[Phono-L] Capehart

Tue Jul 14 14:11:31 PDT 2009

    Walt, the tracking force used in the early Capehart 16-E changer which 
used the "fan head" black pickup was very nearly the same as that of the 
other early horseshoe-magnet magnetic pickups.  They track at 120 - 150 
grams or so, making the tungsten wire needles the only good choice for 
multiple-play use.  That would include the changers thru about the E or 
F-line Capeharts (ca. 1938 and earlier).  The G-line series was about when 
the later, smaller brown pickup heads came into use on the Capeharts.  The 
early versions of these were also magnetic and tracked at around 100 grams 
or so.  The later versions of the 16-E changer with the similar-looking 
brown pickup head were fitted with the early Astatic crystal cartridges 
which tracked at 40 - 50 grams.  Still, this is too high a force to use with 
a hard jewel-point needle, even though this was common practice at the time. 
As you say and as I say in my other post on this subject, jewel-point 
needles were really never the correct choice for these cartridges that 
tracked at anything much over 12 grams or so.

    You record collectors might have noticed that the records you get from 
the mid to late 1930s tend to be more worn, distorted, and noisy than the 
records from the 1920s and earlier.  This is because the record players made 
from the mid '30s to the early postwar period often used jewelled needles in 
these crystal cartridges that tracked at 30 grams or more.  The advertising 
of the day called this "featherweight" tracking at only one ounce!  That's a 
pretty heavy feather.  But they ground up the records mercilessly. 
Unfortunately, this situation continued until the advent of the GE variable 
reluctance (VR) magnetic cartridge that tracked at around 10 - 12 grams and 
which came into common use with the Capehart 41-E changer and other top-end 
record players after WWII.  Even after the war, most cheap record players 
continued to use crystal cartridges tracking at 30 grams or so until 
microgroove vinyl records came into use after 1948.  This brought the need 
and application of much better cartridges that could track at 8 grams or 
less.

Greg Bogantz


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Walt Sommers" <waltsommers at comcast.net>
To: "Antique Phonograph List" <phono-l at oldcrank.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Phono-L] Capehart


> Bob,
>
> Do you know the approximate tracking mass of the Capehart pick up? I am 
> guess it is probably 25 to 40 grams? The RCA Chromium needles would be a 
> concern on the 10-50 or other Victor automatics that use the #5 acoustic 
> Orthophonic reproducer (tracking at a whopping 130 grams or so) but 
> assuming that the Capehart's pickup is something like 25 to 40 grams I 
> can't imagine the RCA Chromium needles would be an issue. I recall reading 
> an RCA patent (which I can't specifically call to mind right now) 
> concerning the use of chromium on the needles which briefly discussed the 
> issue of the relatively low mass of electrical pickups versus the higher 
> mass of the acoustic reproducers.
>
> The Victor Soft or Full Tungs~Tone stylus would be ideal for the Capehart 
> as well as most of the early electrical pickups. I can't say I would 
> recommend the Extra Loud Tungs~Tone stylus simply because they are quite 
> aggressive. Others swear by them. Whatever you choose, I would stay as far 
> away from jeweled styli (sapphires, diamonds, etc.) as possible. Sapphires 
> and diamonds would be great if only the designs of the early pickups were 
> better.
>
> I have a feeling I am in Dr. Bogantz's area of expertise here...Perhaps he 
> will jump in.
>
> Walt
>
> RBaumbach wrote:
>> Tungstone needles are probably the best choice for either the 10-50 or 
>> the Capehart, and were recommended by both manufacturers.  In the 
>> mid-thirties Capehart recommended the RCA Chromium needles, but some 
>> collectors feel that these are hard on records.  Both the Tungstone and 
>> Chromium needles are still rather plentiful.  There is a more 
>> comprehensive discussion of needles on the bonus page for the Capehart 
>> book (see page 5).
>>
>> Contact me privately regarding the owner's manual and schematics.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>> On TuesdayJuly 14, 2009, at 10:11 AM, jimcip at earthlink.net wrote:
>>
>>> After many years, my 1937 Capehart 404G (serial number 10627E) is now 
>>> functioning & sounds great & is fun to watch as it changes
>>> records.   I have noticed quite a bit of "needle noise" in the magnetic 
>>> pickup when the volume is turned down even though the pickup
>>> has been restored.   Is this endemic to a properly performing Capehart 
>>> as I suspect because all the doors to the record playing
>>> compartment are sealed with rubber gaskets, presumable to contain 
>>> mechanical noise or does the pickup need further work?   Also,
>>> where can one obtain needles for playing large numbers of 78s without 
>>> being changed in the Capehart or Orthophonic Victrola 1050?
>>> I have Mr. Baumbach's excellent book on the Capeharts without which the 
>>> repairman who usually works on 1950s & 1960s hifi gear
>>> would have been completely at sea in working on the Capehart changer but 
>>> would like to obtain copies of the owner's manual &
>>> schematics of the tuner & amplifiers.
>>> 
>>> Jim Cartwright
>>> 
>>> Immortal Performances
>>>
>>>
>>> jimcip at earthlink.net
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Phono-L mailing list
>>> http://phono-l.oldcrank.org
>>
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