Garrard Type A

[gillsev]

Recently bought a Type A from the bay. I was surprised that it was better than described without any hang-ups on the auto cycle. Stacker works perfect with the feeler arm sensing it before every record drop. Heavy platter is cycling without the slightest hesitation. The brake action is excellent and stops the platter in a dime as soon as it turns off. So no problem with the automatic/ stacker features at all. :thmbsp:

The problem is the tonearm/ headshell wiring leading to the amp leads. Not sure if this is wired for stereo or mono. I could only hear the Left output and nothing on the right but a slight hum.
I see 4 wires from the cartridge to the headshell (Grey=L, Blue=LG, Brown=R, Black=RG) terminals. I also noticed that the previous owner used a jumper between terminals LG & RG for some reason.
And why suddenly are there only 3 wires (Grey, Brown, & bare copper wire) coming out of the tonearm towards the amp leads?

I could just use the Left channel and switch to "Mono" on my receiver to hear the output on both speakers and get over with it since I'm just playing 78's on this TT.

 

[gillsev]

Can somebody just guide me here?

Okay, suppose I just rewire the whole thing for Stereo ...

(1) I buy a cardas tonearm wire set.

(2) Connect them to the corresponding cartridge pins:

R=Red, RG=Green, L=White, LG=Blue

(3) So now how do I connect the other end of the set to these RCA female connectors? Color code please. What about the ground wire, where does it come into place here?

 

[gadget73]

These were originally available in both mono and stereo. The early cartridges were 3 wire, common ground, and a left and right signal. The jumper is to tie both grounds together since there should only be 3 wires going through the tonearm. If you want to rewire it to a 4 wire setup, simply ditch the jumper and fish new wires through. I don't know if the A has a plug-in headshell like my 121 has, but if it does, that will also likely only have 3 wires. You can also simply leave the 3 wire setup alone, and if you fit a 4 wire cart, just bridge the two - terminals together and use the common ground wire thats currently in place.


As for the dead channel, check the muting switch contacts. It rides on the cycle cam somehow. if thats out of adjustment or dirty, you'll sometimes have a dead channel.

 

[gillsev]

Thanks for the insight Gadget. Yes there was a Ground jumper on the terminals, but what I also meant to say was that the previous owner had bridged the RG & LG pins on the cartridge itself. Now I understand why, because there are only 3 wires on the acrylic female receptacle on that part where you plug in the headshell.

So I left the 3 wire set up alone since it is setup for stereophonic anyway (according to the diagram). The muting switch was clean and didn't need any adjustment. There was continuity there (when upper & lower prongs weren't touching each other - "unmuted mode"). There was also continuity from the cartridge L & R terminals leading to the amp leads. But as soon as I tested it on the RCA plugs themselves, only the Left had continuity. So here's the culprit (the right RCA plug, probably rusted out) ...

As soon as I replaced it, both channels came alive in living stereo (no more hum either with ground wire in place). No more headaches. Thanks man, I appreciate it! :thmbsp:

 

[tcdriver]

Good detective work and a happy ending. :yes:

 

[gadget73]

Cool. glad to hear it worked out. I need to replace a couple of interconnects on my own stuff. I have a flaky one on my changer, wiggle it the wrong way and it drops a channel. I think mine may have that same cheesy RCA plug yours had.