Anti Static Guns

Ericus Rex · « **on:** 13 Nov 2009, 01:53 pm »

Do they work?

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #1 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 03:03 pm »

Good question, I've owned a Milty Zerostat for years and always wondered if it actually did anything and was worth the extra time it took to get a disc playing.

Vinyl was a real PITA. First zap with antistatic gun. Then clamp record to platter. Next apply Stylast treatment. Then brush record clean. Finally drop arm on disc. And that didn't include cleaning, another time consuming procedure, all in the name of listening to about 20 minutes of music, assuming the whole side is worth listening to.

macrojack · « **Reply #2 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 03:40 pm »

While I can't verify that anti-static guns actually do anything, I do want to defend the record playing ritual.

It is certainly inconvenient vis a vis digital playback of any kind but, like cooking real food or conducting the Japanese tea ceremony, it has a reward and a relevance if you can take the time and enjoy the process. I seldom take the time myself to engage in anything so ceremonial, but I appreciate the sense it makes to slow down and do something deliberately and elaborately. As a society we are just too damned much in a hurry. So, if you find your head is spinning sometime, try spinning a record instead. Take your time and zone out. It's really a quiet and effective rebellion against the forces that drive you in your everyday efforts to keep up with the bills and other obligations.

Coytee · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 04:21 pm »

I don't know if those anti-static guns work on vinyl or not...but you can sure use them to goose someone in the butt if you want

thunderbrick · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 04:25 pm »

Really? COOL!

Dan Kolton · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 05:20 pm »

Try the anti-static gun on the plastic grounds container of your coffee grinder. It works pretty well to get those few remaining staticy grounds to fall.

bside123 · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 05:27 pm »

I am glad that someone has raised this question, as I often wondered about this myself. Sometimes, I think that the gun is working to relieve static. I use a Mapleshade. Other times, I have doubted it so much that I put it down for weeks at a time, and truthfully, I'm not sure that I noticed a difference. I have always wondered exactly how to use the damn thing. How many times does one pull the trigger? Do you shoot the record before or after you have placed it on the platter? Should the platter be turning or still? How close do you hold it to the record? It seems as if the conditions in the room (dry, humid, summer, winter) on any particular day has the most influence. I've noticed what creates static more than what relieves it. I know one thing for sure... do not turn up the gain on your preamp and shoot phono your cartridge in the nose! Big Bad Noises

lcrim · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 06:03 pm »

First there are people who swear by them, on this site.

I think they have value as paperweights or door stops only.

macrojack · « **Reply #8 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 06:21 pm »

I was taught long ago that the proper ay to use a Zerostat is to aim it at the record from a distance of maybe a foot and then pull the trigger very slowly. Once the trigger is pulled all the way in, aim the gun out into the room away from your record and release the trigger. I'm not so sure about efficacy either.

On a similar note, I have a Nagaoka KILAVOLT N103. It has a push button, uses a single "C" cell, and was made in Japan. It contains this warning, "Be careful not to discharge the beam on a human body". I can't say how well it works but I've always honored that warning.

srb · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 06:29 pm »

Quote from: lcrim on 13 Nov 2009, 06:03 pm

First there are people who swear by them, on this site.

I think they have value as paperweights or door stops only.

At about only 5 ounces in weight with an odd assymetric shape, they really don't make very good paperweights or door stops either.

Steve

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 06:46 pm »

Based on my experience, I believe they absolutely work and are worth the money. The anti static gun serves two purposes - (1) remove static-caused pops from vinyl playback and (2) eliminate or lessen static attraction of airborne dust. I have conducted experiments where I played a new, cleaned record without using the de static gun and heard some pops. I took the record off the turntable, used the de static gun and then played the record and heard no pops or clicks. I live in a relatively dry climate so I may benefit more than someone in a humid climate--don't know.

Laura

sts9fan · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 07:05 pm »

In the winter here in the lab we use antistatic brushes on containers and scoops when we are going to handle charged chemicals. It for sure works. With everything sticks to the scoop and flys everywhere. Without no sticking etc. Vinyl is staticy for sure. Does removing this help playback? Don't know but I still wipe with a destatic brush.

Wayner · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 08:00 pm »

The anti-static gun works. I do think that many people are using it wrong. The instructions say to hold it about 12" from the record surface, slowly squeeze the trigger, then slowly release the trigger. Not zap the damn thing 6 or 7 times, just once. If you squeeze the trigger 6 or 7 times, it becomes a static gun. After all, an LP is a hunk of polymer that has no means of grounding out the charge, so sometimes it needs help. Also, a damp discwasher brush also helps to reduce static charge. I have more luck with the damp brush.

Wayner

lcrim · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 08:05 pm »

Antistatic cloths and brushes do actually work in removing static charges. The guns are utterly useless. Total snakeoil.

Wayner · « **Reply #14 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 08:22 pm »

Quote from: lcrim on 13 Nov 2009, 08:05 pm

Antistatic cloths and brushes do actually work in removing static charges. The guns are utterly useless. Total snakeoil.

Most of the time I agree with you Larry, but not this time. I've actually designed a static chuck. It works on the principal of generating static electricity to hold delicate pieces of material on an inspection table. They also use a more professional (and here we may agree) more effective static neutralizing gun to "clean" the area. the consumer version of the static gun is very limited in power and requires repeated use at planned intervals (like days, weeks or months) apart to become effective. I have 2 guns, one was inherited and occasionally try them with limited results. If someone were to ask me for a recommendation on purchasing one of these, I would have to decline, as I have had far better results with my damp discwasher brush. Maybe we do agree a little on this one after all. I'll say that it's not totally useless but more marginal in results, unlike the professional guns used at work.

Wayner

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #15 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 09:12 pm »

Quote from: lcrim on 13 Nov 2009, 08:05 pm

The guns are utterly useless. Total snakeoil.

With all due respect, I disagree and my 20+ years of experience with them convinces me that they work.

Laura

JakeJ · « **Reply #16 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 09:13 pm »

I am in agreeance (is that a word?) with two members in this thread.

First, vinyl_lady. My experience mirrors yours and it works equally well on both sides of our state. The west side being wetter and the east dryer.

Second, macrojack.

Quote from: macrojack on 13 Nov 2009, 03:40 pm

While I can't verify that anti-static guns actually do anything, I do want to defend the record playing ritual.

It is certainly inconvenient vis a vis digital playback of any kind but, like cooking real food or conducting the Japanese tea ceremony, it has a reward and a relevance if you can take the time and enjoy the process. I seldom take the time myself to engage in anything so ceremonial, but I appreciate the sense it makes to slow down and do something deliberately and elaborately. As a society we are just too damned much in a hurry. So, if you find your head is spinning sometime, try spinning a record instead. Take your time and zone out. It's really a quiet and effective rebellion against the forces that drive you in your everyday efforts to keep up with the bills and other obligations.

My bolding.

You really hit the nail on the head with this one. One of my goals is to practice the art of observing the moment and allowing it to unfold on its own. This requires one to come to a complete stop to fully engage said moment. Good analogy with the Japanese tea ceremony. The vinyl ritual has me more fully engaged, listening more intently, and I find I'm doing it more often. That's my .02.

Oh, I got my Milty at a garage sale. Mint condition in the wooden caddy with plastic cover, Discwasher, fluid, and a little stylus brush...for $2.00

Have Fun,
Jake

Wayner · « **Reply #17 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 09:59 pm »

Perhaps the use of the anti-static gun is also backwards. Perhaps the gun should be used after the record is played, as I'm pretty sure the stylus running across the LP is generating lots of static. Play the record, then shoot it and put it away. Lots of times it not the material but the process that is wrong.

Wayner

lcrim · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 10:04 pm »

The only issue here is how to get otherwise reasonable and intelligent people to buy into such a complete pile of crap. I wish I knew.

srb · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Nov 2009, 10:17 pm »

Quote from: lcrim on 13 Nov 2009, 10:04 pm

The only issue here is how to get otherwise reasonable and intelligent people to buy into such a complete pile of crap. I wish I knew.

Men have a high fascination with "guns" of any kind. Kapow!

I don't know about the particular device being discussed here, but there are devices that can emit positive ions. And for those positive ions to help neutralize a negative statically charged object is certainly within the bounds of believability.

Steve