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Stylus Pressure Gauge

dontmindme

dontmindme

Creature
I've just restored a PL-A25 and according to the manual, the unit came with a stylus pressure gauge. The weight on the tonearm is not the adjustable screw type with graduated marks. It has a set screw and you're supposed to move it in and out until the desired weight on the stylus is acheived, then tighten the screw and forget about it. Is there some sort of simple gauge that would have been shipped with the unit? I'm assuming I'm going to have to buy some sort of electronic gauge or teeter totter (forgive the analogy) type of gauge to correctly set the pressure. It has the original cart and I replaced the stylus with something equal to the original.

I want to make sure I've got it set right, just haven't dealt with one that doesn't have an adjustable weight with scale on the back of the tonearm.

Without spending a lot of money, what's the best way to measure it?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Wow that is cheap (inexpensive)!

It is small enough to place directly on the turntable platter?
I need a scale and that one looks like it will do the job.
 
I remove the platter as the scale is about as high as the platter with one record on it. So, the arm is in the same position as it would be when playing. Placing it on top of the platter would throw off your tracking weight and tonearm angle.
 
Went to Harbor Freight and picked up one for $9.59! They we on sale for $11.99 and I printed a 20% off coupon.

I weighed a Nickel (5 grams) to make sure it was accurate, then went to the turntable. It was originally set at about 1.3 grams and the manual suggested 2g to 3g with the original cart/stylus. I set it at 2.6g and it sounds much better.

Thanks again guys!
 
Using the Harbor Freight scale, I remove the platter, and set the scale on the plinth. This gets the tonearm at about the right "record height" while on the scale.

I later got one similar to the "bulls eye" scale described above. I can set it on the platter and it is almost exactly the proper "record height."
 
That's a good idea, I had room to lay it right next to the platter on the base. It was very, very close to the same level as the platter. I've got to be well within guidelines if the suggested weight is between 2g and 3g. Even if I'm off a 1/10 of a gram, I'm at 2.6g.
 
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