Vintage Realistic Lab-440

[kimjim25]

Hi! i'm pretty new to owning a record player but i'm trying to learn as much as i can so i don't sound like an idiot. I'm having a pretty big problem with my realistic lab-440. i bought it at Goodwill for a dirt cheap price of $10. It was originally priced at $50 but the cartridge was missing, so i made sure i could easily replace it by making some calls to friends. Now i tried actually going to Radioshack and they were so lost and confused i was totally frustrated. but then i went to guitar center and they really helped me out to realize that at this point my new purchase is a lost cause! unless i can find someone with an outershell (i think thats what you call it...) and a cartridge! Does anyone know how i can go about finding this? i tried calling radioshack's hotline and they just said sorry we dont have that part.

I've hit a dead end can anyone help?

thanks!

[Resident Loser]

Hi! i'm pretty new to owning a record player but i'm trying to learn as much as i can so i don't sound like an idiot. I'm having a pretty big problem with my realistic lab-440. Now i tried actually going to Radioshack and they were so lost and confused i was totally frustrated. but then i went to guitar center and they really helped me out to realize that at this point my new purchase is a lost cause! unless i can find someone with an outershell (i think thats what you call it...) and a cartridge! Does anyone know how i can go about finding this? i tried calling radioshack's hotline and they just said sorry we dont have that part. thanks!

...after some scrounging on the good 'ol interweb it would seem that the replacement styli for that TT is an RSR8X...which is, of course, MD (Manufacturer Discontinued)...buuut...that indicates that it's a standard cart with a 1/2 inch mounting and not a P-mount cart...sooooo, you do need a head-shell, probably...there are two universal types of headshells, one for S-shaped tonearms and another for straight arms...depending on that info, you will need the appropriate headshell and any suitable standard-mount cartridge...To do a proper job you will also need a cartridge alignment protractor...Now, that's assuming that your TT does indeed have a removable headshell and is simply not damaged goods that happens to be missing the fixed-type of headshell and has broken wiring...so now for the 64 cent question:

Does the end of the tonearm have a rotating/locking collar and can you see a socket with four connectors?

jimHJJ(...now for the bad news...under the best circumstances, it's not gonna' be all that cheap...say $60-100 at minimum...and there's no guarantee everything else will be OK...)

[markw]

http://www.garage-a-records.com/index.php

Give 'em a call and tell 'em what you have. They might be able to hook you up.

You might want to explore cartridges there while you're at it. ...amybe a belt/idler wheel if you can.

But, even though this covers most moving parts (except the motor) , as Jim said, there is no guarantee that there are no other hidden problems.

[Resident Loser]

...forgot to mention the original cart was mfg. by Shure and was an M75E (also MD it seems)...that was actually the missing link in determining the mounting type...coulda' sworn I included that info, along with the following:

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc...ode=HEADSHELLS

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc...ode=HEADSHELLS

http://www.lpgear.com/Merchant2/merc...ode=HEADSHELLS

http://www.turntableneedles.com/inde...Category=21956

I believe it's the last link that claims to be able to provide an appropriate cart and headshell for nearly any TT...

jimHJJ(...FWIW...)