Alternative to measure weight on stylus?

by **Slabi** » 03 Jan 2006 03:00

Until I get my hands on a heavyer headshell I'm gonna go ahead and add some weight to the one I have for now. I have access to all metals at work (from mag to copper) and am planning on cutting a few peices to hang on the shell as close to the stylus as possible.
What I'm wondering is if anyone has a cheap solution for measuring weight, to the gram, under the stylus. I will want to calibrate the weight dial on the end of the tonearm as close as possible, and am just looking for a quick cheap solution until I get the right parts in order.
Any ideas??

by **bastlnut** » 03 Jan 2006 10:25

hi,

look at this link for a scale.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-POCKET-DIGITAL-CARATS-SCALE-100-GRAM-X-0-01-NO-RES_W0QQitemZ5072997177QQcategoryZ34088QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

regards,
bastlnut

by **Slabi** » 03 Jan 2006 23:16

Thats awsome. will do the job perfectly. Thanks bastlnut.

by **bastlnut** » 03 Jan 2006 23:22

hallo Slabi,

if you get one of these scales, be sure to put something like a popsicle stick or a plastic spacer between the cartridge and scales to keep the metal in the scales pulling the cartridge toward it and increasing the measured weight and giving a false reading.

regards,
bastlnut

by **Slabi** » 04 Jan 2006 00:13

Thanks for the tip. I will remember.
I have already noticed over the last week with the new cart the sound is getting better and better. It sounded bright when I first installed it, but with some fiddling, and maybe some break in? it seems to be getting better on the bottom end. Is that common?

by **bastlnut** » 04 Jan 2006 00:55

Slabi wrote:Thanks for the tip. I will remember.
I have already noticed over the last week with the new cart the sound is getting better and better. It sounded bright when I first installed it, but with some fiddling, and maybe some break in? it seems to be getting better on the bottom end. Is that common?

yes, this happens. it always takes time for a cartridge to run in. it will become less strident and the bass will get better.
are you moving on to tweaking now? i think you have got the bug! welcome to the club.

bastlnut

by **Slabi** » 04 Jan 2006 01:04

I have been tweeking yes.

David wilcox is sounding especially good tonight. Downtown came Uptown.

Scored a few keeper lp's at the goodwill on the way home tonight. Gonna fire up the GREASE soundtrack after a good cleaning in a few.

Now to find storage for all these flat sounding cd's :twisted:

WOOHOO!!!

by **Uncle Ants** » 19 Jan 2006 10:11

Hi Slabi,

I've been using similar for a while. The only problem with these kind of scales is their height. the VTF of the stylus really needs to measured at the same height (or close to) as it sits on a record. Measuring it at the height of the scale will result in an undermeasurement.

To get round this, fashion a small platform from an old credit type card , by bending it in two places (I used a hot knife) a little less far apart than the height of the the platform and stick one end to the platform on the scales. When measuring place the stylus on the overhanging platform formed by the card, which should now just hover a little over the platters surface. (also gets over the magnetic issue)

I've tried it on an Ortofon MC tracking at 2.3g. It measures correctly using the mod, verified using another scale, but measures over 3g at the scales platform height.

I can post some pics if you like.

Here:

With mod to scale:

Without:

These particular scales are non magnetic, so the difference is in the height above the platter that the measurement is taken (true the mod itself could flex, but measurement with a Shure scale suggests not).

Hope this helps.

by **LousyTourist** » 19 Jan 2006 13:48

wow, uncle ants, that's a HUGE difference in tracking based upon just the height of the scale.

My cheapo Shure VTF gauge isn't too near the record surface when I'm measuring tracking weight... just how tall are these digital guys?

PS
I was looking at a 7.99 digital scale till I saw the shipping was twice the price of the scale! Crimeny.

by **Uncle Ants** » 19 Jan 2006 14:24

LousyTourist wrote:wow, uncle ants, that's a HUGE difference in tracking based upon just the height of the scale.

My cheapo Shure VTF gauge isn't too near the record surface when I'm measuring tracking weight... just how tall are these digital guys?

PS
I was looking at a 7.99 digital scale till I saw the shipping was twice the price of the scale! Crimeny.

In this case just over a cm. When I used the Shure to verify I took the mat off the deck to make it (just about) level with where the record surface would be.

An interesting effect eh? Something else I've noticed is that with some arms its more pronounced than others. Seems that you get a bigger difference with low slung counterweights such as the Nima pictured and the Spacearm I've got, than with say a standard Rega RB250.

by **Slabi** » 20 Jan 2006 01:56

Awsome tip Uncle Ants, and thanks for the pic. That simplifies it bigtime.

by **Audiophilewannabe** » 20 Jan 2006 02:09

Are you subtracting the weight of the card from the total , or do those scales allow you to calibrate to zero with the card in place ?

by **Slabi** » 20 Jan 2006 05:28

Audiophilewannabe, the scales I have seen so far have all had a zero function on them for that.
Now to actually get my grimmey hands on one!

by **Uncle Ants** » 20 Jan 2006 12:01

Audiophilewannabe wrote:Are you subtracting the weight of the card from the total , or do those scales allow you to calibrate to zero with the card in place ?

Hi Yes. You zero it with the mod in place.

I must say this does make one wonder about the old "Does VTA matter" debate as its suggests to me that the changes in sound people describe for changes in VTA may actually be a result of changes in VTF in reality ... maybe.