Digital Scales Are Reasonable-Finally Bought One

[PR Audio]

Speaking of the Shure...I managed to balance a US penny on it with the scale set to 2.5 grams. I just felt like knowing whether it was accurate. Nothing better to do that day, I suppose.

It was either that or creating a "chain e-mail" to annoy your friends...:screwy:

 

[4dryhme]

It was either that or creating a "chain e-mail" to annoy your friends...:screwy:

Stop it! I have no guts left to bust! :lmao:

 

[Bob_in_OKC]

Stop it! I have no guts left to bust! :lmao:

I LOL'ed at that one, too.:arrow:

 

[Bstable]

I picked up a little digital scale for about ten bucks at harbor freight tools.I dont know how good it is in comparison to the more expensive scales,but its done the job for me.
Jimmy

I probably bought the same one. It was $12 and had a nice blue display, 5 year warranty, and protective case.

I am a professional disc golfer, and bought this to weight my discs, since I found many to be 4-5 grams off. One day it occurred to me to check my stylus forces with this scale. According to my scale the dial on my SL-D202 and PL-514 was less than a 1/10 of a gram off.

I think they are accurate enough. You can use coins to check the scale's accuracy. ..nickles weigh 5 grams. There are many features on this little scale (auto calibrate, tare, etc)

 

[audiojones]

I bought one from Harbor Freight a while back but it's really thick and the arm won't sit properly on it unless I remove the platter (the scale is even thicker than the turntable platter that it needs to sit on). Maybe they make a thinner version of it now, I'll have to go back and check. It's very accurate, and it made checking the weight on my old AR XA a breeze since the platter came right off anyway. On my Technics tables, however, I'm still using my Shure SFG-2 because I don't want to remove the platter just to use the scale.

 

[nashvillebill]

Again, it is very easy to use the scale ABOVE the tonearm. Rig up something to hold the scale in place maybe a foot above the tonearm, like a stack of books and a small board.

Now take a piece of thread and make a loop with it. The upper part of the loop goes over the scale. The bottom part goes under the cartridge. Adjust the length of the loop until it just picks up the tonearm.

No worries about amgnetic interference this way either.

 

[jjohnson]

Stopped by Harbor Freight and picked one up this morning. I'm glad i did. One of my tables was dead on. On the other table, I had tracking at 1 gram over the redommended weight. There's just no way that I know of short of having some sort of scale. It was $11 well spent. Thanks for the info.

 

[day67]

I bought the American Weight MB-50 i think it is. It's the "matchbox" style, small and thin enough that I dont have to mess with the mat or platter and no finagling with the cover gettin in the way.....perrrrfect.

 

[fastbike]

Wasn't stainless steel then. Yes, I know that some stainless alloys are magnetic, but they're not as common (as deceptive advertising)

How will the cartridge react to the stainless steel cover? I bought one and when I tried to use it the magnetic force of the magnets in my DL160 sucked the cartridge to the cover and burying the cantilever into the cartridge body. I used it one time and went back to my trusty Shure SFG2. FWIW
Regards,
Jim

 

[day67]

This is offbeat but I remember when I was looking for a good quality outdoor grill, Weber, Jenn Air, any of the "stainless" types the report (mighta been Consumer Report) suggested bringing a magnet with you as all "stainless" is not equal. They were right! Several of the stainless were, to varying degrees, magnetic! Who'da thunk it! There are grades of stainless I guess. Same thing might apply here.

 

[pioneervato]

I have one from Harbor Freight and is accurate but is difficult to use because it sits high. A few months ago I finally opted for one of these and I am extremely happy with it. Considerably more expensive than the $12 one from Harbor Freight but easier to use and extremely accurate.

 

[Mister Pig]

Same Manufacturer.....

I bought the American Weight MB-50 i think it is. It's the "matchbox" style, small and thin enough that I dont have to mess with the mat or platter and no finagling with the cover gettin in the way.....perrrrfect.

Saw that one too, and thought about it quite hard. Ended up choosing this one cause I liked the display and the AAA battery option.

That one should have stainless steel in the pad also, so if you don't have any issues...well I doubt I will either.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[jjohnson]

The $11 Harbor Freight scale that I bought today is mildly attracted to magnets. After reading here, I pulled a couple of magnets off of the fridge. They both stuck, though not tightly. It's ibviously not the finest quality stainless steel but what should I expect for $11. I think that it works ok for what I need. I'm not going to need to use it again unless I change cartridges.

 

[Cactus Bob]

Saw that one too, and thought about it quite hard. Ended up choosing this one cause I liked the display and the AAA battery option.

That one should have stainless steel in the pad also, so if you don't have any issues...well I doubt I will either.

Regards
Mister Pig

The one I looked at yesterday at Harbor Freight takes AAA batteries. I passed because of the height issue that Pioneervato mentioned. I think I'll stick to my trusty Shure SFG2.

 

[Mister Pig]

Nothing Wrong With....

the Shure at all. If I had one I would use it. But I don't, and I needed to buy something. Might as well keep it simple and straightforward. The American Scientific is .75 inches tall. The match book version someone else had bought is .5 inches tall. Both should be slim enough to work well.

Regards
Mister Pig

The one I looked at yesterday at Harbor Freight takes AAA batteries. I passed because of the height issue that Pioneervato mentioned. I think I'll stick to my trusty Shure SFG2.

 

[Cactus Bob]

the Shure at all. If I had one I would use it. But I don't, and I needed to buy something. Might as well keep it simple and straightforward. The American Scientific is .75 inches tall. The match book version someone else had bought is .5 inches tall. Both should be slim enough to work well.

Regards
Mister Pig

That sounds pretty good. I might have to try one some time. I probably would have gone digital also if I didn't the sure already. :thmbsp:

 

[guiller]

I've found this link interesting: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67124

 

[PR Audio]

I bought the American Weight MB-50 i think it is. It's the "matchbox" style, small and thin enough that I dont have to mess with the mat or platter and no finagling with the cover gettin in the way.....perrrrfect.

Great to know, as I ordered one two days ago on EBay, exactly the same one shipped from the USA with a price almsot half of AW.

 

[GreatTone]

I have one from Harbor Freight and is accurate but is difficult to use because it sits high. A few months ago I finally opted for one of these and I am extremely happy with it. Considerably more expensive than the $12 one from Harbor Freight but easier to use and extremely accurate.

The one I got on the internet for $15 looks very similar to this...the difference being it only has 2 digits after the decimal point, not 3 like this. It was shipped free from Hong Kong if I remember right, and got here very quickly. I'm plenty happy with its accuracy, which, as was shown, is easily verifiable by weighing known objects (like coins).

 

[PR Audio]

...I'm plenty happy with its accuracy, which, as was shown, is easily verifiable by weighing known objects (like coins).

To calibrate, there are calibration weights that are really inexpensive. A 50 gram weight goes for about $3.99 (free shipping) on EBay. If you buy one after using wipe with a dry cloth and store in a ziploc bag, so it doesn't collect dirt. Believe it or not dirt can 1/10th+ of a gram without you knowing. That is being picky, but it is a preventive measure that's not costly nor troublesome.