Vibrograf B200A pickup not hearing ticking

[Dave Coatsworth]

I just picked up a Vibrograf B200A. It came with both the standard pickup and the probe/aligator clip pickup. If I use the probe pickup, everything works great. If I use the standard pickup, I don't pick up any ticking. However, if I tap on the prongs that hold the watch, that will get picked up. So, it seems like the pickup is working, but just not sensitive enough to pick up the watch ticking. Just to be sure, I took the standard pickup from another B200A and tried it with this new machine and it also worked great.

Anyone have any ideas what might be wrong with this pickup?

 

[StephanG]

If it has a crystal microphone in it like the b100 then they degrade with time.
Would also depend on how it has been stored. moisture, heat etc.

If the innards are different than this may not help you.