[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Hi Warren, The needles in the Dynamic Reproducer cartridge are not made to be removed and replaced like conventional phonographs of the era, where steel needles would be taken out and replaced via a thumbscrew at the front side of the tone arm. If your cartridge is missing the needle, the whole cartridge will most likely need to be replaced, as the DR uses a special Philco only needle, and the mounting end has a different shape than conventional steel needles. Here is a picture of the underside of an original Dynamic Reproducer cartridge: http://philcoradio.com/phorum/showthread...reproducer

To quote our esteemed host Ron Ramirez in the same thread: "The bad thing about those cartridges is that the vast majority of them were ruined by people removing the original stylus and forcing a steel needle into the cone, ruining the cartridge. The stylus just pushes into the hole in the cone. The hole is made just for the special Philco stylus; a steel needle has a larger diameter. Once the cone is ruined in this fashion, the cartridge itself still has good continuity but it will no longer hold the proper stylus once the hole gets enlarged by a steel needle."

I am fortunate to have a 47-1230 console radio / phono with an original working Dynamic Reproducer tone arm. It does produce a much richer, more vibrant sound than the common steel needles of the era. You might want to check out http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/ where they have a vast selection of suitable replacement cartridges available.