Headshell wire broke

Hi RF,

As usual, Albert gives good advice. I can only offer a few follow up details.

You didn't answer his question about soldering experience so in case you
don't have that here are some specific points.

* do NOT have the cartridge tab attached to the cartridge when making the
repair. Slipping it onto a wood toothpick may allow you to hold it in the best
position for the work.

* tonearm wire is very thin so not much heat will be needed to solder it, the
cartridge tab will need a little more; something like a 20-25 watt pencil type
should work. Soldering pencils in low watt range should be inexpensive.

* do not use a soldering gun or higher watt pencil, they will quickly melt away
too much insulation on the wire.

* a bit of bare wire should be exposed at the connection, 1/8" should be
enough.

* a silver content solder is recommended, you can find that at Radio Shack
and most hardware and electronics supply stores.

* if you have no soldering experience, you can find "how to"
videos on line. The most important thing will be to heat the wire and tab,
then touch the solder wire to them. I strongly suggest finding some thin wire
and practicing several connections before attempting your tone arm wire.

Good luck.

It sounds like you are too much of a novice to do this yourself. Get it done correctly by a professional, and be done with it. In the future, hold the wire in your fingers, and slide the cartridge onto the wire. That way, the cartridge pin can't slip and be torn apart. After you get the 4 pins connected THEN mount the cartridge. I've been doing it this way for years without incident.

Nottingham cartridge pins are fragile and prone to break off of their wires if not handled quite delicately. Solder the lead back on - the VERY thin wire may need to be stripped of about 1/8 inch of insulation to accomplish this. Be careful of how much/how long you put heat on it. These fine wires can be damaged with too much. If you're not confident in doing this get it to someone who is technically competent to do the job. This problem isn't a biggee and does not warrant sending it away for repair.

Thanks for all the responses. The lead wires for Nottingham are really thin, so I may just send it out for repair.