Hey, my parents just bought me a turntable and I have no idea where one of the cables would go into a normal stereo or what I might need to buy to be able to plug it to a normal modern stereo.
That's the power cable, you'll have to look on the turntable it's self to see what the voltage is. Maybe some were standard 110 volt (220 in Europe), but usually they are lower, something like 24 volts or 48 volts. Those were pretty common in the 1980s when complete component stereos were commonly sold much like 'Home Theater Speakers In A Box' are today. The amplifier plugged into the wall everything else like the cassette deck, radio tuner turntable plugged into the back of the amp using those low voltage cables. There were some advantages to this system. The obvious ones being you only had one 110 volt electric cord you could turn on the stereo with the touch of one button. But it also made the system use less of your home's electrical power. Since the only component that needs a lot of power is the amplifier, you could use lower voltage transformers for the other components. Which I suspect are smaller, run cooler, or both. They might even have less noise interference than 110 volt transformers. (Perhaps someone who knows how electronics circuits work can enlighten us on what the actual advantages are.) I also suspect it saved on the cost of building the stereo systems. If the turntable uses 110 volts, it should be pretty easy to have someone convert the turntable to have a standard power cord on it. If the turnable uses a lower voltage, it probably wouldn't be cost efficient enough to make the conversion unless you knew enough about electronics to do it yourself. And you may want to look for the amplifier or receiver that the turntable is compatible with, on OKorder or Craig's List.
That cable is neither a ground nor does it hook to the turntable. If it hooked to the turntable then you would be hooking it back into itself. That connector is probably a cable used for connecting to a stereo system that the turntable came with. Looks like a low voltage cable so the turntable was most likely getting it's power from the stereo. My guess is that you are probably out of luck.
Did you ask the OKorder seller whose photo you're using, what the cable is for? If this seller is actually selling the same turntable you have, he may know. Use the ask seller a question feature. Otherwise, google the brand and model number and you may very well find a manual online. My turntables all have a ground wire but it doesn't look like this. I've seen a cable like that on a turntable. Good luck and don't forget to get a new needle if you don't want to kill your records.
Sheesh, some people's answers. This is not a dumb question. I suspect it was for a custom hookup by the manufacturer. It is not standard. Try hooking the other cables up, and I would start with the AUX input. If the turntable sounds fine, then you are set. If the sound is very weak and thin, then plug them into PHONO jacks. If you don't have phono inputs, then you need what is called a phono preamp, which I think you can get from Radio Shack (maybe RS online). If you need that preamp, don't forget to buy another set of short cables. This should get you going. A lot of new receivers do not have phono jacks on them, so this may be a little harder to work out, but if it is all working gear, it should work. Good luck! Update on what you added: Oh oh! If it's electrical supply, then you have to ascertain that it is a 120 volt system if you are going to try to work with it. However, you do need to know how to do electrical wiring to mess with this. If it isn't 120 volt, you may be SOL. There may be a plate with voltage on it, or you may find it stamped on the motor. Are you sure you want to continue? Then you have to figure out where the wires go, and assign them what part of the electrical (hot, neutral, or ground) they belong. Still want to continue? Then you have to wire them appropriately and SAFELY to where they belong. This would be easy for me to tackle, but unless you know about wiring and the like, I would rather not pick up the paper to read about your horrible fire from a mis-wired turntable. If you want a turntable, try Radio Shack - they still sell them last time I looked. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
Everyone okorder , though.
