Hi All,

My brother was recently given a HMV radio/record player and has asked me to help him find the correct needle for it to try to get a record playing. A little Googling led me here, so hoping you can help us to ID the model or find a suitable needle. I will attach photos.

It has HMV Stereophonic written on the front, and Garrard TAMKII, printed inside. There is a sticker stating "HMV recommended replacement:- cartridge P.C.19, Styli: STD.HS13, Mic. Stereo HV4" I've tried searching Google for these but no luck.

I'm not sure what kind of order it is in, or if it will work. My brother has turned it on (I have since read on this forum that this is bad, oops) the turn table spins but the radio doesn't work.

If we were to look at getting it fixed by a professional, what would a rough price guide be for getting this done? I realise it has to do with the condition but just trying to work out if it is worth considering. It doesn't have any sentimental value so having it working isn't that important, if its no good then it will be a nice side table.

Looking forward to your responses. Thankyou!

Those are HMV part numbers you quoted.

Not sure what model you have but some early HMV stereos used a Sonotone 8T cartridge. Google it and see if it is the one you are after.

I'll check some of my literature when I get home later tonight.

Thank for the pictures. That is a HMV model N2-22 from the early 60's.

The cartridge shown looks to be a Ronette type. It is probably not original as it looks like it could a mono cartridge. That aside, the styli for these cartridges are still readily available.

Hi Miche

That cartridge is not the original and is mono.

A suitable stereo replacement (Sonoitone 9T) is available here:

http://www.soundring.com.au/phono-cartridges/

Bear in mind you cannot fit a magnetic cartridge to that unit, is is not compatible without adding a preamplifier.

The entire head shell unplugs, by the way, to make life easier to replace the cartridge.

I strongly recommend you get the unit fully checked out. I hope not too much damage was done when it was plugged in. The HMV N2-22 dates from the early 60's and so will have paper capacitors that will need to be replaced because they deteriorate over time and cause collateral damage to other parts that are either expensive or unavailable.

That is a very early example of the model, most had BSR record changers.

I'm in Sydney, otherwise I could help you.

A Sonotone 9T might be a bit a too small to fit in that Garrard headshell.

According to the Goldring catalogue the correct cartridge for a HMV N2-22 is a Sonotone 8T. These are much chunkier than the 9T cartridge.

The other issue, which by the way has been discussed here in the Forums recently, is that the HMV N2 chassis has a metal (selenium?). rectifier. Not really a good idea to use old equipment with selenium rectifiers, HMV did publish service bulletins with instructions on how to replace metal rectifiers with silicon types for the N2 chassis.

Thanks so much for your replies. The model is a little earlier than I was expecting. By the sounds of it I had better take it to a professional to have a look over it if I want to get it going so i'll leave the cartridge up to them. Is there anyone in Melbourne that could help? I'm in the Eastern suburbs. What kind of price would I be looking at to at least have it checked out?

I had a look on google and couldn't really find anything on the N2 besides a few posts on this forum. Is it particularly rare or valuable?

It's really lovely to look at, i'm just trying to toss up whether I should put some money into it to get it fixed up, or leave it as a piece of furniture.

Thanks again

Resurrection Radio would be the closest well-known establishment but I think they are on the other side of town. They shift house every few years.

http://resurrectionradio.com.au/

It's rarer than the Kingsley, I'd say. Small players like these usually sound better without legs sitting on a wooden floor or cabinet, so there's a trade-off between the cute retro furniture look and the sound quality.

Actually I doubt they are that rare. They were on NSW Govt Stores contract for years and many thousands of the portable version (mostly in light blue vinyl) went into schools.

I know this is a older topic now, but I just got hold of one of these and fixed it...
If it does light up but no sound I would have to say that the rectifier is blown and is a solid state type. I replaced it with a modern version and used a dropping resistor. I replaced all paper caps and a few out of spec resistors and replaced the ceramic cartridge with a Pfanstiehl P-226D which I think is around 500mv.

But sadly I am missing the legs and would love to know the size of the original ones or find the original legs

Hello, its 375mm
Its the same on the Airistone too.
I have both units .
Pete

Thanks for that Pete...