One of the most fascinating findings reported by Shure in their 1978 white paper on static is that static attraction can spuriously increase VTF by as much as 3/8 of a gram (0.375 gm). So, you may not "hear" the static, but that is a significant effect on VTF that will alter sonics and wear on both the stylus and LP. I would not have believed their claim, were it not for the fact that they actually did the experiment. |
Spincat, Many thanks for finding and posting this wonderful article on static and vinyl. It clears up most of the issues we have been discussing, and it does so with a valid scientific approach. It was published back in 1978, back in the day when audiophiles were treated as thinking beings, by such great companies as Shure and by great magazines like "Audio" and other more specialized publications. Notice the absence of words and phrases like "Quantum" and "Crystals".
First and foremost to me, I see where I was wrong about what comes out of the Zerostat/Milty. Apparently the guns CAN make positive charge, but in the form of positive ions, not protons or positrons. I think I once knew that but forgot it. I spotted several other useful factoids:
(1) Playing the LP per se does NOT produce a significant static charge on its surface due to the friction between stylus and groove OR due to its rotation in air.
(2) Static charge on the underside of the LP is not affected by efforts to discharge the playing surface but nor does it affect the playing surface until the LP is lifted off the platter, whereupon the charge on the underside re-distributes itself across both surfaces.
(3) This article effectively supports the idea behind the new Audioquest brush and many other older products like it, which grounds its carbon fiber bristles via the hand of the user (or via a ground cable). And carbon fiber is also recommended for sweeping debris off an LP without adding charge.
(4) As to how the static charge gets there, where it goes, etc, everyone interested ought to read this article, slowly.
(5) The article also states that the "guns" release positive ions when the trigger is pulled and negative ions when the trigger is released. If most static charge is negative in polarity on the surface of the LP (as this article also does say), then it would seem logical that you want to pull the trigger with the gun pointed at the surface, hold it, and then slowly pull the gun away from the LP surface before fully releasing the trigger.
Many other interesting tidbits here. I am going to print it. |
I think it would be incorrect to think of static electricity as either plus or minus, for that matter, because it depends upon where you stand. My only point was that one outside surface has a relative paucity of electrons whereas the other surface has a net accumulation of electrons on its outer surface. It's the difference between them that creates a static electric charge. That's all I meant to say, really. Also, I doubt that the Milty or the zerostat emit positive charges. I would guess that they can suck up or expel electrons (negative charge). |
There are a few conceptual errors contained in some of the above posts. I am not a physicist, but based on my reading, static electricity as we experience it is not due to the accumulation of "positrons" (which is a legitimate subatomic particle for sure); it is due to a relative lack of or loss of electrons on the surface of a nonconductor. This results in a positive charge with respect to any other surface that has its normal number of electrons. These relative opposites attract, until the charge is dissipated to ground. Likewise, the Zerostat does not squirt positrons or suck them up either, as the case may be. As far as I know, the static electric charge is dissipated nearly instantaneously when ground is contacted, regardless of the intensity of the field. If the voltage is very high (can be millions of volts in one of those "Frankenstein" van de Graf generators), the spark is correspondingly more intense.
2channel8. What is the rationale behind your hope that the thoriated rods will reduce or prevent static electric buildup? Even the vendor does not make that claim; they are for TIG welding. I ask this in ignorance; no disrespect intended.
I am surprised that no one here mentioned the latest Audioquest LP brush, which now has contacts built into its handle. The idea is that gripping the brush as you wipe it across a spinning LP will allow a pathway to ground, via your body, thus draining away any electrical potential build-up. I have one, and truthfully, I cannot be sure it helps vs the old original Audioquest brush, but I use the new one anyway.
Most of all, don't walk up to the turntable over a wool carpet while wearing leather soled shoes. Do touch something connected to earth ground, before touching the LP, in order to neutralize your own net charge as much as possible beforehand. |
I’ve got the 3-inch wide version of that brush, which contains polonium, I think. It works.
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Slaw, For what it's worth, my admonition to the OP that he should be sure he is using his Zerostat correctly should not be construed as a negative post. Even if he did read the manufacturer's instructions, we all make errors in interpreting the written word, on the odd occasion. So maybe he needs or needed to re-read them. Maybe not.
Furthermore, without much effort you can find at least 3 different ideas that circulate on the internet about what is the "correct" way to use these static guns, each slightly different from the other. For example, contrary to what Lowrider wrote, I have been led to believe that the Zerostat (or Xerostat) should NOT click during the very slow pulling or releasing of the trigger, for best results. I'm not even saying that Lowrider is incorrect; I am only pointing out the vagaries of static removal. |
Do you know how to use the Xerostat? If you are not using it correctly, it won't work at all. There are detailed descriptions of its proper use in these archives or on Vinyl Asylum, or elsewhere on the internet. It would be a good idea to read those, even if you think you know what you are doing.
Also, as others have hinted, a lot of static is created by "us", based on what we are wearing on our feet, how we approach the turntable over what kind of floor covering, etc. By that mechanism, even using the Xerostat correctly does not cure the problem, because the work of the Xerostat is undone by wool carpets, leather-soled shoes, touching the wrong thing, all in the process of changing or removing an LP from the platter. But, I have to say, static charge that has the force to pull your tonearm presumably off its rest and onto/into the platter surface is something I have never seen or heard of before. I am guessing you own one of those early TD124s with the iron platter. (In which case, the attraction between the magnet assembly in your cartridge and the iron platter may be at least part of your problem.) |
