MM or MC......Voyager Expedition


Watched a very interesting program on PBS the other day about the Voyager Expedition.  A lot of time was devoted to the gold record that accompanied the space craft on its journey.  The Chief Engineer mentioned that a cartridge was included along with the record and with graphic instructions on how to play the recording.  No mention by the engineer if MM or MC cartridge was chosen.  Does anyone have any inside information on what type of cart was included?  Just curious.....Thanks!
 
quincy
Almarg posted while I was writing. He's probably right. Different magnetic fields on distant planets might not affect a ceramic as they might a magnetic cartridge of any type.
Well ... keep checking the forum often when - eventually - the Voyager is found by an audiophile the next universe over.

Very enjoyable PBS show.   


I saw the PBS show. I could be mistaken, but I thought it was said that a "stylus" was included. I don't recall "cartridge." A cartridge would suggest a more complex set of instructions to retrieve information than a mere stylus. It would seem difficult to graphically show how to use a cartridge as opposed to a stylus.
ncarv,
Could be....perhaps he said stylus....now I can't be 100% certain.  One might assume that the engineers would try to keep the retrieval set up as simple as possible??  Perhaps more like Edison's Gamaphone set up??  I'm glad others saw the same program....not many watch PBS or Science programming any more since streaming and Netflix, etc., came about.
Also any magnet inside a cart would fade over time specially the thousands of years it will need to get anywhere. So ceramic makes more sense for longevity

it was a fantastic program very well done pbs is still doing great tv