Seems like such a device would be useful as well for tracking hours put on tubes. Easier, maybe, than summing up times from a manual log.
Elapsed Time Counter for Tracking Stylus Life
A perennial issue for us anal retentive analog types -- how to know when to change out your cart. Some keep track of sides played, others use the time use trackers in their tube phono stages, while others don’t bother
Haven’t you asked yourself if someone makes such a thing? Turns out they do but mostly for industrial control applications and not available stand alone.
Given I’m now running two carts and have a habit of playing bits of sides (nor could I be bothered to record how many I’d played) I’ve decided to build my own based around this simple module -- two of these, with two on/off switches and two reset buttons, will do the job! Finally I put my EE degree to use 😉. Should be <$100 all in and I can make it look nice
I’ll report back on this project once completed -- potentially the same idea is good for those that need to track tube life and lack an built in meter as well
Haven’t you asked yourself if someone makes such a thing? Turns out they do but mostly for industrial control applications and not available stand alone.
Given I’m now running two carts and have a habit of playing bits of sides (nor could I be bothered to record how many I’d played) I’ve decided to build my own based around this simple module -- two of these, with two on/off switches and two reset buttons, will do the job! Finally I put my EE degree to use 😉. Should be <$100 all in and I can make it look nice
I’ll report back on this project once completed -- potentially the same idea is good for those that need to track tube life and lack an built in meter as well
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I´ve kept meticulously record on every stylus I play since my first true HQ cart, way back 1987. I know exactly the true hours and the status/condition of all my stylii. I also have learned to notice dust/dirt/residue on stylus tip, even on pro cleaned as sound becomes distorted. This happens surprisingly often although I brush the stylus before each LP play. |
The meters come from this site www.zoro.com -- other parts from Parts Express and a nice case from Polycase |
So I finally got all the parts and built this thing -- pretty easy job and you can see the photo of the resulting counter here https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/5707#&gid=1&pid=37 The black button is to stop/start counting, there’s a power switch on the back so you don’t drain the battery when not in use. I had hoped to fit two counters in the box but it turned out there was less room then I thought! |
I use mechanical 9999 clickers. Metal. round about the diameter of a flattened golf ball punch once to up number by one. I think they cost me $7 at American Science And Surplus. But on Amazon too. I own two of them.One for the Benz Glider. One for the Dynavector 17D3. I click once for each side. I calculate 20 minutes per side.It is way better than pure guessing. My Benz Glider is coming up to 1000 hours if I allow 25 minutes per click. But I also use Stylast. an that should double the lifespan... |