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Audio Additives Stylus Force Gauge inconstantcy

I recently purchased an Audio Additives Stylus Force Gauge and it is driving me nuts. I get inconstant readings every time I lower the stylus onto the little black dot on the plate. Without moving the arm, every time I lower, raise, lower, etc., I get a different reading between 1.68 - 1.88. The batteries are new, device reads 0.000g at start up, calibration checks out using supplied weight, room temperature is 72F, no interference from tonearm lifter and everything is level.
Anyone else have this problem?
128x128seasoned
tonyptony
615 posts
 
Bought the Riverstone few years back and never looked back.

Extremely accurate and repeatable, really like the drop down bracket so stylus is then at same height it would be playing vinyl.


Unfortunately the Riverstone will not work with carts like Benz that use very powerful magnets. I tried it with my Benz Wood SL and it exhibited the classic "negative read" as the cart approached the landing zone. Both on the body platform and on the accessory arm. The folks at Riverstone confirmed they had received some reports about this with carts like Benz. I was disappointed because I otherwise really admired what Riverstone did with the design.

schubert
7,386 posts
 
I used the Ortofon and it was so unreliable I threw it in the trash !
The Shure is fine to 1.5 , over that a PITA .
derainer's avatar
derainer
2 posts
 
By the way...

@melm- If you owned an AV Designhaus Derenville VPM 2010-1(about $650K) with(say) an Air-Tight Opus 1 or Koetsu Coralstone Platinum($14-15K ea) mounted, you wouldn’t be asking that. Some of, "we"(though: not me) have that kind of scratch, for lab-quality instrumentation(God bless ’em).

This Dereneville VPM 2010-1 is not for sale - it’s never for sale!It’s just a prototype for testing.No one can buy it.

Cheers Rainer
from AVDesignHaus
lewm
12,610 posts
 
“Lab quality” my arse.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,258 posts
 
Aside from the magnetic interference lewm mentions the problem might not be the gauge. A tonearm with bad vertical bearings will do exactly the same thing. Get one of these, https://soundapproach.com/rek-o-kut-roksfg-1-stylus-force-gauge.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwqIiFBhAHEiwANg9sz...

Take repeat readings measuring the distance of the weight side to the platter. If if varies at all you have a problem with your tonearm. There is no way a scale like this can be off unless the weights are bad.
You could also buy another digital gauge and if the readings are consistent the gauge you have now is defective. But, as has been mention the cheap digital scales are a risk. Like Lewm I also use an Ortofon Gauge. I check it once in a while with a calibration weight. I always get consistent readings. The Platform is stainless steel which is not magnetic. 
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