Zerostat: Old is Gold?

Ghosthouse, You wrote, "Only on the final application above the spindle do I hold the trigger, move the gun away from the TT and then release it while aimed at the carpet or whatever.  I do it quickly too...no reason for concern about quick discharge at that point.  The other 3 preceding cycles of pulling and releasing the trigger I do slowly and while aimed at the vinyl (e.g., 12, 4 and 8 o'clock)."

Yep.  That's what I do too.  With my 45 year old Zerostat.  With the LP always ON the turntable, mainly because I refuse to yield to the ritual to any further extent.

Am I correct in surmising that most of us are using the "hold the trigger in then release slowly as you move the gun away from the LP" method?  Seems like ghosthouse does.  Yesterday, I searched Youtube for videos like the one cited above.  There you can find several different would-be gurus touting several different ways to use the Zerostat.  I did like the demonstration that a Zerostat treatment can cause a charged up balloon to fall off the surface of an oppositely charged LP.  I would accept that demo as "data".

My neighbor up the street owns a system in which he has invested well north of $100,000, maybe north of $150,000.  I observed that he haphazardly squeezes his Zerostat rapidly and repeatedly over the LP, without any regard for avoiding the clicking sound and without the "hold down" final step.  When I advised him that his technique is not optimal, he gave me a quizzical look and basically showed no interest.  This is a guy who uses cable lifters, ICs and PCs that each cost in the 5-figure range, those crazy things that are supposed to change the room air to promote sound propagation, $100 fuses, etc, etc.  Each of us is crazy in a different way, which makes this a great hobby.

Islandman, We differ in the sense that I do think a Zerostat can work to do the job for which it is intended.  My only point is that I don't know whether MY Zerostat is still working after more than 40 years, and I certainly don't know if a Chinese-made Zerostat is any better or worse than one made in England.  Nor do I think one can answer that question without taking some measurements.

To complicate matters further, there are completely contradictory descriptions of how properly to use a Zerostat, to be found on the internet. One says to operate the trigger back and forth while holding the gun about 12 inches from the LP.  Another says to operate the trigger slowly so not to activate the clicking sound, hold the trigger IN, and then slowly pull the gun away from the vicinity of the LP while very slowly releasing the trigger.  Some folks say you can de-stat while the LP is on the platter, some say not.  So, if the gun does not appear to be working perhaps the problem is the method.  (I don't know myself which is correct, but the idea to hold the trigger IN while pulling the gun away from the LP makes some sense to me.)

Dear Andy, Thanks for the lecture on how to behave on audio websites.  I would have rather thought that it is fun to behave as if we are all friends to begin with, and we are sitting around having a discussion over a hypothetical beer.  In my experience, everything in audio is open to "endless debate", regardless of how circumspect one might or might not be in expressing one's opinion.  I hold no grudge, nor do I bear any anger, directed at anyone here.  That's a given.

One thing I do know, though, is that you'd need to perform some thoughtful testing (if you think using the word "scientific" is pedantic), in order to know whether a particular Zerostat, old or new, British or Chinese in origin, is actually working.  

To Gromitinwa and the OP:  I apologize if you found my response to be offensive.  I was only having fun.  I use a white Zerostat that I bought in England in 1972, still to this day.  I often wonder whether it still works, because when I do occasionally get a static electricity effect, there is the possibility that the charge built up while the LP was in play or because of my body transferring a charge to the LP at the instant I touch it after play.  A charge can accumulate on one's body, especially on a wool carpet, just by that act of walking up to the turntable.  This is why, short of making an actual scientific analysis of the Zerostat, the question is problematic.  I wager most of those who have responded to say that their old Zerostat works just fine, or not, are basing their opinions on experience with playing LPs, not on measuring charge.

Do you seriously think anyone knows whether a new Xerostat made in China works any better or worse than one made in England a decade or longer ago? A scientific comparison could be made, but I doubt that it has been made.  I await other responses.