DIN to RCA on Thorens TD160

[jsmac]

Hello again,

As I mentioned in a previous post I've acquired a TD160 deck with a DIN connector. The DIN plug was somewhat corroded and in a bit of a sorry state so rather than buying a DIN to RCA adapter I've decided to simply swap in RCA plugs. I say 'simply', but the truth is I've never done any soldering before so want to make sure I don't make a right mess of this. So I have a couple of questions:

Firstly, is there a ground wire that was attached to one of the pins in the DIN plug (or the shell of the DIN plug) that I need to concern myself with? I've read elsewhere that the TD160 is grounded internally but I can't find any mention of someone who has specifically changed a DIN plug to RCA plugs on a TD160.

Or can I just chop off the DIN plug, strip the left and right wires and solder them each to an RCA plug?

Any other thoughts or advice on problems I may encounter or pitfalls to be avoided would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Cheers.

 

[Radioham]

Just chop the plug off and remake the wires two phono RCA plugs. If there are any extra wires other than the screen of the cables that could go to the earth on the amp, but I would just expect to see a pair of screen leads. Where in the uk are you and a local wammer maybe able to help.

I would also expect the screen wire to be poor quality, so you may be better using a ready made pair of phono leads and terminate them inside the deck doing away with the old leads.

Alan

 

[jsmac]

Thanks, Alan.

You're quite right. The cables aren't great quality. I assume they're the original cables. But I'd like to get the deck up and running before I start any serious modifications. And I figured that soldering new RCA plugs onto the original cable would be useful practice before I start pulling the deck apart.

It looks like there is simply a very thin layer of copper braiding between the outer jacket of the cable and the inner insulation (one of which is yellow and the other red).

I'm in east London. If anyone is up for taking a look at the deck then that would be most helpful.

Scott

 

[rabski]

A 'normal' tonearm lead would have two separated signal cables, each with screening, plus usually a separate grounding lead. Two wires (red and yellow) are presumably right and left, but the common screening is not best practice and suggests the actual cable is probably marginal in terms of quality. I'm not doing a 'foo cable' suggestion here, but for a number of reasons it's best to keep left and right signal and returns separate in a phono situation. If you can, I'd replace it. If you want some soldering practice it's a good place to start, but you're going to have a messy job splitting the screen into two, one for each phono plug...

 

[jsmac]

Thanks, Richard.

I think my description of the cable was a little confusing though.

The cable is composed of two separate signal cables that can be easily separated from each other. That is, the left and right wires each have their own outer jacket and screening. The cable is quite thin. Each half of the cable (ie. left and right) is only about 3mm in diameter and there is no separate ground wire that I can see.

Does the absence of a ground wire suggest that the turntable is signal and chassis grounded internally (I hope that's the correct terminology)?

 

[rabski]

Thanks, Richard.I think my description of the cable was a little confusing though.

The cable is composed of two separate signal cables that can be easily separated from each other. That is, the left and right wires each have their own outer jacket and screening. The cable is quite thin. Each half of the cable (ie. left and right) is only about 3mm in diameter and there is no separate ground wire that I can see.

Does the absence of a ground wire suggest that the turntable is signal and chassis grounded internally (I hope that's the correct terminology)?

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood.

Answer is almost certainly yes, though it is 'normal' for most turntables and arms to use somewhat different grounding methods as the very low signal levels are an open invitation to various issues with hum.

As it stands, get in a bit of soldering practice and stick some half-decent phono plugs on. If you do get any hum issues, it's a potential case for some further playing, but unlikely to be necessary.

Add the phono plugs and enjoy it. It's a slippery slope you've embarked on, but keep it sensible and vinyl will provide you with much musical enjoyment.

As others will hopefully agree, above all don't get sucked into the black hole of continuous 'improvements'. Improve when and as it's sensible, but the day you spend more on the turntable than the music you're playing on it, is the day to take a step back!

 

[Radioham]

Looking at pictures on the web. I see it just the standard stereo screened cable and there is no extra earth. Inside the deck the wires are soldered to a tag strip. So it maybe better to fit a pair of phono sockets to the deck so you can in future use any phono cables of your choosing.

Alan

 

[rabski]

Looking at pictures on the web. I see it just the standard stereo screened cable and there is no extra earth. Inside the deck the wires are soldered to a tag strip. So it maybe better to fit a pair of phono sockets to the deck so you can in future use any phono cables of your choosing. Alan

Small but obvious caution if I may. May be obvious, but worth pointing out. Some of the pics I have seen show a tag board that actually has the mains wiring connected to it and just a captive lead from the arm. Obviouskly, unplug from the mains before doing anything and please check you're connecting something to the signal wiring!