Milty Zerostat Use

I used the gun as instructed here (the 3 shots in a triangle plus a fourth shot at the center with a release away from the vinyl). I still get static... Not sure what I am doing wrong.

 

Well, I just fired a stream at my rega rp3 felt mat, and the results are better! Seems like this mat is a static magnet! Any thoughts on an alternative non static mat for the rp3?

 

I have read (have no idea if it is true) that people with logic controlled or quartz locked tables have damaged the turntable electronics by 'zapping' them with the zerostat. I have used mine for 30 years on my automatic Mitsubishi turntable with no issues, but I am carefull to only point it at the album, not the controls or stylus.
Terry

 

I removed the mat before zapping it. Seemed like its the right thing to do. Still, the material of the fabric seems like its drawing a ton of static.

 

Question about the black tip. Mine can be turned and come off, is this normal. Shoot with it on I assume.

 

Regarding using a Zerostat on your cartridge/stylus:

"A couple of years ago, I spent three sad winter months trying to figure out what was wrong with my turntable. Complex passages of music were consistently marred by horrible distortion that made listening to vinyl unbearably stressful. Close inspection of my stylus revealed the culprit: ugly clumps of dust and debris. I blew on the stylus, brushed it, treated it with cleaners, pleaded with it, made promises, said prayers. Nothing worked. Finally, in desperation, I shot my cartridge with the Milty Zerostat 3. Haven't had a problem since. Other products cleaned my cartridge, but only the Milty kept it clean.
At the time, I'd asked Leland Leard, of Music Hall, Milty's US distributor, about the Zerostat's effectiveness with phono cartridges.
"Like Windex," Leard said, "a shot of the Zerostat will cure all that ails: bed sores, acne, H1N1, erectile dysfunction."
To keep the noise of applying the Zerostat from being transmitted through the speakers, Leard advised that users power down their systems before treating their phono cartridges—good advice. He also told me that the Zerostat works on Compact Discs: "CDs develop an enormous internal electrostatic charge as they are whirring around in a warm, sealed environment. A shot of the Zerostat zaps out the static. And tired of those pesky coffee grinds sticking to the side of your grinder's plastic basket? Grind, then shoot. You'll be amazed.""

http://www.stereophile.com/content/entry-level-17

http://www.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/making_music_again/

 

I use a four-step ritual before dropping the needle on a clean record:

1. Holding the LP with one finger in the spindle hole on the underside and the edge of the
LP resting in the fleshy pad between thumb and palm, I track a circle in the air about 4" above the LP with a Walker Audio Talisman to de-magnetize the LP. Four passes on side one, then flip the LP in my hand and do the same for side two. Then put the LP on the 'table.

2. Start the LP spinning, then use an AudioQuest carbon fiber brush for several revolutions to remove any dust.

3. Holding the Walker Talisman in my left hand, about 4" above the surface of the LP on the left side as I face the 'table, with the Talisman positioned at 9 o'clock and on a straight line from 9 o'clock to the spindle, I gently make very tight air circles with the Talisman while the LP spins underneath it. I count one thousand and one, etc., to one thousand and and ten. While I'm doing this, I ground the LP by holding the back edge of my right index finger very lightly against the edge of the spinning LP at the 6 o'clock position.

4. Put down the Walker Talisman, pick up the ZeroStat gun and aim it at the center of the spindle, from a position about 12" above the spinning LP. Two slow pull/release cycles. Then, one last shot, aimed directly at the cartridge, to reduce its charge and make it say, "Away, dust! You shall not stick to me while I play this LP!"

Then and only then will I drop the needle. Works like charm.

 

Right at the very beginning (or end) of the pull, mine has a click that is nearly impossible to avoid, no matter how slow I squeeze - I can't squeeze slow enough to avoid it. It is new and I have only used it a dozen times or so. Will this work itself out?

 

try less coffee maybe

 

Sitting here drinking a coffee right now so you may be right

 

Yes...the Zerostat gets less sensitive (to 'clicking') as you use it.

 

The black tip is for testing only. It glows a bit in the dark if the gun is working. It should be REMOVED in normal use.

 

Thanks. Wasn't sure what the cap was there for.

 

I'm pretty sure that's what my instructions recommended. I can probably find them somewhere.

*Edit* Just adding that I just realized the post was over 5 years old, and that I'd already replied to it over 5 years ago.

 

too funny

 

I notice all the respondents referring to removing static from the record itself but my TT (maybe the platter? maybe the mat?) itself seems to be the culprit (a static riddled record only worsens). Is the Milty the appropriate tool to rectify this?

Also, what symptoms will one hear when static buildup is a problem (either on the TT or record)?

 

The acrylic platter on my VPI Aries can build up a bit of a charge. I added a felt anti-static mat purchased from Sleeve City and, while it's not the fanciest mat out there, it has greatly reduced the problem. I haven't really noticed any sonic artifacts from the static itself. Instead it's the mat of cat hair, dust, and other crap that appears out of nowhere (ok, well I do suspect some of it comes from the cat) and sticks to the record, the turntable, and the cartridge that DOES create audible artifacts.

 

Just came across this...I got my original red Zerostat back in the early 80's and still works like a champ. The "clicking" heard is the high voltage arcing between the terminals of the piezoelectric crystal inside the gun. I've always attributed it to squeezing/releasing the trigger too fast and not allowing the high voltage charge at the needle to bleed away naturally by emanating ions. I've always used the "3-1/2 squeeze triangle" method myself, but lately have noticed that after playing an LP, it seems to generate more static than it had at the beginning! In fact, the last time the static was so strong it pulled the mat right off the platter!

Been wondering....strictly a thought experiment, but....ionization smoke detectors have a small amount of radioactive Americium-241 in them to generate alpha particles. I wonder if anyone has cannibalized a smoke detector for the americium and stuck it to the inside cover of their turntable to have a steady stream of static-neutralizing particles. I don't advocate doing this because ingested Am-241 is HIGHLY DANGEROUS.

 

Hi Kannibal. My Zerostat is no longer working. Could you please share repair instructions with me? Thank you! Dan

 

I checked my inbox and I don't see the PM. It may have timed out as it was a few years ago now.

I take no responsibility either for you health( there may be risk of shock), or the condition of the Milty if you do this (voids the warranty). Keep in mind that my shell has been loose sinse I did this, but it is usable and it works.

It really is exactly like I wrote in the post you quoted. You have to open the shell by prying the two pieces apart, and inside the handle there is a cylinder that has some lines running through it. You just need to restore the tension to the lines by rotating the cylinder. You can just use your finger to roll it. Fit the shell back together and pull the trigger. You can adjust the number of clicks based on the line tension.

Hope this help.

 

Smell the ozone. Or ionized oxygen anyway. Smells like cool rain.

 

pbda's quotes from the instructions are the best bet, as far as a technique for using a Zerostat, IMO.

That is the way I have been using mine since the 70s.

I have a white Discwasher branded model. I misplaced my test light and this one got loose feeling on the trigger pull so I bought another Discwasher branded model - red by that time.

I used the new test light on the older white one and it was (and still is) working fine. It just got progressively easier to pull/release the trigger until it was so easy I thought it might not be working. (And they loosen up as far a pressure on the trigger pull. My old white one kept loosening up until it is almost too easy now. But I just adjust my pulling technique accordingly.)

As far as adding static: if it is used as instructed, the static is transferred to the opposite side of the record rather than eliminating static from the entire record, IIRC.

 

I just got mine.. and tried the slow pull, and release from about 12 inches away. I did it a couple of times to my Mat, even my Cartridge after reading others who recommeneded it... then did my record the same way...I did it aprox 2 maybe 3 times and so far it seem to work fine. I also applied it to the MOFI cloth brush thingy I have for getting dust etc off of records before playing. Even if it is all in my head.... thats cool..sounds better

 

Uh...I have had one for 2 years and tonight started using it the correct way....doh!

 

I always zerostat first, then brush..Never thought of doing it any other way.
Maybe Ill try shooting it after brushing as well.
Not sure how a brush can introduce static after zero stating...
Now, maybe explain it to me like Im 3...