Experience With Linear Tracking Turntables

For the moderator:  This is the fourth time today that I have had to log in to respond to a post here in the forum.  Something is amiss.

lewm, I am not in Florida so I cannot be certain, but I am going to state here with a certain level of confidence that in the manual for my Technics SL 1200 GAE there is instruction to match the setting for AS to coincide with the setting for VTF.  Frankly I am almost certain that is so.  I worked with Japanese engineers in my profession for many years and in my experience they left nothing to chance. Technics/Panasonic in particular has a reputation for being thorough and accurate in every particular.  

SME brochure for SME IV "The dial is calibrated and should be set to correspond with the VTF in use".

Jelco instruction manual for TK-950S and TK950SL

"It is calibrated from 0 to 3gr in 0.5gr increments and should be set to the same value as the tracking force setting (or somewhat less) pressure."

the manual for my Technics SL 1200 GAE there is instruction to match the setting for AS to coincide with the setting for VTF. 

Jelco instruction manual for TK-950S and TK950SL

"It is calibrated from 0 to 3gr in 0.5gr increments and should be set to the same value as the tracking force setting (or somewhat less) pressure."

And that is the problem.

Shure and Grado did extensive testing with anti-skate, examining in some detail the action of the stylus in the groove ( you can find it in the Shure white papers ) - both their conclusion were that anti skate should be between 25-35% of the tracking force.

On the Van Den Hul XGW I currently run the recommended track force is 1.35-1.49g, and recommended anti-skating 0.6g as tested by the cartridge builder.

Similarly on the Van den Hul Grand Cru that I listen to regularly - recommended tracking force 1.35-1.50g, recommended anti-skate is around 0.2g

Running anti-skate at the same level as the recommended tracking force will kill these cartridges.

If in doubt you should use the cartridge manufacturers recommendation for anti-skate, not the tonearm manufacturer. You would not ask a plumber how to rewire the electrics in your house would you.

@dover I could not disagree with you more.  It is the addition of excessive AS that can damage a cantilever.  Moreover you over state the case by exaggerating the frequency of occurrence.  I have decades of experience setting up turntables.  I have never, not once, seen a cantilever "skewed" as you describe because of too little or even no AS applied at all.  On the other hand, I have seen damage as you describe caused in cases where AS was set excessively high.  The incidence rate of damage has gone down in recent years in my experience as more MC cartridges have come into vogue.  I have surmised that this is due to their generally lower compliance.  So the problem has become much less frequently encountered in the past 2 decades or so.  I see this type of damage once or twice a year.  I set up perhaps 1 or 2 turntables in any given week.