Lost stylus seeking similar experience

Hey, I do know they occasionally lost a tile, but there were thousands (at least) on the fuselage.  (Sounds like you may know the exact number; I am too tired to Google it.). You're not disputing that epoxy based adhesives are typically very reliable even under stress, are you?  As you know, the Columbia disaster had nothing to do with epoxy or ceramic tiles.

OK. I googled. 30,000 tiles.

@lewm 

The disaster was a result of a piece of foam from the external fuel tank that came loose during launch and damaged, wait for it, tiles on the leading edge of the left wing. From what I recall those vehicles shed tiles every time they took off primarily due to the extreme vibration caused by those gigantic rocket engines.

Stylus traveling nearly a mile in a groove on each side of a record? What do you think.

I recall reading that the tile that came loose only weighed 8 lbs, but combined with their traveling speed was ’enough’ for the disaster.

I have also read that the forces on an LP groove/Stylus during play are ENORMOUS. Another reason I favor light tracking.

Elliott, we are in agreement about the advantages of light tracking.  We diverge slightly on the degree of light tracking necessary to achieve the desired result.  I have records in my collection that were bought in 1960 that still sound just fine.  I also have a couple from perhaps 1969-1970, where mis-tracking due to me not understanding that too light is bad, are damaged.  Two grams is OK by me, but I know you prefer one gram.  I still have my trusty old Shure V15 Vmr, now sporting a Jico stylus that tracks at 1.0 gram.  I also have Stanton 681 and 881 that are both light trackers.  These are all good sounding cartridges to be sure.  Recently I sold my Miyajima Zero, a wonderful sounding mono cartridge, but I was afraid of the 3.5 - 4.0 gram required tracking force coupled with a conical stylus.