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A new way of adjusting anti skate!

I was looking at the Wallyskater, a $250 or so contraption used to set anti skate. https://www.wallyanalog.com/wallyskater  It is reputedly the most accurate way to set anti skate. Talking about fiddly. 

The appropriate figure is 9 to 11 percent of VTF. So if you are tracking at 2 grams you want 0.2 grams of anti skate.
My Charisma tracks at 2.4 grams so I should set the anti skate for 0.24 grams..................................Bright light!.
I readjusted the Syrinx PU3 to zero so that it was floating horizontally. I set up a digital VTF gauge on it's side at the edge of the platter so that the finger lift would be in the cross hairs, activated the anti skate and was easily able to adjust it to 0.24 grams. I started at 0.18 grams and just added a little more. Whatever you measure the anti skate from it has to be at the same radius as the stylus. If you do not have a finger lift at the right location you can tack a toothpick to the head shell and measure from that. As long as you have the whole affair balanced at zero you will be fine. Added cost $0.00 as long as you have a digital VTF gauge. 

I would not buy stock in Wallyskater.
mijostyn

Showing 2 responses by timeltel

timeltel's avatar
timeltel
830 posts
 


Regards:

Published to AES, 1967: "The Skating-Force Phenomenon. What it is, how it's measured, and its influence on performance of modern, lightweight phono cartridges." JAMES H. KOGEN ...

6 pages

PDF, copy/paste Google search:  "1967 paper by Shure’s Chief Engineer James Kogen." 

Found at audio-creative.nl. 

* Skating decreases towards the spindle as centripetal force (est. influence  elsewhere @ 5%) increases.

* Downforce, stylus profile, depth of groove and groove velocity are factors. (Spindle to pivot distance is a consideration.) 

* Increasing or decreasing skating force will influence wear to either inner or outer grooves, as well as wear to either the left or right bearing surface of the stylus. 

(Wallytools- Shure devised a neat tonearm mounted device to measure skating. It's described in the Kogan paper.)

Conrad Hoffman has thoughts on the subject, http://www.conradhoffman.com/AntiSkate.htm

Descartes on First Principles: "It will accordingly be necessary thereafter to endeavor so to deduce from those principles the knowledge of the things that depend on them," Although Descartes never spun an LP it is likely the philosopher would agree that although it might fit many, one shoe doesn't fit every foot.

When skating is balanced, left and right channels are hypothetically equally amplified. The "phantom center channel" phenomena emerges. Very minor adjustments to anti-skating will move soundstage center left or right.

Through the early 1970's, VTA at 15* was typical. Sometime around 1974 (IIRC) 22* VTA as standard was agreed on. Later investigation found there was still a discrepancy of several degrees VTA/SRA from one manufacturer to another.  As with correctly aligning an advanced profile stylus, azimuth or SRA may vary. Stylus to cantilever fitting is not always precise. Setup by the book is sometimes an approximation, none the less a good place to begin. Presuming ones gear is in good condition, listening and knowing what to listen for should confirm the best practical application. 


Peace,

timeltel's avatar
timeltel
830 posts
 

Regards Lew(m):

Thanks for the gracious "hello".

You wrote: "a lot of so-called authorities have run too far with that ball, saying that headshell offset is THE cause of skating". I too have heard that. One might ask those audio gurus what would be the effect if the headshell were turned away from the spindle, would then skating force direct the arm away from the label? An amusing proposition. 

It seems to me that no matter which point of the compass the headshell is aimed or however the tonearm is configured, the axis from stylus to pivot (and as you mentioned, over/underhang) is the primary  consideration.

Peace,

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