DUAL 505/2 Headshell Repair or Replacement?

[l_fairchild]

Hello -- I am new to this hobby, and I recently began refurbishing an old DUAL 505/2 turntable. I've got it running smoothly & at the right speeds. But there was a problem with hum. I found that one of the thin wires connecting the headshell to the cartridge was loose. Hoping it would fix the problem, I tried to clamp down the connector so it would make a tighter fit. But in the process a part of the metal connector broke, so it no longer secures to the binding post on the cartridge. (Not sure that description makes sense, but you should be able to see what I mean from the attached photos.)

Here is my question: is there an easy way to fix this problem? I am considering soldiering the blue wire onto the cartridge's binding post, but I worry that could only make things worse. Would the soldier interfere with the signal? Would it throw the whole cartridge assembly off balance in terms of weight distribution?

Or is there a better way to fix the headshell wiring?

I realize that I could just purchase a new headshell, and I see that DualFred has one listed on his website: https://www.dualfred.de/Tonearm/Tonearm-Head/Tonarmkopf-277956-en.html. But I figured I would try making the repair myself first if that's possible.

Thanks!

PXL_20220121_135819728

• l_fairchild
• Jan 21, 2022

 

[stereofisher]

Don’t solder wire to the cart. You may damage it. Dealing with those wires can be tricky. I have done but I could never keep it neat. Got it to work but sloppy. I would buy a replacement and fix the old one as a spare. Did with my three 1219s. Have a backup. Same with the BSR 810. Spare sleds and cart. Good to have.

 

[LP-THORN]

First try to carefully close the clip and see if it can stay tight on the cartridge pin. It doesn;t have to embrace the pin completely.
If not, you could find a new clip and solder it on the wire.

 

[l_fairchild]

Interesting -- thanks for the advice, stereofisher! How did you make the repair for the backup without soldering the wore to the cartridge?

 

[l_fairchild]

First try to carefully close the clip and see if it can stay tight on the cartridge pin. It doesn;t have to embrace the pin completely.
If not, you could find a new clip and solder it on the wire.

The clip is broken, so it will not embrace the pin. Thanks for the idea of soldering a new clip to the wire. So you would suggest that over simply soldering what remains of the clip to the cartridge pin?

 

[Montycat]

If you solder directly to the cartridge you are at risk of heating it too much and either melting the cartridge body or unsoldering the coil wire inside, plus it will likely be ugly.

I'd solder a new clip on the wire. You can probably get a new clip to solder to what remains of the old one rather that cut it off and end up with a shorter wire.

A good source of nice clips to scavenge is an old serial printer cable. They are longish but can be trimmed.

https://www.audiokarma.org/forums/i...for-tonearm-clips-works-pretty-nicely.480004/

 

[lini]

(...) or unsoldering the coil wire inside (...)

That would seem rather unlikely in this case - because, as far as I'm aware, those wires aren't soldered, but clamped/wedged. I.e., if you look take a closer look at the output pins of an OM/SuperOM, you'll see, that these actually are a two-part design with an outer tubular part and an inner pin - and the coil wires are clamped/wedged between these two. Iirc, that output pin design has already been introduced with the Mk2 generation of Ortofon's VMS models. But there cerainly still is the danger of the heated tubular part melting the plastic around it and thus getting loose.

Oh, and those female contact inserts for D-Sub connectors also are separately available from various electronics vendors, btw - but indeed are somewhat longish, so that some people might prefer more conventional cartridge clips, like for example those offered by van den Hul or those offered by Audiosilente.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[LP-THORN]

The clip is broken, so it will not embrace the pin. Thanks for the idea of soldering a new clip to the wire. So you would suggest that over simply soldering what remains of the clip to the cartridge pin?

No , do not solder on the cartridge pin. Solder the blue wire on a new clip.

 

[Montycat]

That would seem rather unlikely in this case - because, as far as I'm aware, those wires aren't soldered, but clamped/wedged. I.e., if you look take a closer look at the output pins of an OM/SuperOM, you'll see, that these actually are a two-part design with an outer tubular part and an inner pin - and the coil wires are clamped/wedged between these two. Iirc, that output pin design has already been introduced with the Mk2 generation of Ortofon's VMS models. But there cerainly still is the danger of the heated tubular part melting the plastic around it and thus getting loose.

Oh, and those female contact inserts for D-Sub connectors also are separately available from various electronics vendors, btw - but indeed are somewhat longish, so that some people might prefer more conventional cartridge clips, like for example those offered by van den Hul or those offered by Audiosilente.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

The crimping makes sense. And taking apart one obsolete cable provided enough of the D-sub connectors as I will likely ever need.

 

[lini]

(...) And taking apart one obsolete cable provided enough of the D-sub connectors as I will likely ever need.

Just thought I should mention the separate availability of the contact inserts, in case the OP wouldn't have such an old cable at hand or wouldn't feel like disassembling one.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

 

[l_fairchild]

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone! I am on the lookout for a new clip that I can solder onto the original wire. Thanks again!