"EADGBE" wrote in message
...

Arfa:

For what it is worth, there is continuity between
the contact that touches the SLEEVE of the
female connector and one of the turntable's
motor mounting screws. There is also very
low resistance.

I couldn't get any kind of reading from any
part of the signal wires or the external
ground wire....strange!

So based on these observations, I'm
leaning toward the assumption that the
centre of the female connector has to be
positive (+), and the sleeve is negative (-).

That would be my thought also. Sometimes with turntables employing DC
motors, the signal ground is not commoned with the DC ground, to avoid
introducing motor brush-gear noise into the following amplifier. A motor
mounting screw going to the sleeve connection on the socket is pretty
conclusive though, as the case of the motor usually has a tab down by the
connector board, which solders straight to the "-" connection.

Arfa