Fixing Skips and Scratched Grooves

Here's one with a strap:

https://www.amazon.com/Qooltek-Magn...59&sr=8-10&keywords=head+magnifier+with+light

 

Yes, the focal range is too short for stereo viewing.. therefore my suggestion to use only the eye pieces with one eye. This product is not pro-quality but has high magnification at a budget price. Your suggestion with the strap looks like a much better product.

 

Did you watch the video?

 

No.
But i just went back and FF'd to where the magnification is used and see why you asked.
It's less prone to movement given how you are using it in this context, I see.
Neat trick, using a cut out in that lense housing or flare to do the surgery.
The magnification isn't that great there either- it's like you are just looking at the grooves as seams, not like canyon walls. I get it.

 

What optical device was used? That looked like a normal, i.e., not electronic, optical magnification lense? Was the whole magnification thing off the shelf or custom made? I didn't see that in the video, but may have missed it.
PPS: pulled the video up on YT and read the description: " this is a japanese 10x30 telescope with extra short focus."
Didn't mean to derail your thread by my comments on the USB.

 

I think it was optical but its unclear. The electronic one seemed to show the grooves even better though.

 

Leon, see above, i went to YT and the native, i.e. non-embedded video has written commentary that describes the device in brief.

 

Lol.....in the old days, if you had a song with a skip, you put 3 nickels on the headshell and played the song again. This usually made the needle round out the skip and at least the record would play through.

 

I gave this a little more thought (despite my making a mess of things re the USB microscopes), and it seems to me that you would want a conventional set of optics, like a loupe on a stand, rather than a USB microscope, for a couple reasons:

• I'm not sure, given what the objective is, that you need 250x, 400x or 1000x magnification; instead,
• I think the key is quality piece of optics with the correct focal length- not sure what magnification or focal length, but my suspicion is that a supplier of quality optics could advise. (I saw some made by Peak that are on a stand, but no cut-outs for doing the surgery beneath);
• the other difficulty with the usb microscope is that you are looking at an image on a screen (often inverted, I think, which can be fixed), while trying to manage what amounts to microsurgery. It would seem to me far easier to do the surgery directly beneath where you are looking.

FWIW, I came to these conclusions while an ophthalmic surgeon was examining my eye under magnification, and repairing a retinal tear with a laser. Sort of exactly the same thing. She had small sandbags, like shooter rests for target shooters, so her arms didn't move as she aimed the laser.
In terms of tools, in the old days, people used Exacto knives, small specialty blades, very sharp, on a handle for precision cutting. Not sure what you'd be able to buy relatively cheaply with a smaller cutting or probing edge.

 

My magnifier is nothing fancy, I think only 10x. I have found this is barely enough to find and remove particles in the groove. Also seen are defects that cause skips, but more magnification would be better. I have found from doing this, the angle of the lighting is critical, more than the magnification power. The light, when positioned just right will reveal more of the defect or particle, than lighting not positioned well. For lighting, I use a bright LED desk lamp. My magnifier is so small, and with a focal length of only about 0.75 inches, that dropping it on a record does no damage.. (that has happened) something to consider, I think!

 

Just slap it on a Victrola and let 'er rip.*


*Recommend using other people's records.

 

Actually finding a particle that causes a pop or skip with the magnifier is almost impossible. The area within focus isn't large enough to scan the groove.. would take forever to find. (As mentioned, EOC's that cause skips are usually clear and almost invisible) Here's what I do to locate a particle in the groove. These can sometimes be seen with the naked eye, but sometimes not.

Have a non-permanent marker handy to place a "dot" on the skip. (can be wiped away with isopropyl) On a direct drive turntable, I slow the platter speed manually, as the skip will still skip at very slow speed. When the stylus jumps, STOP, do not move the platter backward or the stylus suspension could be damaged. I place a dot on the skip. THEN it can be located with a light and magnifier, and EVEN THEN, sometimes still hard to find. When that rascal is picked out, no more pop no more skip, as if it was never there.

 

Very well done. This works! More care and skill does not leave any score marks on the upper part of the groove wall. In the video, it isn't pretty, but the repeater will be gone. When a record gets scratched, material gets dislocated laterally as shown in the video. The idea is to push away or pick out extruded material that the stylus hits. Normally the stylus does not contact the upper groove, but will hit these "hangers" that jut out into the groove. Any slight scoring by the repair tool does not get tracked by the stylus. When done, clean in an RCM. Skill is more important than the tools used.. as long as the tools work.

 

Yeah I could do a simple repair with just a normal magnifying glass but what was more important was the angle of the light. I think with the digital microscope I can see more than enough at 250x zoom plus have good LED lighting from the unit itself as seen on some review pictures. It also comes with the flex arm so it never has to be held or has to touch the record in any way. The only problem I see is if it throws off my hand cordination via the screen I have to look through instead of where my actual hand is, plus the possibly laggy camera.

 

Interesting. My method is different, and based on a non-direct drive TT, so the speed can't go slower than 33.3rpm. It requires watching the label on the record as it rotates, I use my eye to follow a point on the edge of the label as it rotates, for example, part of the record's logo. I will play the record, and note when the jump occurs in relation to the label design, thinking of an invisible vector drawn from the spindle to stylus. For example, the jump may occur about 45 degrees rotation from the logo on the label. I will then repeat, following my eye from the estimated part on the label, until it tends to coincide, using some easily removable electrical tape may make the process easier. I have found that this can identify the jump location within about +/- 30-degrees.
Hope you were able to follow my explanation, it's not a hard process to do, but hard to explain in writing!

 

Watch the record play and see what part of the label is lined up with the stylus when you hear the click. That way, you have the basic "longitude," and you already know the "latitude."

 

Yes! Have you ever tried doing that? Not trying to be contrary, but I consider myself as an artist as having exceptional eye/ hand coordination, and good with spacial relationships. (good eye at the plate etc) When the particle is clear (Embedded organic compound or EOC or insect refuse) it's almost invisible... even after it's found. One particular collection I acquired, mostly 12 inch singles had a lot of them.. great NM records but many that skipped.

Watching the record play and seeing what part of the label lines up, can be tricky. (tried that repeatedly) As the record spins, and (speaking for myself) I am looking at the label for reference, my timing has been off by as much as 30 degrees.. It's not as easy as one may think. I look where I think the particle is, ie: third track halfway through, and lines up the the "A" on an Atlantic label, and look, and look, no particle. Actually it's most often not at the coordinates I thought it would be. So I end up looking around with the magnifier, and without it, thinking it must be "right there", but no particle to be found. I have found the marker method on a direct drive finds the defect faster, and every time. How did I discover I have been off by as much as 30 degrees? By slowing the platter and allowing the stylus to skip, stop and mark the spot. The gosh darn EOC can still be hard to see.

 

I got tired of that collection, ended up selling the records. Every 3rd to 4th record had a skip, and had to play each record all the way through to know it would be playable. I almost kept them anyway, some hard to find titles, and unworn, some of them unplayed. I informed the buyer about the skips and the cause, but said his record cleaning machine would take care of that. (no it won't) They sold for what I bought them for, 25 cents each!

 

Thats what I do too!

 

Very late to this thread, but the best tool I've found for clearing out a groove skip is a hypodermic needle. Sewing needles are frequently too think and can actually do more damage to the groove. Hypodermics have the added advantage of having a very small, very sharp, tapered (and open) tip that can be used to reform the walls of a groove. I'm using what's referred to as a "regular point" stainless hypodermic produced by Becton Dickinson in the 1970's. This is the older type of hypodermic with a metal base that would screw onto the body of the type containing whatever was to be injected into the body. My dad was a pharmacist and we kept a box of these needles as "vintage medical equipment" when he closed his drug store.

Along with the digital telescopes others have mentioned, nothing comes close to providing the precision needed to properly remove a skip.

 

Any place I can buy these types of needles you use?

 

I'm no expert on this subject - but I bought some no-needle syringes from this place on ebay a long time ago, to measure out certain formulas, and they've kept me on their email list ever since, and they seem to have all types
Syringes | Veterinary Syringes | Diabetic Syringes | Catheter Tip Syringes | Shopmedvet.com
Also, you might be able to get a "sample" from your doctor or dentist.

 

So this is smaller than the tip of a sewing needle?

 

I do not know. I hope an expert can give better details, my link was just to show a source and the wide variety that is available, and that some of them would not be good for this. This other page on the site has some practical info:
Needles | Hypodermic Needles | Biopsy Needles | Shopmedvet.com

 

Yes, it is a much smaller, finer point that easily fits within the groove. You do have to exercise a degree of caution, though, as the tip is extremely sharp and is capable of digging into the surface. Go slowly, and guide the needle with your finger to keep it within the groove without "biting".