Zerostat anti-static gun

It CAN remove noise caused by static, but noise from static isn't usually a big problem. It only an occasional problem which happens if you have a huge charge on the record. Keeping your records as clean as possible before every play is the larger issue.

 

Static does cause surface noise in the form of pops. I think it might be able to cause normal ground noise too but Im not sure.

 

There may be some truth to this. However, the static control would have to be applied using a continuous stream of ions as the record is playing. I've heard this demonstrated once before, but if there was an improvement, it was very subtle, manifesting itself as a subtly smoother, more relaxed treble. The ion generator used was a small bench top model that electronics technicians use to control static when working with sensitive electronics. It would be completely impractical to try this with the Zerostat.

 

I lost the tip that fits on my old Zerostat 2. I know it doesn't do anything except light up when you pull the trigger, but I miss having this part of the gun... And I can't seem to locate a replacement.

 

The instructions are not clear even if you read them. There is conflicting directions on how to use the device. Some say point at LP squeeze - point away and release. Like it sucks up the static charge and then sends it back into the air away from the LP. Users in this forum state otherwise.

So you tell us exactly which way Einstein!

 

I dug through boxes in my storage unit looking for mine this past weekend. I really want the damn thing and I know I saved it. I know it is somewhere.

Actually it was from an older red plastic unit. I have the nicer one now, the off-white metal gun. I may want to sell it and having that light tip thing could help me get a better price.

 

Got a question in regard to Zero Antistat and tapes - how safe is the use of a Zero Antistat when tapes are around (in my case in a wooden wardrobe in approx. 1.5m distance). I heard Zero Antistat can be harmful for tapes.

 

Why can't I use it on a spinning record placed on the platter (I have an acrylic platter with my Pro-ject Debut Carbon with a 2m Blue cart)?

 

You can, it still works.

 

I'm not a physics major, in fact, I never even took high school physics, but I think what the Zerostat does is basically bombard the record with charged particles first of one polarity, then of another, to neutralize the static charge on the surface of the record. I think the problems with trying to de-stat the record surface this way while it is on a larger, heavier surface, may have to do with the larger, heavier surface attracting the charged particles, instead of the record. But we have a lot of knowledgeable people on the forum with actually knowledge of the physics of corona discharge, and passive discharge devices like the Zerostat vs. larger scale active devices with blowers used in clean rooms, they may have an answer you can count on vs. mine. I've found plenty of times that if I try to de-stat a record on the turntable, then lift the record off the turntable, there's still a charge.

 

No matter how slowly I squeeze and release the trigger on mine, it’s very hard for me to not get a “click.” It takes a ridiculous number of repetitions before I finally succeed. I wonder what’s up with that...

 

Its been tested. The record still becomes decharged even if its spinning on the table.
You wont ever get rid of it all, no matter what method, and it builds up over the play anyway.

 

That’s not quite accurate. Used properly, the Milty Zerostat will reduce a (negative or positive) static charge either to zero or very close to zero according to my Extech EMF/Coulomb meter. That means holding an LP in free air when using the Zerostat. Resting the LP on a platter prevents the static charge from being significantly reduced. I’ve tried it and measured it - free air works; resting on the platter does not.

The Zerostat gun works by bending a piezo-electric crystal in my the same way that a BBQ sparker bends a similar sort of piezo-electric crystal to create a spark. The crystal is probably the lead-zirconium-titanate type (i.e., a piezo-ceramic, the most common type), but Milty may use several types depending on supplier availability.

By slowly and steadily pulling the Zerostat trigger while holding an LP in free space, with the gun no more than a few inches from the LP surface, the LP is bombarded with positive ions. The same slow and steady release bombards the surface with negative ions and neutralizes a significant amount of static charge. Do the same thing three more times to completely neutralize the static charge. The effect lasts for hours (e.g., when an LP is played over and over again consecutively). When an LP is discharged, played once each side, then stored normally in an antistatic sleeve, the effect will usually continue and the next play of the LP will be static-free.

 

Mine always clicks when squeezed no way around that.

 

You’re dealing with a physical coordination (fine motor control issue) on your part. It’s very, very common. Gripping and very slowly and steadily squeezing is an unusual physical action/motion for most people - it’s just not something we normally do. Normally, we grip and hold something at a certain orientation that is appropriate for the use or application of a tool (e.g., a pen, a screwdriver, a steering wheel, a door handle, a fork, a knife, picking something up, etc., etc., etc.). In those most common situation, unconsciously decreasing or increasing pressure has little effect. We make pressure changes depending on action, but those changes are sudden (not slow and steady).

If you watch the video posted on the first page of this thread, note that the person doing the demo is pulling the trigger steadily as well as slowly. It’s an unnatural action, which is why so many Zerostat users need a lot of practice to get it right. We don’t normally do anything like that with our hands.

It’s also the reason that small arms training does not come naturally to most people. The steadiness and control of a trigger pull is fundamentally important for creating, improving and maintaining accuracy. Training, practice, correction, practice, correction and more practice eventually sorts things out. Some people are able to master it faster than others. Some people never master that particular small physical skill. The best shooters have an astonishingly steady and perfectly controlled trigger pull - the measurement at the trigger is literally robot/machine-like.

It’s the steadiness of the squeeze that avoids clicking. That means you’re probably unconsciously speeding up slightly while squeezing, while taking a lot of time to complete the overall trigger distance. A lot of people experience the exact same issue, which is why there are so many identical complaints about using the Zerostat.

 

Does the manual state anything about avoiding the "click" of failure?

 

Yes, but it depends on which instructions you use. The Zerostat video posted on page one of this thread mentions it. Some versions of the printed instructions do not.

 

What do you mean by "does not"?

 

My experience too. I had mine for years and never got any satisfactory results with it untill using the “hold the record in free space” method.

 

Holding an LP in free air while correctly using the Zerostat reduces static charge effectively to zero after several applications.

Resting the LP on a platter while using the Zerostat either does not work at all or only partially reduces the static charge even after several applications.

 

How about it works quite well after only one application on a spinning platter.

 

Then enjoy the use of your Zerostat. I have never been able to significantly reduce static with a Zerostat when using it on an LP resting on a stationary or a moving platter. My ExTech meter says so, and I can feel the static. The maker doesn’t recommend it either. If you’re somehow getting a Zerostat to work on an LP that is resting on a spinning platter, you’re accomplishing something quite unusual that few others (if anyone else at all) has been able to do.

How are you using the gun? Are you firing from a low angle toward the side of the platter and just above the plane of the LP surface as it’s rotating? Are you firing straight down from directly above the LP surface at a particular distance?

 

Likes this:

 

That's funny this popped up to the top.

My old red Zerostat has been less and less effective over the last few weeks and finally stopped working over the weekend. I haven't tried to clean the it with an eraser yet but it probably has 9,999 miles on it so it's ready to be donated to the Kidney Foundation.

I spun lots of records in low humidity environment (I have a little humidifier going that helps keep it at 40/41) and just got tired of wet cleaning, I had to put up with the static but it was bugging me.

The Milty I ordered arrived last night and I'm back in business. So much more sizzle, I should have replaced the red one sooner. I do a mix of both air and turntable charges.

 

They got an “improvement “ with this method, as stated in the video. But static was clearly still present.
Using it with the record off the platter works better.