GE VR 1000 Owners Club

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by PhxJohn, Oct 31, 2018.

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  1. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Sorry guys but I cannot find any company that can make the rubber parts in the Phoenix area. We spent most of the day driving from one company to another with no luck. So it ends here. I am not going to pursue it further. Big disappointment.
     
  2. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I thought someone would post after my 'game over' statement. I will continue to buy 508's from Neil and Fred. And no one else. Without the new rubber parts, there is not much that I can do. What is left is 30 from Neil and 50 from Fred. Very few of those will be any good. I would so love to be wrong. But the ones that Fred has have the gum rubber dampers front and rear. It is more like plastic now. The price that I was quoted to produce new 508's was $24K from the Swiss manufacturer. Normarh maybe could produce them for less but I do not speak Spanish. The stylus assembly would require molds for the grip, pole pieces, armature(cantilever), and dampers. GE either made or had ONE company produce the grips with pole pieces already installed. The aftermarket styli manufacturers bought the grips with pole pieces installed. All that the aftermarket styli manufacturers had to do was create the crank shaped armatures, mount the tips. mold or die cut the dampers, and assemble. I have some evidence to show that the assembly directions were left up to the various aftermarket manufacturers. Problems with assembly due to poor fitting parts led to Roy Dally's 'fix' which introduced problems and eliminated none. If I had the money, I would have to be on site to make sure the parts were made correctly and assembled correctly. I will have to win a lotto first. Oh well.....I tried.
     
  3. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    Thanks! I didn’t know this. I will need new styli someday.
     
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  4. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    You can buy them dirt cheap from Scott at Pfanstiehl: [email protected] I put some letters in caps for clarity.
     
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  5. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    John, you gave it a great try!! We will make do with what weve got, thats all.
     
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  6. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Thank you. Very much appreciated. I was thinking that there are plenty of cartridges with styli being NLA but the VR 1000 is so good and unique that it is a shame.
     
  7. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC

    It is, but maybe your improved styli will be enough for the current VR 1000 user base.
     
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  8. illinoisteve

    illinoisteve Forum Resident

    There's somebody on the auction site who sells something called "Drive Wheel Cleaner" with a picture of a Reel-to-Reel taped deck on the front of the bottle. I've used it on rubber rollers in tape decks and on rubber idler drive wheels in turntables, and it works pretty well. I've also used it on a couple of somewhat degraded rubber grip surfaces on lenses for SLR cameras. In my experience, it doesn't dissolve or eat anything. It cleans dirt, and does provide some rubber conditioning. If it is currently being sold, you might want to try it. If it doesn't solve this problem, it will come in handy for other equipment issues.
     
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  9. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Thank you but the most commons problems are cement drenched rubber bits and too short rubber bits. I tend to shy away from the conditioners as I do not know how long they last and I cannot risk my reputation as I (test or modify and test or rebuild(no longer) and test) and sell the few good ones. I do not sell on here. I really do appreciate your trying to help.
     
  10. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    Got it. Thanks. And thanks for going off topic. :)
     
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  11. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    You are welcome. The GE RPX and VR-II are highly regarded. The first two stereo attempts were the Golden Classics and VR-22's in that order. I have both. They are terrible with stereo records as they do not have enough vertical compliance. The pole pieces are directly above the armature so the stylus assembly cannot have much vertical compliance by design. The VR 1000 has the pole pieces positioned above and on either side of the armature so that works much better.
     
  12. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I am out of 508's. All gone. LOL. I need to buy and test some more.
     
  13. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    John, are you sure? LOL...
     
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  14. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    My last two went to a fellow in New Zealand. I was trying to salvage a Swiss made 508 with a gum rubber rear damper by removing the adhesive from the damper. The gum rubber rear damper crumbled. I do not mess with them if they track okay. I have five that I may be able to rebuild. This is the only thread where I update the latest and not so greatest. LOL. The London cartridges are the next step if someone wants to upgrade from the good qualities of the VR 1000. Here is a website that sells the London cartridges at prices substantially less than retailers here in the States: London Archives - Divine Audio
    Until I can afford one of the Londons......
    Here is a very interesting review of the London Super Gold and Jubilee cartridges:
    London Super Gold And Jubilee Cartridges Taking The Direct Route and cutting out the mush with a London Cartridge Review By Clive Meakins

    I did not know that the London's have been in production since 1951. 67 years ! John Wright in Shropshire, England(where my maternal grandmother was born and raised) builds them by hand. Here is an active link about the London's on AK:
    Decca Blue & Decca Gold

    This is not a hijack as the VR 1000 is mentioned in the thread on AK.
    I wish my Consumer Reports February 1964 issues and my two 508's from Fred would arrive. I need to place an order with my supplier. One thing that I have not done is kept a supply for my personal use.
     
  15. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    John, it looks to me that the styli in the London Deccas are not replaceable....is that right?
     
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  16. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Hi Mike, you are correct. Since John Wright builds them, most owners send them back to John for a retip and tune up.
     
  17. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC

    Thanks John. I have set a policy that I will never buy another cartridge where the stylus is not replaceable.

    So I'm glad it is on the VR 1000.
     
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  18. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    I rebuilt three 508's today. On one, the rubber pieces were a snug fit so no glue was needed. On the other two, I am trying an adhesive called RTV 102 which is a silicone rubber adhesive specified in the second patent. Except, I am not adding it behind the rear damper. I am using it to hold the rear dampers in place. I will test them tomorrow after the adhesive has had time to cure.
     
  19. VinylSoul

    VinylSoul Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lake Erie
    John the VR stands for variable reluctance? What is the inductance soec for the VR 1000?
     
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  20. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Yes, variable reluctance. If I am giving you the spec you are asking...it is 47K. Let me try to find a spec sheet for you. I found this old ad:
    Stereo Review
     
  21. illinoisteve

    illinoisteve Forum Resident

    I. personally, am often variably reluctant.
     
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  22. spensar

    spensar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Candaa
    I am the culprit that bought that one. I then got a couple of tested 508s from John but I will not get my hands on them for a few weeks as I will be picking it all up stateside then.

    I previously had a VR1000 that I got a couple of years ago with a Dual 1009 SK and other nice bits and bites. The stylus was very dirty but it cleaned up really well and the sound was very nice but I ended up selling it a while back. I was talking to John and following his stylus adventures and wished I still had it to try some of his tested styluses so when then one came up at a $100 I was happy to grab it.

    My previous VR1000 as picked up.

    [​IMG]
     
  23. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Nice post Ron ! Since I cannot get the rubber pieces made, I put together a stylus assembly using moldable rubber. It works ! Rather well. I will continue to test and refine.
     
  24. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    Spense: You Got the VR 1000 box!! Thats cool, I want to get at least one box for one of mine.

    John: Good job!
     
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  25. PhxJohn

    PhxJohn Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Mike, it has been awhile since I have seen the box only for sale but they do show up on eBay once in awhile. Thank you for the 'Good Job !'. It will take some experience before i can make them so that they track George Michael's Hard Day track from the Faith album at 2 grams. When I removed the headshell from the AR 77-B to look at the VR 1000, it noticed they stylus assembly has the blue rubber dampers. That was the very first stylus that I tried from the box of 108. If only they were all that good. LOL.
     
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