Anti-Skate dial-How to set it? + a bonus question

Q1)IMO a good starting point for anti-skating adjustment, which can then be further optimized by listening, can be determined by observing the cartridge from the front as it is lowered onto a ROTATING record, and adjusting the setting such that the cantilever deflection to the left or right, if any, is the same when the stylus is in the groove as when it is not. Since the setting may vary at different points on the record, perform this check at several points and find the best compromise.

Based on my experience with older turntables I suspect that the numerical value of the setting that is found in that manner, as indicated on the anti-skate dial scale, will be in the rough vicinity of 60% of the value of the tracking force.

Q2)I second the caution about the possibility of groove damage if VTF is set too light. Usually some value towards the upper end of the range suggested by the cartridge manufacturer is best.

Q3)I don't.

Best regards,
-- Al

Stanwal said:

I would just get a Shure mechanical one; I have found the digital ones unreliable and prone to failure.

I have had both mechanical and electronic. I have bought electronic ones off ebay which didn't cost much and proved accurate enough and reliable.

Also regarding accuracy of anti-skate, Stanwal also said:

Some quite good arms did not have the anti skate calibrated correctly; the Grace 707 provided twice the necessary force if I remember. I would start with the minimum and slowly increase it if you think it necessary. Most of the time I use none at all; I have never even installed the AS part of my Graham 2.2.

So I'm not sure what he regards as the "correct" or "necessary" force.

Similarly for vtf if it is too light you risk mistracking, so most would advocate more rather than less.

Yet with no anti-skate mistracking is a distinct risk on the right channel, yet this is often recommended.

However, it is not the case that

No matter where you set it it will be wrong for most of the record anyway.

This is a common fallacy. To counteract the skating force you need around 20% of down force, in real terms (most calibrated arms use a scale which may attempt to provide this or another value, but is marked to correspond with VTF)

This anti-skate may indeed never be exactly correct, and might vary by a few per cent either way across the record. But using no anti-skate means leaving a residual skating force of much greater magnitude than the above error. If using no anti-skate sounds better, that doesn't mean skating forces don't exist. That is another question, and assumes that with a zero setting there is no drag in the internal wiring or other hidden outward acting forces, which can easily be the case with arms using insufficiently fine wire, especially if it doesn't exit as close as possible to the pivot.

Almarg wrote:

a good starting point for anti-skating adjustment, which can then be further optimized by listening, can be determined by observing the cartridge from the front as it is lowered onto a ROTATING record, and adjusting the setting such that the cantilever deflection to the left or right, if any, is the same when the stylus is in the groove as when it is not.

My question for Almarg is: what, precisely, do I see when I am looking for "stylus deflection"?

what, precisely, do I see when I am looking for "stylus deflection"?

First, note that I said "cantilever deflection." If you are viewing the cartridge from the front, and if the anti-skating force is significantly misadjusted, as the stylus enters the groove of a rotating record you will see the cantilever deflect either to the left or to the right. In other words, it will change its angle relative to the cartridge body, either towards the spindle or towards the outer edge of the record, compared to its position before the stylus made contact with the record.

If you are unsure as to whether or not you may be seeing a small deflection, it might be helpful to misadjust the anti-skating until you definitely do perceive a small deflection, and note the corresponding setting of the anti-skating scale. Then misadjust until you see the same amount of deflection in the opposite direction, note the setting, and set the adjustment mid-way between those two points.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks, Al,
That's just what I needed to know!