[WireNut]

 
  Hi,

  I saw this video on youtube where this guy is using a vinyl record that doesn't have
  grooves on one side of the album to set the anti-skate control on a TT.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBtZR941Yw

  Where can I purchase one of these?

 

[Devil Doc]

It's actually a 3 sided LP.  IMO not a very good way to set your anti-skate 

Doc

[WireNut]

   

     After watching the video it seems like it would work.

[Devil Doc]

It's my opinion you would over compenstate.

Doc

[thunderbrick]

Don't we all, Doc.  Don't we all.     

[Delta Wave]

That's how I set my anti-skate and it's always spot on. Fast, cheap and easy.

[WireNut]

That's how I set my anti-skate and it's always spot on. Fast, cheap and easy.

     
   Where did you buy the blank album?

[orthobiz]

Audio by Van Alstine has a blank disk as part of a really nice turntable setup kit. Designed by our own Wayner!

http://www.avahifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=248&Itemid=245

Paul

[Delta Wave]

Audio by Van Alstine has a blank disk as part of a really nice turntable setup kit. Designed by our own Wayner!

http://www.avahifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=248&Itemid=245

Paul

There you go. 

[WireNut]

Audio by Van Alstine has a blank disk as part of a really nice turntable setup kit. Designed by our own Wayner!
http://www.avahifi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=248&Itemid=245
Paul

   
    Perfect.
    Thank you Paul
    Thanks DeltaWave

[Delta Wave]

You're quite welcome.

[SET Man]

Hey!

   Using blank to set Anti-skating is a good start, but I don't think it will be accurate. Since the stylus is not in the groove the pulling force will be greatly different.

    Anyway, you can set the anti-skating by using a good and flat LP and listen. Using the mid section of the LP look at the stylus front and see if they straight, if lean out than it is too much and vice versa. Than do a listening test, if the left is distorted than it is too low and vice versa.

   And keep in mind that anti-skating is more critical with MM cart than MC cart. But I feel both should be adjusted to the best you can.

   I do have a Hi-Fi News test LP that included anti-skating test tracks I find very useful. Also, there is a track for adjusting the azimuth. Unfortunately my pre doesn't have mono switch so I have to use my Fluke meter to check it. 

Take care,
Buddy 

[Letitroll98]

It's my opinion you would over compenstate.

Doc

Stop the presses, DD and I agree on something!  This is very well known, using blank disks to adjust anti-skating bias will result in a setting that is too high.  This is because the stylus is not in a groove.  However if you insist on having a blank section to do whatever, the Cardas Frequency Sweep and Burn-In Record has a big blank section, and several other tracks that are actually useful that you can use whenever you get over this insanity.  http://www.needledoctor.com/Cardas-Frequency-Sweep-and-Burn-In-Record?sc=2&category=438

On a more general note, most anti-skating bias tracks end up with settings that are too high.  Most turntables in use have settings that are too high.  Anti-skating bias is a moving target, there is no one correct answer for any given arm/table combination.  The correct force varies across the record and with track velocities.  The application of setting bias correctly is more art than science, you're better off going with a much lower setting than commonly recommended, even a full gram lower, and moving up slightly, as close to 10ths of a gram as humanly possible with these gross indicator scales, until you hear an increase in loudness and dynamics in both channels.  Do this over a number of albums that you regularly listen to, it's a process, not a chart.     

[Wayner]

Sorry to disagree with you gents on this topic. the forces at work on the stylus are the same in the groove as they are on a flat plane. It's the offset angle and VTF that set the staking in motion. I also suspect, but can't confirm that stylus type may play a role as well.

Many customers have reported back to me on the ACT disc, and have said that after they used it, and then tried a calibration groove on a test record, the results were almost identical. I have been using this technique for many years and I know that it works. Stereo balance is excellent, record wear is greatly reduced, groove chatter simply doesn't happen.

The problem with using the blank disc is that people set the anti-skating correction in the wrong area of the disc, and I certainly not going to tell you where, but a little secret is that it has something to do with both physics and geometry.

In the end, the ears are always the final solution to any TT adjustments. Setting anti-skate according to the table or arm's makers is simply a crap shoot. Arms very from deck to deck. Why? It depends on the technique used to create the anti-skating forces. Some use springs, others use dead-man weights, others used a spacing of magnets. They all have tolerances from manufacturing, and in the case of springs and magnets, may see the effects of aging.

While the blank disc may not be the final solution, it certainly gets the arm in the very close vicinity.

And you are right, there is lots of art to the turntable science. It's also good to have some knowledge and tools to help you bring the set-up to a logical, one step closer existence.

Wayner

[WireNut]

 It's been 20 years since I had a TT up and running. Just researching some setup info.

[orthobiz]

I looked (briefly) into getting a WallySkater, but Wally is not the easiest guy to contact.

Paul

[Delta Wave]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with using a blank lp. It works just fine. There are different methods that work for different people. A blank side will at the very least give you a good starting point for fine tuning by ear or a test lp and the difference will be in micrograms. That's why there are 3 different alignment geometries... no one will ever agree on what is 'correct'. It's always going to be the search for the philosophers stone for the 'right' way to align a cartridge. 

[MaxCast]

It's always going to be the search for the philosophers stone for the 'right' way to align a cartridge.

Wasn't that the linear tracker??   

[Delta Wave]

Sorry to disagree with you gents on this topic. the forces at work on the stylus are the same in the groove as they are on a flat plane. It's the offset angle and VTF that set the staking in motion. I also suspect, but can't confirm that stylus type may play a role as well.

Many customers have reported back to me on the ACT disc, and have said that after they used it, and then tried a calibration groove on a test record, the results were almost identical. I have been using this technique for many years and I know that it works. Stereo balance is excellent, record wear is greatly reduced, groove chatter simply doesn't happen.

The problem with using the blank disc is that people set the anti-skating correction in the wrong area of the disc, and I certainly not going to tell you where, but a little secret is that it has something to do with both physics and geometry.

In the end, the ears are always the final solution to any TT adjustments. Setting anti-skate according to the table or arm's makers is simply a crap shoot. Arms very from deck to deck. Why? It depends on the technique used to create the anti-skating forces. Some use springs, others use dead-man weights, others used a spacing of magnets. They all have tolerances from manufacturing, and in the case of springs and magnets, may see the effects of aging.

While the blank disc may not be the final solution, it certainly gets the arm in the very close vicinity.

And you are right, there is lots of art to the turntable science. It's also good to have some knowledge and tools to help you bring the set-up to a logical, one step closer existence.

Wayner

  Thanks Wayner

[Delta Wave]

Wasn't that the linear tracker??   

Unfortunately the LTs out there are either junk or way too expensive.