Talk About Static Cling...


..and, no, not from the clothes dryer! This is a frequent occurence to which I hope someone can give me a "why?" answer. Taking a clean LP, using a Zerostat gun and then applying GruvGlide, I supposedly would have eliminated static from the LP. After such treatment, the styrofoam test chip provided with the GruvGlide slides right off and no static appears present. After a one-side play, removing the record makes the hairs on my arms stand straight on end. So much static that if I don't "mute" the preamp, the built up charge will sometimes make the preamp "trip" and shut down as my arm passes in front of the cartridge. What is causing the static to build up so RAPIDLY, and what might I do to eliminate the problem. (MM cartridge, wall mount, no problem with cables crossing).
motdathird

Showing 3 responses by mrderrick

Interesting question to post. I would think that the stylus running over the vinyl is causing a static charge to build up. The cartridge windings might be providing enough isolation so that the static does not disharge back through the phono section. Out of curiosity, I would try connecting a multimeter, set on DC, between a freshly played LP and a good ground. See if you can read a dicharge voltage down to zero volts. Grounding an LP during playback might bleed off the buildup. You could try some copper "tinsel" like you see on printers. But I don't think you would want it to contact the grooves. More likely the center section of the LP.(very softly) Then run a drain wire to a good ground. I've run into static problems with lift trucks, water in PVC pipe and double insulated power tools. It can be a challenge to cure. Humidificaton is the best cure. But I doubt you will want your listening room to smell like a gym locker room. Good luck, I'd be interested to know how anybody makes out. Bob D
Static electricity is quite amazing. You either need to prevent it from building up, or find a way to bleed it off. Almost any insulated object traveling through the air will build up a static charge. What material it's made out of will help determine how much charge it will hold. In the lift truck example, operators were being "shocked" when they reached to pick items from metal bins. I had to install a copper wand bonded to the lift truck. They had to touch the bin with the wand to discharge the static. The water flowing through the pvc pipe supplied a water trough for livestock. The animals stopped drinking from the metal trough. I had to actually bond the pvc every 10 ft and drive a ground rod to bleed the static charge off from the water flow through the pvc. We make sure that we bond ourselves with a wrist strap when using double insulated tools around static sensitive equipment. The spinning cutting tools can cause a very large charge to build up. You really don't realize just how well insulated your body is. So I would suspect that an LP spinning in the air, just might build up a static charge. Maybe someone could build a system to blow humidified air on the LP? Just an idle thought......Bob D
Unfortunately I do not have a TT to experiment on. I was wondering, if Endust for Electronics helped a little, would it be too off the wall to try a dryer sheet under the LP? Bob D