Stylus force digital scales

folkfreak, That's very interesting and a bit disconcerting.  Steel can contain some low concentration of iron, so that may be the problem. I will check the weigh pan of my digital scale with an actual magnet, to see if the magnet "likes" the weigh pan at all.  FWIW, the weigh pan on my digital scale is white-ish in color and looks like it may be ceramic, not metal at all, which I hope is the case.

@lewm it may not be an issue of interaction with the pan but an effect upon the mechanism itself, I guess you might know by seeing if bringing the cartridge close to a previously loaded pan reduced the measured weight?

The very expensive Rega scale does its job nicely and quickly. It always tares itself before weighting. The weight pan is a little dish so the actual measurement level is very close to record´s surface. Highly recommended for all vinyl lovers. Many thanks Folkfreak :)

VTF only changes when you hit a warp because of inertia - the same reason you feel more force (and then less force) when driving over a bump in the road. It has nothing to do with the angle of the tonearm. The only change in the vertical force vector is as the stylus is raised vertically is due to the change in gravitational force as you move [mm to cm] further away from the center of gravity, and therefore the force of gravity changes. This is why it's called "Vertical" tracking force - vertical states the direction of the force vector.

@nrenter wrote The only change in the vertical force vector is as the stylus is raised vertically is due to the change in gravitational force as you move [mm to cm] further away from the center of gravity, and therefore the force of gravity changes. This is why it's called "Vertical" tracking force - vertical states the direction of the force vector.

This statement is incorrect and you gave the reason in the body of your response. The force of gravity is at its greatest when perpendicular to the earth's surface (you call it vertical).  With a pivoted tonearm, the cartridge travels in an arc and within that arc, there can only be one position in which the stylus tip is perpendicular to the playing surface and it is in this position in which the force of gravity is at it's maximum.  Any deviation from perpendicular will result in a less gravitational force. 

This is the same rationale as why weigh scales must be place on a flat surface to read accurately, otherwise the weight will not be transferred perpendicular to the earth's surface.