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Re: Using a microscope, My experience...

Posted by anumber1 (A) on August 4, 2005 at 15:23:12

In Reply to: Using a microscope posted by goofytwoshoes on August 4, 2005 at 15:04:03:

I had been having a local stereo shop examine my styli for years, unfortunately, they went under and have closed, so I decided that I should be able to do it myself...

For the last few years I have been giving my styli a look with a friends 200x microscope about twice a year.

I have looked at all my new cartridges under this scope before they were mounted so I know what they looked like "unworn".

It is a fussy process that is complicated by a very short depth of focus. It is very difficult to focus the 'scope on what you need to see. The lighting counts also, as you need to reflect light off the stylus in order to see wear.

Wear shows up as dull spots on the sides of the stylus, places where the original polish of the stone has changed.

The devil is in the details of examining a stylus under a powerful microscope, small changes mean a lot and if you didn't know what the stylus looked like in the first place, I cant see how a person could accurately judge a "strange" one without lots of prior experience.

There is a fair amount of info in the archives here about this subject.

Good luck

--
Al G
Born to Tinker!

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