new to me turntable and preamp

Ebay is hit or miss. You may find some great steals over there, but the people who sell over here are, on the whole, much more likely to have cared for their gear.

MusicDirect sells a Denon DP-300F for $329. Slightly less than the entry-level Rega and ProJect tables. These are all good tables at their price (I'd probably take the Rega if I had to choose between the 3 tables).

Remember, though, the the magic is in the setup. Don't ignore "trivial" advice such as "Make sure your turntable is level..." Pay attention to the details and you will be rewarded.

What component is currently doing duty as the phono amp? The Radio Shack or the Yamaha?

Cheers.

Tom

The receiver has no phono input, i got it several years ago before i had any idea about audio (i actually thought the yamaha would be the most likely to have a phono input). not long after i got the receiver a friend passed along the tt from a cheap dj set. got a needle and was all set to listen to some of my vinyl and realized little to no sound was coming through the receiver. Not knowing where else to go someone mentioned radio shack had what i needed. That was about 8 or 9 years ago.
Would it make more sense to get rid of the preamp first? I would think the radio shack piece has got to be the worst of my system. You think the chirping sounds are a worn belt on the tt?
Of course at some point i hope to replace the receiver too, but that will be at least a year away.

thanks

I'm not sure what might be causing the chirping sound, but it certainly sounds like a problem with the turntable. Even though the Radio Shack pre-amp might be pretty bad, if it's working spend your money to upgrade the broken pieces first.
You haven't really given us much information to troubleshoot the chirping sound, so tell us more about that. To me, "chirping" sounds mechanical. So you might look at the mechanical aspects of the table. Are there bearings that need to be lubricated? Also, I'm assuming that you hear this "chirping" through the speakers. If you are hearing this sound coming from the table itself, but this sound is not being reproduced through the speakers, that is an important piece of information to omit.
My point is that you have to be as detailed as you can when describing a problem to others that cannot experience it first hand.

Cheers.

Sorry about the omission, the chirping is definitely coming from the table itself, not through the speakers. Its kinda between a chatter and a chirp, really sounds like a chipmunk is getting tired of doing the work inside. I think it may be more prone to happen when a heavier vinyl is on the mat, and always after at least 30 - 45 minutes or play. I've never given this tt much thought other than one replacement of the stylus last summer.
I did see a NAD 533 on the sale page, which I believe is similar to the Rega??? Seemed to have fairly good reviews when I looked it up. Might that be a good starting point.

thanks again

The NAD would be fine. The squirrel sound is from the arm/cartridge and poor speed stability, resonance and feedback from poor compliance. Strangle that squirrel and bury it. Almost anything you do mentioned by anyone here, or from one of the reputable sites (Music Direct, Acousticsounds, Audioadvisor) will be leaps and bounds from what you have. Hold on tight and enjoy the ride.