On 7/29/26 11:50, Hans Minderman via Jukebox-list wrote:
Working on restoring a non-selective ristaucrat and I'm puzzled about 2 cut off switches for the tone arm wiring. One cut off switch is a combination leaf switch in the front that also serves as the turntable power cutoff if no credits remain. The second cutoff is also a leaf switch that is currently activated during the record change. What puzzles me is that these switches are closed -making connection- when the system is inactive (switch 1 when power to the tt motor is cut b/c of no remaining credits and switch 2 during record exchange) while both these switches are open during record play. If anyone has any insights in this please let me know.
The switches should be wired in parallel with each other and across the cartridge wiring. When in a change cycle or idle, the switches short out the cartridge, muting the output.
With the high impedances of crystal and ceramic cartridges, this is preferred to simply disconnecting the cartridge. Leaving it open can act like an antenna and introduce hum and noise.