Saturday, October 1, 2016

By Stephen Reynolds


A magnetic cartridge is one important component of a record player since it is used for the recordings of analog sound playback which are also called as records. But now, the common name for this is turntable. Other terms used before are phonograph and gramophone. Cartridge is known also as pick up and it is a type of device which is electro mechanical that will convert vibrational to electrical energy. The electrical signal that the cartridge has created is amplified and is converted by loud speakers to sound.

Some other components include styluses, cantilever, coils, body, and magnets. A stylus which is being mounted will serve as contact to record grooves. Most styluses are made of industrial gemstones or may be small polished diamonds. A cantilever will serve as support to stylus and will transmit vibrations to the coil or magnet assembly. Cantilevers before were made of boron or aluminum. There are also other turntable cartridge types containing detachable styluses and cantilever, which is an advantage since there will be no need of replacing or removing cartridges when styluses worn out.

Cartridges have many different kinds varying from different shapes and sizes. Moving coil and moving magnet are two common technology principles which powers the types. Moving coil is more advanced when it comes to design and this kind is also more expensive. Some MC types have cheaper designs but have poor sound results.

Stylus cantilevers in magnetic cartridges often carry magnets permanently placed between two coils that are fixed in an electromagnetic generator form. If a magnet vibrates responding the stylus, it induces some current. Since magnets are made small and have a little mass, it cannot be connected to a generator mechanically and styluses that are adjusted will be following the grooves and would require a lesser amount of tracking force.

Magnetic types that are induced and also the iron types have a moving iron piece or ferrous alloy types. These are connected to the cantilevers instead of the magnets. The magnet which is permanent and bigger is positioned on top of the coils that provides the required magnetic flux.

The MC cartridges design is an electromagnetic generator. Unlike the MM design, the coils and the magnet are arranged in a reverse manner. The coil is attached to the stylus and it moves within the constant magnet. A coil is made from a very fine wire and are mostly tiny. However, there may also be some MC cartridges in which the output is the same with the MM cartridges.

Another type is the moving micro cross cartridge. This MMC design is considered as one variation of MI design. Both the magnets and the coils remain in place while the micro cross will be moving with the stylus.

Another type is the London Decca cartridge. This has a unique design and it has fixed coils and magnets. Its styluses have diamond tips, have short iron, and have an L shaped cantilever made of non magnetic steel.

The iron is placed so close to the tip of stylus and this results to the accuracy of motions tracking. Engineers of the type often called the tracking as positive scanning. The London Decca type is often very musical but its early versions are required to have more tracking forces.




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