I was inspired by this posting I read here about a DIY anti-static solution. I’ve been running my version for just over a month now. I can confirm that LPs are lifting off the platter without static crackles now, and that they are sliding back into their sleeves much easier than they come out. I am not going so far as to say that every single trace of static is completely gone after a single play, but I will say that after playing each side of an LP there is less static in the disc than before playing it. We’ve got two turntables running in the house, and the static solution is only set up on one of them. Static builds on the turntable with out the solution, and dissipates on the one where I have the brush running. It is a very nice feeling to lift a disc off the platter and have it feel like inert plastic versus some kind of active static monster.
The solution isn’t novel or particularly innovative, it’s a DIY scaled down version of solutions that are working daily in factories everywhere. You need a conductive carbon brush with an anchor point for a grounding wire, and you need to make sure that grounding wire makes it to an earth point. I’m using the panel screw on the wall plate (after I verified that the screw was indeed grounded using a multi-meter).
Link to image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bYY2Gjrmj_P-l2kgWdtM-h3eozBEELUwmKtKsp9e8cOsZzgoPFhyZZSp0z1eUlTDJq...
The toughest part for me was sourcing a good quality conductive carbon fiber brush at a reasonable price. If you are blessed to have old computer printers laying about you might be able to disassemble one and cannibalize the brush that most printers have built in. I ended up ordering my brush from Amstat Industries. Four inches was the smallest size I could order and cost was twenty four dollars for the brush and twelve for shipping for a total of thirty-six dollars for the brush to my door. I know that in the UK there are similar manufacturers of anti-static brushes one could source.
This DIY version has a good number of conductive carbon bristles in play across a large surface area, and I can have it making direct contact with both sides of the LP at the edge - or I can back it off to keep it silent at a 1-2 mm gap distance.
Thanks for reading. Hope this helps someone.
The solution isn’t novel or particularly innovative, it’s a DIY scaled down version of solutions that are working daily in factories everywhere. You need a conductive carbon brush with an anchor point for a grounding wire, and you need to make sure that grounding wire makes it to an earth point. I’m using the panel screw on the wall plate (after I verified that the screw was indeed grounded using a multi-meter).
Link to image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bYY2Gjrmj_P-l2kgWdtM-h3eozBEELUwmKtKsp9e8cOsZzgoPFhyZZSp0z1eUlTDJq...
The toughest part for me was sourcing a good quality conductive carbon fiber brush at a reasonable price. If you are blessed to have old computer printers laying about you might be able to disassemble one and cannibalize the brush that most printers have built in. I ended up ordering my brush from Amstat Industries. Four inches was the smallest size I could order and cost was twenty four dollars for the brush and twelve for shipping for a total of thirty-six dollars for the brush to my door. I know that in the UK there are similar manufacturers of anti-static brushes one could source.
This DIY version has a good number of conductive carbon bristles in play across a large surface area, and I can have it making direct contact with both sides of the LP at the edge - or I can back it off to keep it silent at a 1-2 mm gap distance.
Thanks for reading. Hope this helps someone.