Milty Zerostat Use

Of course you must point it away from record before you release the trigger, ortherwise you are sending a charge back to the record. Not draw it away, but point it away.

Mine fell apart in my hand, the whole thing just snapped apart. Cheap mothers.

Anyway, when I decided to heed the call and move back west as a young man I decovered that static electricity is not a problem in California. The liners never seem to stick to LP, and there is never a charge on any of my LPs since moving here many moons ago.

I guess Jim Morrison was right, the West is the Best!

 

That is not correct. If you point the gun at the record while squeezing the trigger and point the gun away from the record while releasing the trigger you will make the problem worse.

 

Not according to the instructions that were quoted earlier in this thread:

That's it...I just found the instructions in the box that my Discwasher DiscKit came in, and to quote:

1. Imagine the record as having a triangular shape (the spindle hole being the center). Hold the Zerostat approximately 12 inches from the record surface and slowly squeeze the trigger at each of the three "corner points" of the record. We suggest taking about two (2) seconds to release it. (If the record is on the turntable, perform this while the turntable is not revolving.)

2. Pointing the Zerostat at the center of the record, gently squeeze the trigger a fourth time, point the Zerostat away from the record (toward the floor) and release the trigger.

Although this method appears lengthy, the results are worth the time involved...less static on the record surface. Zerostat allows improved cleaning with the D4 Record Care System and a quieter playback of your favorite records

 

Hmmm...I hadn't noticed that part about the fourth shot at the center. The away-from-the-record release seems to be specific to that fourth pull.

 

Thank you, I stand corrected.

 

My wife got me a replacement Zerostat for Christmas. The trigger feels really tight and it's impossible to ease the trigger back without it clicking. Is it defective?

 

No. Squeeze (and release) very very slow - even if it takes 15 seconds each. Very very slow and apply even pressure. You'll get the hang of it after a few squeezes. The gun will also get easier to squeeze after a dozen or so cycles.

 

That company must make a fortune on these things it probably cost $2.00 to make in China and they sell them for $100. BTW when you pull the trigger does it have a resistance like those old sparking guns we had as kids? I think mine is broke because pulling the trigger and releasing it feels the same. The light thingy that came with mine is missing in action right now.

 

Well...
I bought it a couple of weeks ago. When the device arrived, there was strong resistance to squeezing the handle and as I slowly squeezed the handle (took 10-15 seconds) the gun hissed slightly and when tested with pieces of tissue stuck to a record, removed static charge beautifully.

As I used the device over the next couple of days, the squeezing resistance gradually decreased to now almost none at all, and the gun no longer neutralizes any static. I expected it to last longer . It is on its way back to the dealer.

 

I was under the impression the cost of the material inside is rather high, though I may be incorrect about that.

I'm surprised there haven't been small handheld electronic versions powered by batteries, I thought ion generators were pretty cheap little widgets. That being said, I don't know much about them. Might be a neat DIY project for someone though!

 

Mine did the same thing when it arrived and after using it maybe 30 records or so it started to act just like yours did. I know this thing is broken. I can't return it now.

I have a hand lint brush for clothes that has an air ionizer built into it. I wonder if this could be used to remove static from vinyl. I will check when I get home.

 

I got my first one around 1976, it came in a kit with Discwasher, fluid, brush, and Zerostat. Still working, and it's been used at least 12k times.

 

As I mentioned in another recent thread on the same topic, there is also a technique to using the Zerostat to charge your record brush.

 

If you have your system on and ready to go, you can hear the Zerostat working properly by squeezing it slowly. I'm speaking of course for those who do this to the lp on the turntable. The cartridge will pick up the static charges coming from the gun, thereby allowing you to hear if you are actually doing it right via your speakers. Slowly squeezing the trigger is indeed the key, because once the click is heard, no more charge is coming from the gun.

 

Sam, maybe i'm just paranoid, but I wouldn't fire that Zerostat anywhere near a cartridge. If you do a search on the web, you'll see a couple of pieces about how powerful the charge is from one of those things. When I use the thing~ pretty rarely, and only in instances where the record is extremely static-charged, I do it away from the turntable, holding the record in one hand and aiming the gun and 'shooting' with the other.

 

It is broken, but it can be fixed. The same thing happened to me when I bought mine and after posting here a nice member PM'ed me the solution. The cylinder had lost tension and you must open up the shell and twist the cylinder, restoring the tension. I'll check the PM and add more if needed.

 

Great! Please do. It would be good to have it for future reference. I got a replacement from the dealer and have been using it for about a month now. The tension has decreased somewhat since new, but as far as I can tell, it still works. But I can imagine it will need to be re-tensioned eventually. The first hurdle is how to open the blasted shell.

 

I've had the same problem with Milty. It lost tension and no longer works. Any info on a simple way to open the darn thing and fix it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Why? What will it do to the cartridge? I have a MM Clearaudio Ebony V2. I'll have to investigate this, but I can't see why removing static charge from the area would hurt anything.

 

Sam, as I said, I may be paranoid, but given that a cartridge is a pretty sensitive little electro-mechanical device, sending a 'zap' to it would worry me. Take a look at this article which describes the voltage produced by a Zerostat: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/636931
Given that you can just as easily aim and use the gun holding the record in your hand, I have always kept the thing away from my cartridge, tone arm, etc.

 

For peace of mind, I emailed Michael Fremer to ask this very interesting question. You may have a valid point, or it may not make any difference whatsoever. If anyone knows for sure, I'm guessing Fremer might be the guy.

 

Interesting. I like Fremer. Let's see what he says.

 

Mickey replied that it's a good idea to keep the Zerostat away from the cartridge when using it, just "because." This is killing me. Can someone PLEASE state with some factual information WHY a Zerostat might hurt a cartridge if such a device is used near it?

 

I have used my Zerostat near my cartridge. The cartridge picks up the Zerostat's discharge and sends it along to the phono amp as a signal. The closer the Zerostat is to the cart, the more powerful that signal will be. If the speakers are on, it sounds a lot like lightning on an AM radio. I think the component that could be harmed is not the cart but your speakers. If you're going to use the Zerostat near your cartridge, I'd recommend muting the system or switching to a different input.
The acrylic platter on my turntable does build up a static charge and the the Zerostat seems to help dissipate that charge.

 

Pretty good reasoning here, Sam. Sorry Fremer wasn't able to shed more light. My view, without hard science apart from the link I posted earlier concerning the voltages generated by the thing, is that I just don't see much good in sending a huge amount of voltage through an electro-mechanical device as sensitive as a cartridge. I suppose you could do some research on the issue of cartridge demagnitizers, which are really different, but there may be something in that area that yields some additional information.
Best,