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Dual 1237 goodwill find

C

crojack

New Member
Just picked this up, looks in decent shape, the dustcover is toast though.

I'm pretty new to learning all the pieces and parts to good TT's.

It has a Blue Shure cartridge with MG-44J on it. Is this the stock cartridge? There is no needle, can the needle be replaced or do I replace the whole cartridge? If I should replace the whole cartridge, what should I go with? I read an Ortolan is good or a different Shure? And I guess those cartridges come with the needle?

I'll be running it through an old Advent Pro 300 and some Advent bookshelf speakers. I like the old stuff!

Thanks for all the help!
 
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Funny, my first decent system was a 1237 with an Advent 300 and Large Advent speakers. That turntable can sound very nice.
 
This is an option for an inexpensive stylus: http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IN-BOX-...771181?hash=item43a13a732d:g:WaAAAOxyY3ZRmhaU

With this installed you will be able to see what other work the turntable will need.

Most likely the interconnects will need replacing and the old grease will need to be cleaned out and replaced, but once you have a stylus on there, you will know for sure.

If you find that you need a new belt, be sure that you DO NOT purchase the cheap one on the auction site. Dual turntables are a little fussy when it comes to having the proper belt (it will affect your ability to change speeds, among other things). Vintage-Electronics.net is the place to go.
 
Clean those contacts up with a pencil eraser and some DeOxit (or contact cleaner). That is a very common issue - just some oxidation.

Once it is all clean you should be able to get a better idea.
 
The sled that holds the cartridge will only make contact with 4 of the metal tabs, but NOT that center tab.

Hope it works out!
 
Interesting, well I ordered that stylus, so we'll see if it works. Any ideas on bigger speakers that the 300 can still handle? Original Advents or?
 
The Dual 1237 was one of Dual's "entry level" turntables. You can use just about any 1/2" cartridge in it. Just be sure to mount the cartridge properly to get a good cartridge alignment.
 
Thanks! Got the new stylus and the player works. Need to get into cleaning it up and I think the steuerpimpel needs to be replaced. This is an older one without the light to calibrate the speed. Is there another way to do this?
 
You need an OLDER fluorescent light that has an actual balast transformer, rather than an electronic balast. The strobe marks are calibrated for line frequency, which is why the electronic-balasted fluorescents are useless. I just finished a repair a 1237 for a customer. Cannot wait to test it out tomorrow.
 
This little device works great and is portable: https://www.tindie.com/products/bot_thoughts/pocket-turntable-strobe/?pt=full_prod_search

2014-10-29T21:32:36.998Z-StrobeHandheld.JPG.855x570_q85_crop_region-[u'77',%20u'79',%20u'1456',%20u'997']_pad_rcrop.jpg


I'm not affiliated but bought 2 of them.

As for the steuerpimpel, I've made those from wire insulation but lately I have been using 2mm ID silicone tubing and it works great. Like this stuff:

http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.c...nsulcent-silicone-hose-pipe-tubing-2440-p.asp
 
Then by all means, do print a 60 Hz strobe. Of course, if you have 'perfect pitch', a strobe is not necessary.
 
I certainly do not have perfect pitch, haha.

Is there a decent guide for setting the anti-skating and tone-arm?
 
crojack said:
oops, guess I should have read through the description further. Do those printable discs work very well?
Click to expand...

They work fine. Unlike cartridge alignment gauges they don't care about the printer settings and being printed to scale.
 
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