[mhconley]

I have an Opera Consonance LP-2.0 turntable, a Mørch UP-4 tonearm and a Grado Sonata high output phono cartridge.  The LP-2.0 turntable has a 67mm thick solid acrylic platter and a heavy solid aluminum base sitting on aluminum cones.  See it here: http://www.opera-consonance.com/products/reflp20.htm.  The turntable is on a wood shelf.

Every time I play an album I use a Discwasher brush and fluid to clean it then zap it three times with my Zerostat.  I use a Thorens stabilizer to couple the album to the platter.

My problem is that when I lift the tonearm at the end of an album side I get a strong static shock from the tonearm.  The tonearm hook-up is properly grounded to my Parasound Halo P 3 preamp.

Is this normal?  Is there something I can do to eliminate this unwelcome zap?

Thanks,

Martin

[Wayner]

Your Zero-Stat is loading the LP. You don't need to Zap it 3 times. In fact, you shouldn't be zapping the LP on your table. Do it off of the table and you don't have to do it everytime. Your turning your lp into a gigantic disc capacitor. The only way for it to discharge is when you take off the stylus.

Also you have a good chance of damaging your cartridge coil windings if the zap is big enough. There are others here at the AC that have done that very thing.

Wayner 

[BobM]

I ran a thin wire from a grounding point (i.e. cold water pipe, radiator, AC grounding lug, etc.) near my rack to a location on the top of the rack where I mounted a bolt in easy reach. every time I go to touch anything on the rack I touch this wire and "discharge" (the static you bonehead, not the flatulance).

Bob

[orthobiz]

That's why I touch my speaker grille first instead.
Then I touch the base plate of my turntable.
Then I touch the tonearm.

And I can still get shocked. Three times. But the tonearm is the least.

Only my Van Alstine volume remote prevents me from getting shocked EVEN MORE!!!

Paul

[analognut]

This news is all really shocking!

Here we have one fellow who gets shocked not once, but 3 times!

I upgraded to a Sota Star/ SMEV/ DL103R from a Pro-ject 2.9/ Pro-ject 9/ X5MC,
and the only shocks I get are good ones when I listen to my records!  aa

[mhconley]

I think it is rather shocking also.  I thought the Zerostat was a static reducer, not a static builder.  I think I'll play with some grounding schemes.  And possibly invest in a Staticmaster brush.

Martin