Stylus force digital scales


Digital scales from Clearaudio and others range from $200-500. Amazon has 'em for $20. Why cant I use one of these instead and save big bucks?
tbromgard

Showing 2 responses by tketcham

Whether or not the tracking force is affected by magnetic attraction depends on what the LOMC cartridge is attracted to. If it's the platform alone then yes, the scale will read true. But if the cartridge is attracted to internal components or the chassis of the scale then no, the cartridge will be trying to pull itself past the platform and the force will not read true.

And even if the cartridge is only being attracted to the platform, a strong attraction will collapse the cantilever suspension when the magnets within the cartridge body pull the cartridge onto the platform. It may weigh correctly, but the stylus and cantilever will be shoved up against the cartridge body. Trust me, I've seen it happen. :-)

My recommendation is to buy a good durable scale and make a platform adapter out of an old pre-paid "credit" card. I tried one of the low profile "audiophile" scales but it was fragile, not very consistent, and it failed after about 18 months. The scale I ended up with is a My Weigh Palmscale 7.0. It's built like a proverbial tank and is extremely consistent in VTF measurements. Unfortunately My Weigh doesn't carry it anymore but it's still available from many retailers. Their are other scales from My Weigh that would work as well. The prices are reasonable and they have a great warranty policy.

Here's a picture of the credit card platform adapter:
John Elison's example posted at VinylAsylum

You don't need to cut the card down if you don't want to. You can make the adapter so it sits a little too low and then adjust the height above the platter by adding shims.

Regards,
Tom
Ortofon gauge looks nice but it's basically a standard digital scale with an alloy platform adapter/extension. You can buy a good digital scale that's (probably) more durable with better button layout and easily make your own platform adapter/extension for a third of the price.

It won't say "Ortofon" though. :-)

I'm using a DIY platform extension with a Dynavector 17D3, which also has a very short cantilever and the setup works great.

Regards,
Tom

PS: I'm not intending to "dis" the Ortofon gauge; I'm sure it works well for measuring VTF. But the original question was "Why cant I use one of these [inexpensive digital gauges] instead and save big bucks?" The answer: You can.