Stylus tracking weight guage


I have recently come back to analog and looking to buy digital scale to get an accurate tracking weight on my tone arm/cartridge. I have looked at the audiophile guages at $100+ and I have looked at other guages online that range from $20-$45. So my question is does anyone have any experience with the nonaudiophile guages and can you recommend any brand or model? Thanks
sgunther

Showing 1 response by larryi

Whatever digital scale one gets, be sure that there is no issue of ferrous metals in the scale being attracted by the magnets in the cartridge -- you don't want to accidentally destroy your stylus/cantilever (a concern with the powerful magnets in moving coil cartridges). That might mean using some kind of plastic outrigger so that the cartridge is not placed directly over the scale itself (like the Wally scale).

One also should make take the measurement with the measuring surface being at the same height as a record in play. A scale with the measuring surface above the record surface will give a consitently false reading. Again, the Wally scale uses an adjustable outrigger so that the measurement is at the record height. One could also put the scale on a deck of cards just off to the side of the platter and adjust the height by adding or subtracting cards to get a precise match with the height of a record in play. Some digital scales designed as stylus pressure guages have a really small elevation to the measurement surface, so they are designed to be placed on a bare platter. That might be close enough, but, I prefer measuring just off the edge of a record so the height adjustment is perfect.