My (almost) brand new Elac Miracord 50H II

[mackat]

Hi!

It's been a while since I've been on here, but recently I've been wanting to get back into records and turntables. It's not like I need any new ones, as I have a number that need minor adjustments/work, but I can't help scanning through Craigslist every so often. Unlike 6-7 years ago when I first got into this hobby, most of what's out there is overpriced, not in good condition, or both. Yesterday, while I was looking through Craigslist, I came across this Elac Miracord 50H II listed for under the cost of a tank of gas. I immediately put myself in communication with the gentleman, and went to pick it up today. He said that he'd gotten a great number of calls, some from places over 50 miles away. Apparently was the original owner, hadn't used it very much, and had forgotten he even had it. It came with the original box and paperwork, accessories, and a Radioshack Shure cartridge. Cosmetically, it's in excellent condition, and truly looks like it could have never been used.

I hooked it up, and all the mechanical and automatic functions seem to work well. There are a few things that I am planning to get fixed, though:

1. There is no audio out of one channel. Unfortunately, cleaning the headshell contacts did not resolve this issue, which brings me to my next point.

2. The plastic headshell carrier on the tonearm which the headshell plugs into is loose. I have a feeling that one of the solder points may have broken inside due to this.

3. There is some motor/idler/bearing noise on operation, which I think should be resolvable easily enough with some cleaning and lubrication. The idler wheel itself looks to be in good condition, as it was stored with the platter off in its original box.

For the price I paid, this was definitely an amazing score.

Ben

 

[62vauxhall]

Look underneath the tone arm's head - at the place where the cartridge carrier's contact strips mate with the arm's contacts.

One of the 50H's I had worked without incident for a couple of years until once, after mounting a different cartridge and sliding the carrier back in to place, it was loose where it had been snug before. In my case, there was a lot of hum.

When I examined the tonearm's underside using a mirror, I saw that the plastic section where the contacts were located was broken. Even closer inspection after inverting the turntable, revealed that it was an earlier repair that came apart. In other words, that plastic piece had been broken previous to my getting the table. It was a good repair but did not tolerate much removal and re-insertion of the slide.

It was not possible for me to repair the repair so I attempted swapping the entire arm with one form a 770H - not 100% successful.

 

[Montycat]

Nice looking table Ben. And welcome back.

Those folded over contacts on the sled look ok from here but check where 62v suggested. I have also had wires that looked intact going to contacts like that on either a Dual or Garrard that actually were broken inside the insulation. I resoldered a wire and it was fine. In fact I made a new leaf contact from some thin sheet metal another time.

It could be elsewhere of course. I got a similar Elac this summer for a great price too but it needed practically nothing.

 

[olddude55]

Those wires don't look right to me. Looks almost like the cart's been wired for mono.
Do you have a better picture that shows how each of the four leads is soldered?

 

[Lazerbrains]

Nice score - I was ones who called about that. As for the audio loss, do simple contact checks between the tonearm contacs and the outputs (where the interconnects go). If you get positive current through all of those it will help narrow it down to the headshell.

 

[JFRACE]

Try a different cartridge and try reversing the wires as well to see if it follows or not.

 

[mackat]

Well, I think I found where the problem lies. As the cartridge carrier is loose, it can be pulled out slightly from the tonearm and turned upside down to examine the contacts. As you can see, there is a wire or two that separated from the contacts. I don’t know how one would go about fixing this, given that there’s very little slack and the wires are in the same insulation in the tonearm itself.

Thanks!
Ben

 

[Lazerbrains]

You may be able to solder a small section of wire in there. Otherwise, you can do the more extreme thing and rewire the tonearm. But I would try splicing in a piece first if anything else just to get it running and troubleshoot anything else.

 

[Grbluen]

Nice table! More pics please!

 

[mackat]

Sorry, I almost forgot about this thread. I will try to post more pics soon! I do have some spare tonearm wire, so I may attempt to rewire it at some point when I'm feeling overconfident.

 

[MRL_Audio]

mackat - love to see the final product where complete. Was this the best table Elac/Miracord ever offered? I have the same model but the "I" version. No strobe or right rear adjuster for speed control. I enjoy the heck out of it. Also have a 750h that needs a little work. Solid tables.