[78-L] turntable hum mystery

[neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com]

Listers,

Last time I posted about hum on my turntable, it was solved by checking 
the ground connection. It was loose, and tightening it made a huge 
improvement.

Later I was thinking I was hearing much hum from the records. Surely 
they didn't record that much hum in so many records did they? Upon 
further investigation, it appears not to be from the records. It is only 
when the table is on and the stylus in contact with the record. Lift the 
stylus even the tiniest bit and the hum goes away. Turn the thing off, 
even with the stylus on the record, and the hum goes away.

So how is the hum getting into the system? Neither vinyl or diamond are 
conductors of electricity. So I've ruled that out. Bad p.s. caps giving 
off EMR that the cartridge is picking up? Seems unlikely, in that 
picking up the stylus even the tiniest bit causes the hum to cease. If 
the leak were in the air I would expect the hum to remain as long as the 
cart was within a certain proximity.

Whaz goin' on here?
-- 
Joe Salerno