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Mc cartridge with broken pins ?

T

TrevorBarten

Well-Known Member
I just bought a broken at33ev cartridge from which two of the connector pins broke off/fell out. See the picture I attached. I was wondering if there was a way to get this repaired and what the average price of something like that would be. And if it's possible to even repair this. The cantilever diamond and suspension are still in good condition so I figured it could potentially be used to fix one that has a broken cantilever but I am not sure. Don't know too much about cartridge repair.
 

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I don't want to be a buzzkill, but it's likely not easily repaired at this point. Those pins are typically soldered to the coil wire inside, which is super thin. So fixing that is not a simple task, if it's even possible at this point (without having your cartridge in hand to physically inspect, it's not worth speculating on the extent of the internal damage).

Sorry :(
 
benricci said:
I don't want to be a buzzkill, but it's likely not easily repaired at this point. Those pins are typically soldered to the coil wire inside, which is super thin. So fixing that is not a simple task, if it's even possible at this point (without having your cartridge in hand to physically inspect, it's not worth speculating on the extent of the internal damage).

Sorry :(
Click to expand...
No need to apologize. I only paid around 10% of what they go for new so I am not to worried about making any money but I am more looking to extend my knowledge on cartridges and what can and cannot be repaired. I know they are soldered to thin copper wire but I also know that it's definitely possible to get repaired if it isn't completely destroyed on the inside. Maybe it would need an entire rebuild but that's a different story. Just not if that repair is financially smart or not.
 
Blewpernt said:
That’s a weird break, but those aren’t broken anywhere near the internal solder joint. If you held that cartridge in a clamp or a vise, put a tiny bit of silver-bearing solder into the hole, drop the pins in and heated the pins with a soldering iron, I’m pretty sure you’d repair it. Use silver bearing solder because it is a lot harder than standard electronic solder but has about the same melting temperature. Take the color rings off first and then put them back on when the pins cool. You need a hot soldering iron, probably at least 25W to get that pin hot. Touch it just until the pin sinks into the melted solder—1 second is all you need.

This image is from the A-T website.

View attachment 2316861

The coil wires are connected underneath the white blob of damping material. I actually think that’s dental cavity filler like Grado uses. It would seem highly unlikely that even if the solder melted holding the wires to the interior pins melted that the wire would separate. When the solder cooled again you’d still have a good connection.

Anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't the plastic around the holes get melted if I tried that though ? I was thinking of trying something similar but I am just a little bit suspect about both pins breaking at the exact same spot.
 
Blewpernt said:
That’s a weird break, but those aren’t broken anywhere near the internal solder joint. If you held that cartridge in a clamp or a vise, put a tiny bit of silver-bearing solder into the hole, drop the pins in and heated the pins with a soldering iron, I’m pretty sure you’d repair it. Use silver bearing solder because it is a lot harder than standard electronic solder but has about the same melting temperature. Take the color rings off first and then put them back on when the pins cool. You need a hot soldering iron, probably at least 25W to get that pin hot. Touch it just until the pin sinks into the melted solder—1 second is all you need.

This image is from the A-T website.

View attachment 2316861

The coil wires are connected underneath the white blob of damping material. I actually think that’s dental cavity filler like Grado uses. It would seem highly unlikely that even if the solder melted holding the wires to the interior pins melted that the wire would separate. When the solder cooled again you’d still have a good connection.

Anyway, you have nothing to lose by trying.
Click to expand...
Also would you recommend just finding silver bearing solder that's thin enough to fit, tipping it off my soldering iron into the hole or using some kind off paste?
 
AudioFeline said:
Excellent work, given the risks and that it was your first attempt. Enjoy it now! How does it sound?
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Pretty good! I was using an at140lc before this so I am already used to the audio technica sound but I like this more since it still has the precision but adds some low end which is quite lacking on the at140lc. Not to mention that the stylus is in better condition :)
 
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