turntable problem

seems everything with my hi fi kit is starting to die...
i was given a hifi system by a family member, who barely ever used it. i think in his life time he must have used no more than 20 hours on it.
i took it and wanted to try the turntable... i have never used one before btw, so it may be my stupidity that is the problem.
i went out and got me a vynil from hmv, put it on and looked at the equipment wondering how on earth does this work.. i soon realised its actually automatic if u lift the needle thing. so i do it, it goes into place, and all i could hear was a horrible scratching noise, like one of those poor microphones in wind.
the setting is on 33, the needle is there but its about half a milimeter big, if not less. the turntable im pretty sure has hhad bare use, and the hifi is in good condition anyway, everything else works.

is the needle broken? can i replace it? or am i simply stupid?

 

sounds like the cantilever is snapped.
it should look something like this:

the pink bit is the body of the cartridge assembly, underneath is the cantilever sticking out, on the end of that is the needle itself (aka stylus). (i think this is the correct terminology.)

but probably the best is to replace, if you find out what the turntable is, you should be able to determine what the replacement should be.

try here for the replacement
http://www.musonic.co.uk/erol.html

 

great cheers... ill have a look

 

i did find a white transparent piece which i guess covered the needle, but maybe thats the snapped bit?
found something which looks a bit like my model : the sony XOD1...mine is actually the XOD10 but is there a massive difference?

 

sounds like a stylus cover.