I'm 16 years old and have just inherited a turntable and a plethora of records. The turntable is a Sony PS-3300 and I have no manual. When i plug it into the wall, it starts automatically. I know that players usually start turning once you lift the tone arm off its cradle, but here it does not seem to function. Is this an internal issue with the player? Next, i was able to play a 12" album but everytime the tone arm reached the end of the last track, it would automatically send the tone arm back to the cradle. I suppose this would work fine if i was playing a 45rpm, but I do not know how to tell the tone arm that it is playing a 33rpm. Lastly, the needle is in real bad shape. It was bent badly and I had to reposition it so the the tip would actually touch the record. I want to buy a new needle but i'm not sure what components exactly i need to replace. The cartridge that holds the needs it says XLM IMPROVED MK II, ADC. Do i need to replace it with the exact same model? Also, is this a good needle? How does one go about choosing a needle?
DS - How do I put this to a sixteen year old? The table you now own isn't the best in the world. I suppose you knew that already. You have to decide whether you want to put some money into the turntable or not. It needs to have a technician look at the mechanism, since there's no way on the forum to tell you how to fix your lift off problem. It should be a simple fix but even that's going to cost around $100-150. The cartridge on your table is no longer manufactured. Just as well, it was not a good match to the tonearm in the first place. You will have to buy a new cartrdige and set the table up to align the cartridge properly. A decent cartridge will set you back at least $50 and more like $100. Are you interested in putting $200 into this turntable when you can buy a better table for just a few more dollars?
P.S. Do not continue to play your records with the stylus you "straightened out". You will damage the vinyl and they will sound like crap on a new table.