Mylar tape on Teres has lots of static.

Richard,
Agree we should all routinely ground ourselves at the tonearm base whenever we approach the table. A surprise zzZZZAP! near the armwand or cartridge could produce a costly involuntary jerk (and yes, that's just what Paul calls me!).

Hi Chris,
FWIW, grounding our bearing has little effect on static buildup on the belt we use. I attribute this to the non-conductivity of our platter, belt and motor capstan, which electrically isolates the belt from paths to ground. YMMV with other materials.

As mentioned, reducing static on this belt actually impairs its performance, so it's not a goal worth pursuing. Better just to keep it dust-free, as Dan_Ed and Palasr described. Again, YMMV with other materials.

Doug, with acrylic platters grounding the platter makes a big difference. With the wood platters it does not matter as much. I think that the reason is simply that wood builds up a lot less static. But even in the case of a wood platter grounding the bearing helps reduce static.

Thanks for your help guys.
I am thinking that the static is caused by the belt slipping on the motor pulley at start up. Considering the weight and size of the platter in comparison to the motor pulley, I doubt that static can be avoided
The static doesn't really bother me as long as it is not harmful. I can see the need for cleaning though, since I was surprised by the amount of dust and other foreign debris on the platter and belt
One question though is how to ground the bearing in the 340?.
Doug, Thanks for the link. I will look at it soon and try the new belt config.
Again, thanks guys

I am thinking that the static is caused by the belt slipping on the motor pulley at start up.

Start your platter manually with a finger push, not by pushing the motor's "On" button. Less belt slippage and wear, less strain on the motor, more fun showing off one of the nifty features of Chris's controller. :-)

Don't stop the platter manually though. That increases belt slippage/wear and may jar the motor position. Push the "Off" button and let the platter coast down.

Thanks Doug. This has been my normal procedure. I started it once with the switch and could tell there was a strain.