What Digital Stylus Force Gauge Do You Like?

I bought mine from saveonscales.com like Nsgarch did. It was a few years ago so it cost me $90-something. Equivalent models today are half that or less, as he said. Ebay sellers have them for very cheap too. I agree with his .01g recommendation too. It's silly to go for less.

You'll probably have to DIY some doohickey to hang off the edge of the scale and provide a record-height weighing step like the Winds has. I'm wagering you can do that for alot less than $300, especially if you use the cut-up pieces of a credit card to make it!

Dweller,

Some (not all) Shure gauges were made from magnetic material. Not the ideal choice for this application! When you find yours, check it with a magnet before trusting its results.

P.S. I have a spare 50g calibration weight. Anyone with a digital scale that calibrates @ 50g who needs one, please email me.

Rushton is correct of course, but there's another situation where a highly accurate scale is useful.

VTF settings on my tonearm are not inherently repeatable. Its only VTF mechanism is moving the counterweight, and the tiniest movement can throw VTF way off. Retightening the set screw can throw VTF way off again. Before I can use my fine VTF adjustment (sliding o-rings on the end shaft) I need to set the counterweight within .05g or so

Combine that scenario with a cartridge that needs a VTF tweak every time the temperature changes and the utility of a good scale becomes apparent very quickly.

Yes, we still have to fine tune by ear. But since I can only do that within a range of + or + .04g or so, a good scale is needed just to find the right starting point when setting the c/w.

Slowhand,
I just calibrated my scale and weighed a nickel. It measured 5.02g, so the assumption that your scale under-weighs by about .1g seems correct.

It sounds like you've got VTF well nailed. The sonic effects of excessive VTF that you hear with your Yatra are exactly what I hear with my UNIverse. The first evidence of mistracking I hear is a slight tizz or lack of focus on massed strings. If I hear that I know VTF needs to be bumped up slightly.

The concensus that most ZYX's prefer a slightly higher VTF doesn't invalidate your results. Individual cartridges vary, especially in this parameter. The elastomers used in suspensions display very complex and unpredictable behaviors at the molecular level. To say that most ZYX's prefer VTF's around 1.9 - 2.0g is only a probability statement. Mine likes 1.92-2.10 depending on the weather. Cello's likes 2.15, even though he's in a warmer climate where one would expect lower VTF's. YMMV and trust your ears.

I have a thermostatically controlled ear wax HVAC implant. This reduces variability in a most important parameter.