Microscopes are really useful!

[Wil de Vrede]

Hi Richard, I know what you mean about the frontal view of the diamond that's important in checking contact shapes. More like this, but better:


This is a used Audio Technica AT13Ea Needle Tip

and you can see one edge is longer than the other, so I guess there was more wear one one side because of wrongly adjusted Vertical Tracking Force.
I have to take pictures of my several new needle tips to see if new ones don't have this kind of difference in contact surface...

I hope I can see something with the USB microscope, because I only used my compact camera with a small extra lens to make these kind of pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=11076844%40N00&q=needle&m=text

You are right about the software that came with the USB microscope; it didn't even work on my Mac G4, so I have to look for a twain driver or something indeed to make it work on the homecomputer. Not only on father's in law laptop 

[ChrisS]

With respect, I think you need to look at this image differently: it is only the very tip that is in contact with the groove. Higher magnification would make clear the shaped tip that is actually doing the work.

Best wishes,

Chris

[richard]

Mortis (what's your name?),

Chris is right. What you need to see in order to cull your needles is just the two teentsy points where the rounded edges of the diamond touch the walls of the groove. Everything else is irrelevant, aside from being able to see the workmanship. And some of what you see may drive you crazy because there are some good needles out there that are still good needles, despite having sloppy workmanship. I've had good-performing styli with a tiny bit of glue slop, but not very much of it. I like them to be perfect, of course.

Your AT picture is interesting to me, because what it looks to me is that the diamond was sliced at an angle that was not 90 degrees. It's tilted on the cantilever.

One of our members in Denmark was once telling me about defective cars from Mercedes, cars that emerged from the factory with rust. When I expressed surprise, he replied, "Monday is Mondy in Germany, too." I think that your photo is proof that the Japanese people are as normal as the rest of us, that perhaps a few of them come in to work some mornings hung over, too. I visited an aftermarket stylus company a few times, a fine old name in that business. In talking with the owner, who imported sub-assemblies and whole needles from England, Switzerland, Japan, it emerged that his best needles did not come from Switzerland. Maybe one day, soon, I'll discover that people in Mexico can make superb precision products. There is no reason why they can't. It's just hard for me to get my head around it. Yet.

By the way, it's next to impossible to see stylus wear that's inaudible. Our ears can detect it before we can see it. But the microscope has been a good tool for me to use to discard needles that are grossly worn.

[sukram]

You are right about the software that came with the USB microscope; it didn't even work on my Mac G4, so I have to look for a twain driver or something indeed to make it work on the homecomputer. Not only on father's in law laptop 

Hi Mortis,
probably something like this http://www.dino-lite.com/support.php    or this http://www.dinolite.us/faq/tips_user_MAC.php   will work with your mac.
If the newest version doesn´t work try the older ones. Years ago I tried a version of the software and it seems to work with any camera I used.

Markus

[Wil de Vrede]

Hi Markus in NordRheinWestfalen , you're quite nearby!

Thanks for the link, going to try it this week on my own G4 dual 550Mhz. Yes, I should buy a new computer, but I don't. It's 11 years old now, but still like it

The session with the microscope this afternoon was great! Lot to see and to save, although it takes some patience to reach for the mouse button and let loose of the microscope and let it shake and loose the tip.....aaahhh...

Next time I won't forget the extra lens and make even larger magnifications into the thousands!
The needle tips that were checked were the ADC TRX-1: It looked like a dented monolith from Stonehenge, really long and thin frontal surface.
The Micro-Acoustics MA 530 was a perfect triangle glued to a black massive Beryllium tube, very nice and clean,

The Expert Nagaoka JT-322 Quadra looked like this compact camera picture of mine:


but from the front it was a different view. Compared to this compact camera photograph, it looked very clean and exact. It should be exact, cause it is brand new...

It's a pity that the microscope depth of field is about the width of the shaft of the diamond (nearly nothing), compared to my F8 lens opening with the optical compact camera lens. It gives a much nicer view of the whole diamond/cantilever unit, like this old beginners picture of the TRX-1:

Next time the USB microscope pictures will turn up here.

Greetings from Hans

[richard]

Great, Hans. Now I have a name to go with your mortis. 

Your question about a Mac interface for the microscope came at exactly the right time for me. I am scrapping three computers that I picked up, and one of them seems ideal to use as a Linux box. I can put it downstairs near my needle cabinet, with the microscope. So, if this can be done, I'll want a TWAIN interface for this Microsoft computer, converted for Linux. I'm going to need some hand-holding for this process.

Micro-acoustics is a special case in a few different ways. These were definitely not "me-too" cartridges. For one thing, I think that unlike most other cartridge companies, MA made most of their own diamond tips: they made tips for the record cutting industry. Because of this, they were closer to the way that records are actually made than were their competitors. The reason why I wrote "most" is that I actually have a genuine Shibata tip for one of my MA cartridges. It's logical to assume that MA bought this particular diamond.

There was an interesting geographic alignment in Westchester County, New York between these companies: MA, Sonotone, and Tetrad Diamond (not always at the same time). And in MA's case, also between MA and the Columbia Records pressing plant in nearby Danbury, Connecticut. I look for this sort of "cross-polination." Stanton had its own engineering connections with the aerospace industry that fed back int their stylus designs. MA's stylus assemblies had very sophisticated physical "taming."

Back to the microscopesm have you given any thought to how to hold the styli relative to the microscope? Some sort of good base/stage assembly might be useful.

[SteveM]

By the way, it's next to impossible to see stylus wear that's inaudible. Our ears can detect it before we can see it. But the microscope has been a good tool for me to use to discard needles that are grossly worn.

Richard, can you describe what a worn stylus would sound like? Thanks.

[richard]

Steve, a worn stylus simply mistracks the groove. There are differences in wear patterns. In general, the effects begin as distortion in the highs and on complicated wave forms, such as the opening movement of the Bach St. Matthew Passion or his Third Brandenberg Concerto.

A lot of music in popular culture is actually fairly easy to track, and the effects of stylus wear won't be as apparent. One test that I like is to take a record of music that I hate that's in good condition, and play a cut ten times to see how it degrades.

It's very difficult to come up with a number about when to replace your needle because there are so many variables involved. From looking at pictures of needles (especially those that I've examined myself), it's obvious to me that the two largest contributors to stylus wear are household dust and lack of antiskating force.

Some people have very sensitive, acute, and sometimes analytical hearing. The women who spot-checked the records at the Columbia pressing plant could hear stylus wear before Arnold Schwartz could see it with a microscope, and Schwartz made Columbia's cutting needles. I was able to hear the damage imparted by a brand new Shure N91ED stylus to a brand new record on the second play. More than once. This damage may have been caused, at least in part, by incorrect mounting: the cartridge was tipped forward a bit too much, causing excessive vertical tracking angle. This memory has caused me to be sober about the damage that can be caused by a stylus with too sharp a tracing radius working at too much pressure.

So, as I said above, there are a few different factors at work where the diamond meets the vinyl.

[Wil de Vrede]

Well, finally I have the Mojo software working...
Been busy taking videos and pictures from some of my needles to see if the pictures are better then with a compact camera with extra lens in front.
Result are not bad, diamond tip shape is more or less clear. In the videos it's much better to see, because it's a little hard to keep everything fixed for a second and than press Alt-Apple-Shift-3 with the other hand 
Have to put the screen-shot under one keystroke 
These are the first results, more to come in the time ahead...


Original, I thought worn, Shure VN35HE. Seems to be in nice shape...


Very tiny Jico-SAS Replacement needle for Shure VN35HE, new.


Philips GP412 II, oldie but looking good.



Stanton 681EEE, looks a bit like metal, but is diamond all over. Picture taken in Sky with Diamonds 



Ortofon MC-3 Turbo, bought used, still haven't tried it. looks not to bad...

Well, it's 3.30 in the morning, time to sleep 



           

[richard]

You're getting close, Hans.

We need more magnification than this, and especially good resolution and contrast at the points where the diamond touches the groove walls. To get us into the ball park, I think that it can be good to practise-view some conical and elliptical tips. Look especially for straight edges where the diamond should be curved: that's wear.

So, a dark tip against a bright background seems best.

By the way, I didn't tie up loose ends in earlier posts. In my little story about the Columbia pressing plant, I failed to say that Arnold Schwartz was the main owner of Micro Acoustics, who made Columbia's cutting styli at the time.

I think that when we're looking at needles, it's good to be clear about what we're looking for. For me, what I'm looking for, let's say, when I have acquired a needle with an unknown history, it is primarily to see if it has signs of gross wear. Fine wear is what I'm most interested in knowing about, but it's often too difficult to evaluate by eye. For example, how would you evaluate a slight change in the curvature of a parabolic diamond? I'm certain that Stanton had a method of optically determining this and a scanning electron beam microscope to do it with. I would think that the best way would be with optical comparison, comparing the test subject with a known perfect one in side-by-side views, and/or with a visible scale in the view.

I know what you mean about focusing: this is not "F32 work." Focusing the microscope is difficult, which is why we need a decent microscope stand with precise control. This is the opposite of the piece of junk supplied with the blue microscopes. I think that the blue microscopes, themselves, are decent enough to be tweaked into good ones for what we want to see. In order to do this, I think that they could use some hacking and an extra lens. Also a good blast of light.

[phonomac]

Hello everyone,
  In response to Richard's question a few posts ago about holding/positioning the stylus relative to the microscope, I plan to use a photographic macro focusing rail unit, which allows controlled movement in X and Y axes, as per this eBay listing http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Macro-Focusing-Rail-Slider-4-Way-D-SLR-DC-/370501434286?pt=UK_Tripods_Monopods&hash=item56439b3bae

  The weak link in my plan so far is the pathetic stand that came with my USB microscope, so that's on the list of workshop projects to be put right. But the macro rail will allow fine control of stylus position once the microscope is properly mounted.

regards

Angus

[richard]

Angus,

What microscope are you using?

I like the rail unit that you linked to. I wonder if a similar device made as a microscope accessory would be as good or better.

[Eustacius]

Stupid comments from the back row:

Why don't you put the microscope on the rail?

...And construct a simple lightbox for the stylus. ...With perhaps a minute black screen to move around for contrast.

This is a light box:



I am amazed how good Hans' pictures are, with a hand held microscope...

[richard]

Hans,

Your third from last picture, the darker one with the single spec of dust, is the best view so far. In this one, we can see what we're looking for: the rounding of the tip. If we can get this bigger and a bit clearer, we'll have a useful tool.

Good work!

[Wil de Vrede]

Yeah, you're right. It's some work, but fun to see and do!
These pics are straight of the microscope, maybe with some Photoshop work they improve somewhat?
Try this tonight...
Have some new ones too...