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  #1  
Old 04-03-2012, 07:06 PM
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Mid 1980's School Record Player

OK, it's not old, just "old school."

Just picked up this little Hamilton Electric Corporation model 910 manual record player. I bought it strictly for my collection of 78's.

Replacing the capacitors brought the amplifier to life, and a bit of oil took care of the motor. I bought a knock-off Astatic 81T powerpoint stylus for it on eGroan, and didnt realize what I had bought until I tried it out.

This stylus is a 3 mil sapphire for 78's. It plays the really old Victor and Columbia discs nicely, but the later 1930's and up 'electric' recordings distort like crazy. I've got it tracking at nearly 5 grams, as this will only be used for 78's. The tone arm is plastic, and vibrates like crazy when playing newer 78's.

I'm going to try a real Astatic 81T before I do anything else. I'm amost afraid that the tonearm itself is the problem.

I trust the knowledge here. Think I'm wasting my time with this, or should I be digging up a real 78 stylus for my N91 Shure magnetic cartridge on my Miracord 50H?

The little Hamilton is compact and fairly rugged. With the re-cap today, it sounds vastly better and stronger than before.

Here's a picture from the net. Mine is like this.
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Last edited by holmesuser01; 04-04-2012 at 09:34 PM.
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Old 04-04-2012, 12:26 PM
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From what I'm told, the current production powerpoint cartridges are no all that great. You probably would do better to get a genuine Astatic cartridge. www.thevoiceofmusic.com has them and they are the most reasonable in price.

I've also had better luck with the older school record players with a metal tonearm. Those plastic tonearms tend to be noisier and they are more prone to skipping.

I think that particular Hamilton started production in the '70's and was made up until a few years ago. There should be a date code on the motor or on other parts. Isn't that the model that uses a single IC based amplifier?
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Old 04-04-2012, 03:47 PM
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A 5g tracking force may be a bit too light for that cartridge... a bit of searching reveals two different specs for the 81t, one says 5-7g, the other 6-8g. Either way, 6g might achieve better results. (Though, of course, ideally you'd want a cartridge that can track at lower forces, just to save wear on the records.)

As for the plastic tonearm, you could try one of the 'audiophile' tricks and add some damping material to it to tame any resonances. I'd imagine there's a fair amount of space on the underside where you could stuff in some pieces of foam rubber, or hell, a few strategically placed beads of hot glue or silicone caulk would probably do the trick. Or if you don't care how it looks you could even wrap some grip tape around the arm.

That would also have the side effect of increasing the effective mass of the arm, which might not be a bad thing for a low-compliance ceramic cartridge. Just remember to readjust the tracking force to compensate for the additional weight.
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Old 04-04-2012, 05:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by radiotvnut View Post

I think that particular Hamilton started production in the '70's and was made up until a few years ago. There should be a date code on the motor or on other parts. Isn't that the model that uses a single IC based amplifier?
This one was built in 1985. It has the single IC, and all of the electrolytics are brand new.

I'm definitely getting an OEM Astatic 81T for it.

As for tracking, I've got more room to get the tracking up close to 7 grams, if necessary.
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Old 04-04-2012, 08:45 PM
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What's funny is that the exact same style of tonearm was used in the '50's on kid's record players. So, that style tonearm was in use for at least 30 years.
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Old 04-04-2012, 08:58 PM
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Get a Shure N 91 78 stylus for that Miracord. You'll love it.
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Old 04-05-2012, 07:23 PM
orthophonic orthophonic is offline
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Agree with Kent, get the 78 stylus for your shure, you won't be sorry.
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Old 04-05-2012, 10:01 PM
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Oh, yeah, guys. The Miracord stylus is going to happen. Guarantee it.

BUT in the meantime, I won't let this Hamilton beat me. I'll try a real needle for it, and if it doesent do what I want, I'll give it and a load of worn records to my nephew to play with. I'm trying to make him another me... Mini-me, if you will.
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Old 06-01-2012, 08:50 PM
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I did that with older son, though he was so inclined before we adopted him when his adopted mother died when we were babysitters. He now owns a SP-10 Mk II and even loves playing 78 discs occasionally and knows to use the correct stylus at 8. And he has two tonearms mounted on the plinth of that SP-10 Mk II. One is an SME 3012 and the other is an Audio-Technica ATP 16-T. Erik has good taste in most anything.
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Old 06-02-2012, 07:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller View Post
I did that with older son, though he was so inclined before we adopted him when his adopted mother died when we were babysitters. He now owns a SP-10 Mk II and even loves playing 78 discs occasionally and knows to use the correct stylus at 8. And he has two tonearms mounted on the plinth of that SP-10 Mk II. One is an SME 3012 and the other is an Audio-Technica ATP 16-T. Erik has good taste in most anything.
I've got my nephew playing with a cassette recorder these days. He irritates his mom by recording her saying things, then plays them back.

She is sure I've done something to the player to make her sound like a duck, in her words.

I'm using the Hamilton to play a load of accoustic recordings that I just aquired. Mostly Victors and Columbias. Many are one-sided recordings, too. These sound virtually unplayed. Also, recording them onto reel to reel tape as protection copies.
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Old 06-02-2012, 11:45 AM
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That's hilarious! Sound like a duck? Love it.
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Old 06-10-2012, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by holmesuser01 View Post
I'm trying to make him another me... Mini-me, if you will.
Lol!
Every super-villain needs minians!

Quote:
holmesuser01
I've got my nephew playing with a cassette recorder these days. He irritates his mom by recording her saying things, then plays them back.

She is sure I've done something to the player to make her sound like a duck, in her words.

Are you trying to imply that she's QUACKED?
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