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MM or MC......Voyager Expedition

Watched a very interesting program on PBS the other day about the Voyager Expedition.  A lot of time was devoted to the gold record that accompanied the space craft on its journey.  The Chief Engineer mentioned that a cartridge was included along with the record and with graphic instructions on how to play the recording.  No mention by the engineer if MM or MC cartridge was chosen.  Does anyone have any inside information on what type of cart was included?  Just curious.....Thanks!
 
quincy
8 responses Add your response
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Apparently it was neither:

http://www.shure.com/americas/support/find-an-answer/shure-phono-cartridge-on-the-voyager-spacecraft

Ceramic cartridges are an old relatively lo fi technology based on piezoelectric effects, rather than electromagnetic principles. They typically provide much higher output voltages than MM or MCs, and I believe they can perform more reliably than MM or MCs in the presence of severe vibration.

Regards,
-- Al

bimasta's avatar
bimasta
227 posts
 
Sheer conjecture. Given the date (1977, when MCs weren't mainstream) and the fact the NASA is American, it was probably a Shure. Also, it was not known if extra-terrestials had SUTs, though clearly they would have turntables. Everyone did.

BTW, was that Golden Record ever released to the public? I don't recall it. If not, why not? Did it contain classified information?
bimasta's avatar
bimasta
227 posts
 
Almarg posted while I was writing. He's probably right. Different magnetic fields on distant planets might not affect a ceramic as they might a magnetic cartridge of any type.
joe_p53
6 posts
 
Well ... keep checking the forum often when - eventually - the Voyager is found by an audiophile the next universe over.

Very enjoyable PBS show.   


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ncarv
983 posts
 
I saw the PBS show. I could be mistaken, but I thought it was said that a "stylus" was included. I don't recall "cartridge." A cartridge would suggest a more complex set of instructions to retrieve information than a mere stylus. It would seem difficult to graphically show how to use a cartridge as opposed to a stylus.
quincy OP
322 posts
 
ncarv,
Could be....perhaps he said stylus....now I can't be 100% certain.  One might assume that the engineers would try to keep the retrieval set up as simple as possible??  Perhaps more like Edison's Gamaphone set up??  I'm glad others saw the same program....not many watch PBS or Science programming any more since streaming and Netflix, etc., came about.
glennewdick's avatar
glennewdick
1,500 posts
 
Also any magnet inside a cart would fade over time specially the thousands of years it will need to get anywhere. So ceramic makes more sense for longevity

it was a fantastic program very well done pbs is still doing great tv
loungeaudio's avatar
loungeaudio
12 posts
 
Well that record has been floating in outer space for quite a while. Last year I read on Fremer's site about a remaster of it.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ozmarecords/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-edition

Space X should send the remaster out to the stars with a more modern cartridge so the alien audiophiles can see how we have progressed. 

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