How to set needle in the stylus

[kaarigar]

I have a National Panasonic 270C-II cartridge having EPS-270-ED stylus. However, the needle from the stylus assembly has come off. Can someone give any guideline on how to place the needle back into the stylus? How to align the needle, how deep does it have to go inside, etc? Thank you!

 

[benricci]

Can you share a picture so we can see exactly what you're talking about? Did just the diamond tip fall off the cantilever? Or did the cantilever (with tip intact) get pulled free from the assembly? Either case is not great, to be honest.

If the actual diamond tip fell off the cantilever it may simply be irreparable (depending on what damage occurred, you haven't mentioned what actually happened to cause this issue).

You would either need to fit a replacement stylus or just replace the entire cart at that point. Re-attaching it to the cantilever or re-tipping is not going to be worth the effort or money, if it's even possible (again, we can't see what other damage was caused).

Luckily, there seem to be many options to replace your stylus with a new one for pretty cheap all over the internet.

 

[kaarigar]

Thanks! I've attached the picture, that should perhaps explain better! I tried and inserted the needle into the assembly making sure that the diamond tip is vertical to the record surface. This seems to "work", however I don't know exactly how the needle was "fitted" inside the stylus assembly.

 

[benricci]

Ah, OK. The entire cantilever has broken off, judging by that thumbnail.

The cantilever should be fitted into (typically) a rubber suspension of some sort inside that metal tubing (the gold-colored part) and then making contact with the magnets inside the cart, which is going to make a novice DIY repair tricky (likely impossible depending on how much damage you've already done).

Considering this isn't some Uber-rare, unobtanium cartridge, I'd recommend just replacing the entire stylus. It's not that expensive and they're fairly easy to locate.

 

[HPMguy]

I've had a cantilever pull out before. Very annoying.

Best to replace the stylus assembly -- you CAN glue it back in I suppose, but they are normally friction fit and glue will probably screw up the frequency response of the cartridge.

Back in he day quality stylus assemblies had a "tie wire" soldered to the tube to locate the cantilever properly.

 

[kaarigar]

Thanks, I just ordered the new stylus. BTW, I learned today that what I call needle is called cantilever - though it doesn't make sense to me!

 

[kaarigar]

It does work after I reinserted it in. And frankly, I didn't notice much sound difference, if any. The sound varies depending upon how deep the cantilever is inserted. I didn't want to spend time experimenting, so I ordered one. When I have time I will experiment with this.

 

[HPMguy]

They get called "needles" because Victrola's used polished pin that looked like a needle to vibrate the diaphragm at the base of the horn. Also, some early playback systems used actual cactus needles trimmed to a point if I remember correctly.

Don't try this at home, kids....

By the way, if you match the position of the cantilever with the new stylus, it will sound just fine. The main point is getting the magnet in the correct position in reference to the coils.

 

[ripblade]

I use the term needle as short hand for stylus/cantilever. On an MM cartridge, I consider the term acceptable to describe the entire removeable assembly including the plastic grip.