Mylar tape on Teres has lots of static.

Jj2468 is correct. Thom's suggestion would only work if there were a conductive path between belt and bearing. There might be on a Galibier, but not on a Teres.

However, the OP's question is a red herring. If you remove all static potential between belt and platter you'll experience major slippage. IOW, the belt won't pull the platter.

I noticed the belt static during the experiments Swampwalker mentioned and this topic was discussed on that thread. To repeat what I reported then: when I suggested grounding the belt my partner Paul gave me the pained look scientists reserve for imbeciles, and me.

"Don't you understand ANYTHING about sub-atomic physics?", he asked.

"Well, um..."

"Try zapping the belt with your Zerostat while the table's running. Watch what happens."

Oops! There was an instant and complete loss of grip, like someone had oiled the belt. We could hear and see major slippage between belt and platter as the platter slowed. It only regained normal operation when I stopped zapping.

Try it for yourselves. We imbeciles need to stick together.

Richard,

Don't you understand ANYTHING about sub-atomic physics? ;-)

The non-conductivity of your shoes and carpet is WHY you get a big discharge when you finally touch a grounded object. If you were grounded at every step there'd be no buildup of a large potential between you and earth.

Artemus,

Here's a link to the etched tape thread .

Richard,
Agree we should all routinely ground ourselves at the tonearm base whenever we approach the table. A surprise zzZZZAP! near the armwand or cartridge could produce a costly involuntary jerk (and yes, that's just what Paul calls me!).

Hi Chris,
FWIW, grounding our bearing has little effect on static buildup on the belt we use. I attribute this to the non-conductivity of our platter, belt and motor capstan, which electrically isolates the belt from paths to ground. YMMV with other materials.

As mentioned, reducing static on this belt actually impairs its performance, so it's not a goal worth pursuing. Better just to keep it dust-free, as Dan_Ed and Palasr described. Again, YMMV with other materials.

I am thinking that the static is caused by the belt slipping on the motor pulley at start up.

Start your platter manually with a finger push, not by pushing the motor's "On" button. Less belt slippage and wear, less strain on the motor, more fun showing off one of the nifty features of Chris's controller. :-)

Don't stop the platter manually though. That increases belt slippage/wear and may jar the motor position. Push the "Off" button and let the platter coast down.