non-magnetic mechanical stylus force gauge

I have MC cartridges and use a Shure guage from time to time. I have never heard of it being magnetic and I have been using one for over 30 years. I think you are misinformed. Just because a gauge is metal does not mean it is magnetic.

Why do you want a mechanical gauge? - you can get an electronic scale with .01g precision for about the same price.
Easier to use than the Shure too (which I also own).

To Stanwal - saw one review here about the magnetic

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SFG-2-Stylus-Tracking-Force/product-reviews/B00006I5SD/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

On Audiogon some indicated that old ones were magnetic too

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1245348270&openflup&1&4#1

But on the good side I got a response an hour ago from Shure where they said the device is NOT magnetic.

Just looking for the simple mechanical one so that I don't care about batteries. I can't say if this is only me but in my case they fail always when you need them most :)

Thanks and Best Regards
Anatoliy

Actually what Shure said was

"It could haven when the SFG is too close to a magnet for a while."

I didn't go into discussion with them over this one but IMHO if the metal (of other material) is NOT magnetic how can a close magnet influence? Does it make sense?

This is the official answer from Shure if interested

http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3200/kw/sfg-2/session/L3RpbWUvMTMyMzc4MjI4Ny9zaWQvNlBVQWh1TGs%3D

Copy / paste:
Q:Can the SFG-2 be used with moving coil cartridges, or only with moving magnet cartridges?
A:We only speak for Shure cartridges - all are moving magnet and work well with the SFG-2.

Q:It is my understanding that the magnets in moving coil cartridges are powerful enough to attract the stainless steel balance beam of the SFG-2 and produce incorrect readings.
A:This is feasible, though we have never tested the theory. Most phono cartridges use Mumetal for the cartridge body; MuMetal acts as a magnetic shield, thus shielding the internal mechanism from outside magnetic influence and vice versa.
FYI - Stainless steel has no, or very slight, magnetic properties.

As has been pointed out here for many years, that canned response from Shure contains more errors and false assumptions than facts.

As Tobes asked, why buy a cheaply made, inaccurate tool when for very little more money you can buy a decently made tool that's more reliable and more accurate?

Yes, Dougdeacon, I guess you are correct, it makes sense to look at digital ones.
Thank you

The reason I still occasionally use mine is to check on the accuracy of one of my digital gauges; I have 4 if I remember correctly. At times they have been wildly inaccurate. I question whether a complex device like a digital gauge can be considered more reliable than a simple balance like the Shure; I have had mine for decades. On the other hand one of my digital gauges is defective, it runs down the batteries even though it is shut off. It carries the name of a famous audio company and I got it as a dealer for them; when I informed the importer it was defective he didn't bother replying. It APPEARS to be identical to one that can be bought direct from China for under $20 rather than the $150 it retails for here. I had another that cost about the same and it was also identical. My Technics gauge stopped functioning years ago. I have a friend who is a professional audio technician who is obsessive about TT set up and he uses a Shure. Will the Shure measure down to 1/100 gram? No, but I have never found that minute variations in tracking force were significant. But then I don't alter my VTA for each record either.

Yes, thanks, I see the point.
I think this is also the case (at least for me) when simpler is better :)
Regards

I've had one or two for years. With the one I still have, I checked it against a strong magnet, and nothing. I have an electronic one also, but it can vary quite a bit if the stylus tip is off of the center by just a small amount. It is a cheap $50-60 ( I think ) though.

I have an older Shure gauge as well and tested it with a magnet I have at home - the gauge plate is NOT magnetic...no sticky...magnet falls off.

In my experience, the Shure is not nearly accurate enough, the Canrong units that have exploded on the market and have mutiple manufacturerers badges on them are unreliable. I bought the Mapleshade which measures at record height and has been extremely reliable. Also it uses AAA bateries that are less expensive than the button type. That was $75.00 well spent in my view.

Thanks all, folks. Decided to go with Shure for now, got it today.
Best Regards to all