Adjusting VTF in the winter

Spray it on a clean soft cloth and gently wipe contact surfaces platter mat and so on but NOT directly on record
Damp, not wet with the stuff
Spray carpets or rugs around equipment areas
Spray a micro fiber cloth and then gently drag that over dust cover if you use one - don't spray this or any aerosol directly on you cover as it may mar your plastics
You can even use a new powder puff lightly sprayed BUT NOT WET with it, let it dry and use like an old Discwasher brush but that one's up to you
Since I started using this I have no static problems - thanks mom! : - )

 

Oh yeah, when you adjusted the VTF you drained the charge
Chunk of metal and a ground wire works well also
Just touch it before you touch your table
Doesn't have to be fancy

 

Zerostat will be your friend

 

I've virtually eliminated static by grounding.
I use a "dustbug" grounded to the phono ground. as well as grounding the spindle to the same ground. Then its grounded to the preamp.
I'll probably be using a humidifier as well as the season goes on.

 

Below is what is written in the manual for the Denon DL-110 cartridge.

Do you think they are referring to the suspension norms, and not to static issues?

Stylus force adjustment
The optimal stylus force for the DL-110 is 18 mN +/- 3 mN. The various characteristics are standardized at 20 degrees C. When changing the stylus force due to ambient temperature conditions, etc., such as increasing the stylus force when the ambient temperature is low, please do so only within this optimum stylus force range.

 

I like that you mounted it on a wood block and not the actual turntable!

 

The only theory I can fathom here is that the rubber damping mechanism in the suspension becomes hard or soft during extreme cold or hot temperatures. If you've got climate control where you live, probably not something to worry about.

Reminds me of going skateboarding in the winter as a teenager, and the little urethane bushings in our trucks would seize up because it was so cold outside.

 

This has nothing to do with static. It has to do with cold temps vs warm temps and the impact of ambient temperature on cart suspension I suspect.

 

Had a similar problem with a room upstairs, something extra electric about that carpet. You better approach with cold bare feet.

 

Thanks, it’s a stack of IKEA bamboo cutting board pieces. I’ve got to measure and build a proper mount. But this works fine and is held together with blutack.

 

I'm thinking of standing on a grounded metal plate in my bare feet when I place records on my turntable.

 

Sort of like the frozen suspension making for a thinner sound during the winter?

 

Based on the description in the Denon manual, it seems to be (or have been) common knowledge.

 

First of all, unless you're keeping your home below the freezing temperature of the suspension material during the winter, you're not going to have a "frozen suspension." (If you mean mechanically "frozen" like we say about a nut that we can't get loose, -- i.e., the suspension won't move -- then there's something more seriously wrong with the cartridge.)

Second, if you have a living space that is heated and cooled you might not have that much average temperature variation at all throughout the year, so the variation in suspension compliance due to changes in temperature might be functionally meaninginless.

Third, look at the language of the Denon text: "The optimal stylus force for the DL-110 is 18 mN +/- 3 mN. The various characteristics are standardized at 20 degrees C. When changing the stylus force due to ambient temperature conditions, etc., such as increasing the stylus force when the ambient temperature is low, please do so only within this optimum stylus force range."

What the passage is saying is that the cartridge specs for tracking force is based conditions when the room temperature is 68 degrees F/ 20 degrees C. If operating conditions, including but not limited to those related to ambient temperature, require you to change tracking force, please stay within the 1.5-2.1 gram range. That's all.

The passage does suggest that one might want to change tracking force when the ambient temperature is low, but do an experiment -- set the room temperature to 68 degrees, set the tracking force to 1.8 grams. Then test the tracking force at the coolest temperature the room ever gets to and at the warmest and see how much, if any, variation in tracking force you're able to measure due to the impact of ambient temperatures on cartridge suspension in your room.