2. analog
  3. 141061-111640

No right channel in new cartridge

I just got a Sumiko Blackbird & mounted it.  I have no right channel. I haven’t fine tuned the mounting but, That shouldn’t make me lose a whole channel.  Once or twice I’ve heard a hum in the right channel before I put the needle down. When it goes down it stops & goes silent.  The channel isn’t effected in CD, DVD or radio.

i bought it here(all positives on the seller) & it only had 10 hours on it. It didn’t come in the original box but came screwed into a box... seemed pretty secure.  I checked & reconnected all the pins, jacks into the AVR & ground wire.

What should I try next?
tochsii
simao's avatar
simao
656 posts
 
the Hana SH or SL; $750 new from many sources. Rave reviews all around. 

I just installed one and am loving its crispness and clarity aling with its ability to dig out a bottom end. 
stevencason
17 posts
 
Check the resistance on the right channel take your ohm meter and touch the positive probe to the positive pin on the cartridge and the negative probe and touch the negative pin on the right channel.  If it doesn't show a resistance measurement then there is a broken wire on the right side.  If you do get a resistance measurement then there is continuity on the right.
stevencason
17 posts
 
I do this before I install any cartridge new or used.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
"Check the resistance on the right channel take your ohm meter and touch the positive probe to the positive pin on the cartridge and the negative probe and touch the negative pin on the right channel."  

As has been pointed out to the OP, this is not always a safe practice,  with respect to LOMC cartridges that have a few turns of very fine coil wires wound around the core.  The current from a typical meter, especially a cheap one, may be sufficient to fry the coil wires and thereby destroy the cartridge.  
sfischer1's avatar
sfischer1
30 posts
 
I purchased a high-end cartridge and it arrived with one channel dead.  The seller assisted in getting it serviced by the distributor and all was fine. The consensus is that a lead came undone during shipping.  A moving coil cartridge has EXTREMELY fine wires. This is why caution should be used when attempting a continuity test to be sure that the ohm-meter current is extremely low since a DC resistive load of a few ohms could result in a large test current with an unsuitable tester, basically turning the wires into a blown fuse.
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