You guys have excellent memory!
Not according to my wife ..... 8^(
Regarding the Hum and Buzz with the Decca.
From what I recall Frogman you are running a straight shot from the cartridge pins soldered into the phone stage connections directly. Left ground right ground left signal right signal. I run in a similar fashion but with unshielded wiring a direct shot (3 feet in length), and terminating using WBT plugs.
My wires are separated once they leave the armwand. 4 separate wires hanging in a happy face loop, cause minimal air bearing interaction - but, not being braided all the way can be more susceptible to hum and buzz.
What I did to remove the noise. Did you try this?
Go behind the phono stage and separate the wires the last 12-18 inches before they go into the phono.
With the phono on, the record NOT turning- turn up the volume and start moving each wire individually - one at a time. U will induce noise with each wire movement. Once the first wire is in a position that is quietest, use blue tack to keep that strand in place. Repeat this process with the other three wires. By the time all four strands are done all should be quiet.
Did you try the phono stage cheater plug with the ground removed ?
Also
If someone is using regular shield L and R phono cables and you have noise - try picking up the preamp / phono box and move it 12 inches in all directions.
Frogman the damping trough mystery with subdued noise when it is engaged; a weird phenomena since the damping trough is not electrical.