lost it's magnetism.Anyone have any ideas how
this happened inside of a stored jukebox?The needle appears
mechanically fine.I looked under a magnifier.No bent cantilever,moves
around fine so no hardened rubber inside and the magnet appears to be
still there.And yes I tried reinstalling it.

I was looking in my notes from about 5 years ago and found that I had tested
6 Seeburg Read Heads with a test record that I had made that had Mono cuts
and well as Stereo cuts. Here are the results at 1000 Hz

the output from the cartridge across a 47k resistor into my HP 400 meter was
pretty consistant between 30 to 45 Mv mono, Side to side outputs also did
not vary that much, about 10 Mv or so. I tested with new needles, and used
the same needles in all six cartridges. I did not test it on any stereo
cuts.

Not too bad for some really old cartridges. I have been told that the
magnets in some of the older cartridges will fade in strength over time.
This is probably the reason that I could never get 50+ Mv out of an old Red
Head. The test record that I had made was tested against a " standard"
Stanton cartridge in a linear turntable at one of the broadcast stations
here in Fort Worth.

rich in Fort Worth Texas

Hi Rich,

What the recorded velocity of your test record? Typically this test done at
5cm/sec. I seem to recall that the red head pickups are quite a bit hotter
by design than the typical magnetic hi-fi cartridge. I think a Stanton
681EEE would only produce about 3mv into 47K under the same conditions (5
cm/sec).

Mark

"Rich Klestinez" wrote in message
...
I was looking in my notes from about 5 years ago and found that I had
tested
6 Seeburg Read Heads with a test record that I had made that had Mono cuts
and well as Stereo cuts. Here are the results at 1000 Hz

the output from the cartridge across a 47k resistor into my HP 400 meter
was
pretty consistant between 30 to 45 Mv mono, Side to side outputs also did
not vary that much, about 10 Mv or so. I tested with new needles, and
used
the same needles in all six cartridges. I did not test it on any stereo
cuts.

Not too bad for some really old cartridges. I have been told that the
magnets in some of the older cartridges will fade in strength over time.
This is probably the reason that I could never get 50+ Mv out of an old
Red
Head. The test record that I had made was tested against a " standard"
Stanton cartridge in a linear turntable at one of the broadcast stations
here in Fort Worth.

rich in Fort Worth Texas