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Record and Stylus Inspection

Hello. I'm thinking about purchasing a small microscope to inspect my records and stylus. I've watched some videos and it seems the most popular is 60x microscope (like this one: KINGMAS Mini 60x Microscope Magnifying with LED UV Light Pocket Jewelry Magnifier Jeweler Loupe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQAANDS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_TZBeAb125WFMR) which is only a few dollars. In some other videos, it was suggested to get a more powerful magnifier (at least 200x). And I have seen some that go up to 1000x (although I don't know how good they are at the lower cost range).
I would prefer to buy one device that doesn't cost more than $25. What would you recommend? Should I just by the Kingmas (is 60x magnification enough) for $6? Or will I need more magnification to adequately check stylus wear and dirt on records? Or is all this unnecessary?
Thanks
128x128cspiegs
whart's avatar
whart
2,967 posts
 
I bought one of those years ago, and couldn't really get anything out of it. I use a more conventional jeweler's loupe at 5-10X, less than 10 bucks on Amazon, it has small led illumination but you are just looking through a simple lense, not a microscope type. It allows you to see if there is anything clinging to the stylus, for cleaning purposes, but not much more. 
I also have a couple of relatively cheap digital microscopes that I bought to experiment with SRA settings- very difficult to set up for a stable, focused image and I'm not sure they are powerful enough to determine if there is physical wear on the stylus. 
I was hunting for an old fashioned stylus microscope for a while--not easy to find, haven't thought about it in a while. 
james1969's avatar
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james1969
347 posts
 
very difficult to set up for a stable, focused image
Yes, I agree. Here is what I use, it comes with decent base. Has manual focus too, so you can dial in your focal point (the stylus). I only use this to align my cartridge. It does not have enough magnification to look at a stylus.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IEFGC5E/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can see on my System page, there is one photo taken with this device that shows my cantilever and stylus.
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whart
2,967 posts
 
@james1969 - James, I was on your intermittent noise thread. Looked at your system here. You are comrade of Vladimir? (Me too, have old ML2 love them like Mother Russia). :)
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james1969
347 posts
 
@whart Very nice...I too have the ML2, they are very very special comrade. 👍🏻🤓
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