Have I ruined my stylus?


I left my turntable on with stylus ridng in the last groove for about 8 hours. Don't ask. I know this can't be good, but how bad is it?
herman

Showing 1 response by jacks0395

Leaving the stylus running in the lead out groove isn't good in my opinion, when you consider the back and forth shock involved when the cartridge is thrown back into the inner part of the lead out grooves. Will 8 hours ruin your cartridge? I'd inspect it with magnification as suggested by George, maybe play a common record on it and see how she goes. Common sense tells me that this may break down the suspension pre-maturely, and it may weaken the shaft (imagine bending a solid core wire back and forth. Over time the wire developes a stress point which it eventually break at). While inspecting under magnification, I'd look closely at the shaft for stress points. Cleaning the stylus is also a great idea, however I'd inspect the stylus under magnification first, then clean the stylus, then re-inspect. This will give you an idea as to the effectiveness of your stylus cleaning method. I use LP#9, which works very well.

Hopefully all is okay. Keep us informed!