[MrFixr55]

Hi Jeffcon,
Congrats on your success.

You state that the phono does not sound well. Are you having distortion, "wow and flutter" (the pitch of the music changing) or other issues?

First, test the "phono" input by connecting a CD player, MP3 player or other device to the phono input of this set. If the sound is still poor (and you are not overdriving the Phono input), then troubleshoot the phono circuit. However, if this set uses a crystal or ceramic cartridge, it is likely that there is no amplifier stage, only an RC network to provide phono "equalization". Consult your schematic. Both poor needles and poor cartridges can cause distortion.

IMHO, if the cartridge is bad, consider replacing the cartridge with a magnetic cartridge. A preamplifier will be needed but there are rather compact Magnetic Phono preamps with no controls needed available for reasonable prices. The only issue will be in finding a cartridge that will physically fit your tone arm. There is a rather common screw mount dimension for magnetic cartridge but there were many processes for mounting crystal and ceramic cartridges. You will have to get clever without butchering it.