Stylus force gauge

Why? Apart from sticking to the cart a bit as you lift off, it will be entirely accurate, or as far as it could be anyway. The balance is measuring down-force ONLY. If the base was magnetic, fair enough, it would be rubbish, but the base is plastic.

An apology to various here - it IS a Shure here - just dragged it out - Shure SFG-2 Stylus Tracking Force Gauge (basevinyl.com)

Is that not a carbon fibre brush?

 

OK, wow, that is an elaborate device.

I can confirm that. Have a no name digital scale and has been extremely accurate (and I've pushed it beyond standard expected use). Cheap as chips, and the batteries last forever.

Actually have a selection of them, including the SFG-2, and at one point ordered the Rega Atlas just to see what the fuss is about. Good thing they are backordered (according to the dealer), I cannot for the life of me understand how more precise it can be than the ones I have.

 

Bugging me so much that I've had to take a pic and post it to host etc but this is what I'm talking about:


Amazing how flash brings out dust! I did dust it! and it looks clean and black here in front of me!

Yes google it does exist. Anyone else remember these and can anyone confirm my memory that it was Hunt EDA?

You can see why I felt ripped off paying prob £20+ in today's money for it! Reputedly very accurate though and I've never had reason to doubt it. It agrees with my nice metal vintage Colton Variscale

Update: This rather ties in with the posts yesterday about history not being fully covered by the internet... It took a while looking through early 80's hi fi mags but yes it is indeed a Hunt EDA unit, it was also, as I remembered, about £5. Something I had either forgotten or was not aware of though is that it had a second function as a crude TT levelling device.
At the RHS of my pic above can be seen a small raised dais where there was a central plastic spigot (it got broken off when I stood on it maybe...). After removing the "see-saw" bit the main body could be stood upright on the "feet" at the LHS in the pic. The weight has another hole in the rear which engaged with the spigot so that if level "0 grams" points straight down.

 

Bought my SFG2 back in the 90s, pretty sure the beam is nonmagnetic aluminum. Stylus force readings taken with it are 100% repeatable.

 

Cheap Chinese 0.01g scales glue a playing card to the top and measure off the side to eliminate magnetic influence.

 

Just confirmed quickly with a kitchen magnet, my SFG-2 is non-magnetic.

 

used a ortofon for yonks

 

Use a cheap electronic now with a bent piece of ally off the side to get the approx right height - tares itself with the ally on.

 

I was going to buy one of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26469175...d=link&campid=5338728743&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

Not the best picture but there are other sellers of this and is very similar to the Ortofon.

 

Indeed!

I remember years ago, Hi-Fi World (RIP) doing a group test of new stylus force gauges to see which one was the best. The reviewer doing the test (which I'm sure was David Price) also included an old Garrard SPG-3 for a laugh and it turned out to be the most accurate of the lot!

 

My first MC was an FR1 Mk2 and the magnetic attraction with the SFG-2 used to compress the cantilever horribly.

 

The Technics SH-50P1 was the über-scales of choice when I were in retail. This thing even had a service manual published for it (here).

 

Cr*p, now I need to chase that one.

 

Ken Kessler had a "Turkey awards" feature in HFNRR which had the Technics (or could have been AT) electronic stylus balance with the caption "responsible for putting more coke dealers out of business than the Met"

 

The “Tonar” digital tracking force scales seem to work fine.
I bought mine from Juno Records.

 

I've never owned one of these. It's a persistent itch that definitely needs scratching one day!

 

Speaking of 'Turkey Awards', perhaps Kessler should have read the instructions before opening his mouth.

I don't recall audio-technica ever having made one, however their brand showed up on one of these graduated dimpled metal plates (as has Clearaudio's). Yes, those bumps are the pivot points. I can see how it might be a bit difficult to get an accurate gram reading down the loo at the disco with this. I'll have to differ to KK's greater experience in this area.

EDIT: Apparently Clearaudio dubbed their's "Smart Stylus Tracking Force Gauge". I'm not sure what this says about the intelligence quotient of the punter who pays £30. for one of these.

 

The Technics required warming up, prior to zeroing and subsequently setting gain. This was made clear within the instructions. One could see the needle drift slightly until things had stabilized. The calibration weight weighs exactly 1.5g, so one could at least say that, post warmup and calibration, the Technics was the most accurate 1.5g stylus pressure gauge ever made to date circa 1979.