[Wayner]

This is a dumb question but I've always have a problem knowing when to can the old stylus. They recommend doing it every 500 hours. I thought my everyday table was sounding a bit gritty and when I took out the stylus for a look see, I didn't realize it was that bad. Now with the new replacement in, things are back to normal. I quess I quickly drew up a time sheet to keep track of playing hours, but this seems goofy. Anybody know of a time clock or anything like that that would automatically keep track of hours?

Wayner

[JimJ]

Wire up an hour meter like you see on heavy equipment and aircraft?

[Berndt]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200246424_200246424

I've been thinking about wiring one of these into my phono stage, probably scrounge up a used one from work off a piece of equipment going to auction.

[analognut]

I used to keep track of hours on my Nak RX303 by using an electric clock which only received power when the deck was on, and I turned the deck off when not in use. Whenever the clock said 12:00 I'd put a hash mark on a sheet that was stuck to the side of the deck.

Don't do that anymore, but I still use hash marks to keep track of LPs played on the different styli that I have. They are marked in rows of fifty. For instance, I have played 256 albums on my AT-OC9ML/II. I figure on average an album is 45min long, so multiplying 256 x 0.75, I have 192 hours on the stylus. Dang simple, works great. 

[andyr]

This is a dumb question but I've always have a problem knowing when to can the old stylus. They recommend doing it every 500 hours. I thought my everyday table was sounding a bit gritty and when I took out the stylus for a look see, I didn't realize it was that bad. Now with the new replacement in, things are back to normal. I quess I quickly drew up a time sheet to keep track of playing hours, but this seems goofy. Anybody know of a time clock or anything like that that would automatically keep track of hours?

Wayner

I pondered this for many years ... as if you leave it too long, you'll end up chiselling away the edge of the grooves ... and if you do it too soon, you're wasting money.     Then someone on Vinyl Asylum put me onto a simple, manual "click counter", about 5 years ago.

The kind of thing people press at gates/turnstiles when they're trying to count the number of entries. 

About $10 off eBay.

The only problem with using it is ... having a few too many red wines whilst you're listening ... and forgetting to "click"! 

Regards,

Andy

[TheChairGuy]

This is a dumb question but I've always have a problem knowing when to can the old stylus. They recommend doing it every 500 hours. I thought my everyday table was sounding a bit gritty and when I took out the stylus for a look see, I didn't realize it was that bad. Now with the new replacement in, things are back to normal. I quess I quickly drew up a time sheet to keep track of playing hours, but this seems goofy. Anybody know of a time clock or anything like that that would automatically keep track of hours?

Wayner

Wayner,

I know you abhor pricey audiophool purchases, but there is a product called LAST Stylast that, if applied regularly to your stylus, will give it up to 10x longer life.

The $40 cost is a painful pill for a 2 oz bottle....but I still have 50% left after 20 years and my stylus on every cartridge still sounds good many, many years and hours later.

I cannot vouch for a 5000 hour life of a typical elliptical or 10,000 hours for a hyperelliptical/microridge, etc, but I strongly suspect that it is adding hundreds of thousands of extra wearable hours to each cartridge.

In light of that, $40 spent has saved $$thousands in cartridge costs...makes it a very sound deal 

John

[orthobiz]

but I still have 50% left after 20 years and my stylus on every cartridge still sounds good many, many years and hours later.

John

Hey John, the shelf life of Stylast is only 3 years!

Ummmmmmm.....just kidding 

Anonymous

[twitch54]

other than my continued use of 'LAST' as well I have a 'tube hour meter' on my LS-26 pre-amp. I just figure about 60% of that reflects "Analog time" !

[Tone Depth]

This is a dumb question but I've always have a problem knowing when to can the old stylus.

Wayner

I remember doing a visual inspection with either a strong magnifying glass or a stylus microscope, and looking for evidence of wear.  That was back in the 1970s, maybe styli have changed since then and you can't visually discern wear?

[Wayner]

Tone Depth, I have a 50x scope and you can see the wear on an aged stylus. This one wasn't that bad, but I changed it anyway. It's nice to know when your approaching the end time to do an inspection all for the sake of not damaging LPs. One day, my table started sounding harsh and that is when I pulled it off for an inspection.

Wayner

[jtwrace]

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/3AB98

[Wayner]

Good job finding the meter on Grainger! i May have to order one!

Wayner