Microscope suggestions
- Thread starter BartJY
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bhundu
Addicted Member
I have one of these. Paid $200 second hand.
It's not powerful enough to see true stylus wear like the images you see in Sparky's DIY microscope sticky, but I use it almost weekly for general stylus examination.
You can get a USB eyepiece for these also. Wish I had one as I could post some images on AK.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Seben-Incogn..._Hobbies_Educational_Toys?hash=item4cedadc915
It's not powerful enough to see true stylus wear like the images you see in Sparky's DIY microscope sticky, but I use it almost weekly for general stylus examination.
You can get a USB eyepiece for these also. Wish I had one as I could post some images on AK.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Seben-Incogn..._Hobbies_Educational_Toys?hash=item4cedadc915
bobva
Active Member
nice, thanks
bkmcallister
Member
Do you have any experience of this one?
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Big & Pink
Active Member
I have one of those, they are geared for kids so all of the softwear is kid oriented but it is pretty neat and works well.
Here is a similar one http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/cc14/
bobva
Active Member
Hi bartJY,
See how it goes? You ask a simple question and you get a complicated answer. Well, I'm sorry for that but the question of stylus examination is not as simple as it seems.
How you solve the problem has a lot to do with your goals. If you merely want to observe dust bunnies or see the cantilever then a simple magnifier will work and it's cheap. But, if you really want to observe stylus wear, then you must get serious.
I wrote the the sticky "Sparkys Fabulous DIY stylus Microscope" which appears at the top of this forum in the sticky section. Here is the link:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225960
You should read it. You should also read the links that appear at the beginning of the sticky. If you do you will discover that quite a few folks have experimented with microscopes similar to those that are referenced in this thread, most without much success. Examining a stylus for wear is not an easy problem to solve. Read and you will see.
However, the stylus microscope DIY project that is discussed in the sticky really does get the job done and is a great tool for the vinyl enthusiest. It's not a difficult project and is not terribly expensive.
So, as you can see, it all depends on your goals.
Sparky
See how it goes? You ask a simple question and you get a complicated answer. Well, I'm sorry for that but the question of stylus examination is not as simple as it seems.
How you solve the problem has a lot to do with your goals. If you merely want to observe dust bunnies or see the cantilever then a simple magnifier will work and it's cheap. But, if you really want to observe stylus wear, then you must get serious.
I wrote the the sticky "Sparkys Fabulous DIY stylus Microscope" which appears at the top of this forum in the sticky section. Here is the link:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225960
You should read it. You should also read the links that appear at the beginning of the sticky. If you do you will discover that quite a few folks have experimented with microscopes similar to those that are referenced in this thread, most without much success. Examining a stylus for wear is not an easy problem to solve. Read and you will see.
However, the stylus microscope DIY project that is discussed in the sticky really does get the job done and is a great tool for the vinyl enthusiest. It's not a difficult project and is not terribly expensive.
So, as you can see, it all depends on your goals.
Sparky
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bhundu
Addicted Member
Just as a little tip for anyone using a scope.
Examining the amount of build up under the stylus housing and cantilever is a good way of telling if a second hand cart is NOS, slightly used or heavily used. Like me a lot of people keep their eye out for a cart with only 10-20 hours on it. At about 40x you can see little pieces of dead skin cells and dust that gets flicked up under the cantilever. If there is only a little bit of build up it would be safe to say that the cart has had little use. A lot of build up would indicate otherwise. I imagine it would be very difficult to remove this build up and disguise a well used cart/stylus.
Examining the amount of build up under the stylus housing and cantilever is a good way of telling if a second hand cart is NOS, slightly used or heavily used. Like me a lot of people keep their eye out for a cart with only 10-20 hours on it. At about 40x you can see little pieces of dead skin cells and dust that gets flicked up under the cantilever. If there is only a little bit of build up it would be safe to say that the cart has had little use. A lot of build up would indicate otherwise. I imagine it would be very difficult to remove this build up and disguise a well used cart/stylus.
