Posted by
Walt N |
March 25, 2022 - 03:11 pm | |
Is the 2N5089 a more or less exact replacement, or is there a chance that using it would increase the output? |
Posted by
Steve L. |
March 24, 2022 - 08:37 am | |
Hi Walt, Yes, the reason that Q102 is less critical noise-wise is that Q101 has already amplified the low-level cartridge signal. So Q102 has far less effect on signal-to-noise ratio. The signal level at Q102 is much higher than at Q101. Thank you for bringing this to light. |
Posted by
Walt N |
March 23, 2022 - 08:26 pm | |
Steve, Is there a reason you suggested changing Q101 to 2N5089, but not Q102? |
Posted by
Steve L. |
March 11, 2022 - 04:00 pm | |
Hi again Walt, Lo and behold I found my copy of the RP100 manual. Looks like -29V should be on pin-1 of J12 of the Record Preamp board. This goes to R55 and R56 on the board. I'll be happy to dig into this further with you if you wish but I guess this has gotten away from the Cortina, so please contact me by email. I think you have my address but it's on the About page, accessible from the Home page. Cheers |
Posted by
Steve L. |
March 11, 2022 - 03:09 pm | |
Hi Walt, I've been trying to find a manual for the RP100 today but couldn't. You've done some good troubleshooting in the mean time and it does seem likely that the RP100 is the problem. By the way, I did find specs in the 1964 catalog and the input sensitivity is 100mV. So it should work well with the Cortina. One caveat: you shouldn't use the Mono setting on the Mono/Stereo switch on the Cortina--it's not implemented properly and could cause distortion or reduced level. About the problem in the RP100 (assuming it is indeed the culprit): Are you seeing the issue on both channels? If so, that suggests a common cause, which points to the power supply of the RP100. If you have a manual, there may be a voltage reading which could confirm a power supply-related problem.
You mentioned, "I tried the one I have (fixed), but it just overloaded the RP-100 internal pre-amp and caused distortion." That's with the external phono preamp and you were using it with the turntable and driving the line input, of the RP100, right? In that case, it should not have overloaded the input. However, if the supply voltage in the RP100 were low, that behavior would be consistent. Please let me know how it goes. |
Posted by
Walt N. |
March 11, 2022 - 01:14 pm | |
I replaced the Shure cartridge with the original Pioneer cartridge in my turntable. No difference. At this point, I'm pretty convinced that the ancient 2N407 germanium transistors in the RP-100 are getting pretty tired. I once tried what I thought was a possible match from the Russians, but it was a no go. My only thought now is to get an external VARIABLE pre-amp and bump the input to the RP-100 a little. I tried the one I have (fixed), but it just overloaded the RP-100 internal pre-amp and caused distortion. I'm not smart enough to replace the germanium transistors. |
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