Soldering pickup tags to their leads.

[Old Sparky]

I need to solder a new tag to one of the leads in a Garrard 6-300 Turntable.  As many will know, the head-shell on these is not detachable, and I'm having great difficulty (perhaps due to my age!) attaching & soldering the tag to the end of the lead.  The cartridge fitted is a Shure M75.  I'm obviously aware that soldering to tags attached to a crystal or ceramic cartridge is a no-no, but is a magnetic cartridge liable to be damaged if i solder the lead to the tag with it on the cartridge pin.  The alternative is to solder it with the lead hanging loose, which I'm finding difficult to say the least!

[ppppenguin]

I wouldn't solder to a tag attached to any cartridge. What you need is a 3rd hand. I've got a less sophisticated version of this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SE-MZ101B-Helpi...B000RB38X8

You could probably improvise something with a croc clip, some stiff wire and mole grips.

[Murphyv310]

Fiddly indeed but doable. The idea is to initially pull as much cable through as you can keep the arm as high as possible and tape it in that position. Make the mechanical joint first then you should be able to complete the soldering.

[Old Sparky]

I used to have two of those 'Third Hand' devices. Very useful they were, so maybe I'll get another. The PU arm on the 6-300 doesn't lift up very high, but no doubt I'll find a way round the problem. Thanks, Jeffrey & Trevor fo your suggestions.

[Murphyv310]

Hi.
On the arms that have limited travel sometimes its better to take it off the deck completely. More work admittedly but it does really help.
I have to say there have been times I found this seemingly simple job quite frustrating. The older you are the more difficult it becomes.

[Old Sparky]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way, Trevor!. B.T.W., I have removed the deck from the Dynatron stereo, still attached to it's motor board.

[Terry]

The way I would deal with this is first to take the tag and use a crocodile clip to hold it and give it extra mass.

Then take a hot iron and a solder sucker and remove all traces of the old solder (and any remaining wire strands from the old joint) particularly ensuring that the hole in the tag is completely clear.

Now cut off the remains of the old joint off the wire back to the insulation. Remove a short length of insulation and twist the exposed wire tightly so that there are no loose strands. Tin the wire using the minimum of solder and use a pair of miniature long nose pliers to bend the wire in the middle a little over 90° - this 'hook' will make it much easier to fit to the tag.

Using the croc clip again, hold the tag close to the hook you've created and pass it through the hole in the tag - the long nose pliers should be ideal for this. You should now be able to pull the tag slightly to take up any slack while you squeeze both arms of the hook with the pliers to fold the wire back on itself.

You can now let the wire/tag combination dangle while you apply the iron and solder to complete the job!

[Old Sparky]

Thanks, everyone. By following your suggestions I was able, albeit with difficulty, to solder a new tag on the P.U.lead, and now have the deck playing through both channels. There are other issues, the subject of a separate thread, to do with the speed/size change mechanism on the Garrard 6-300, but at least the dodgy P.U. connections are now sorted!