Electronic stylus force gauge question


I recently bought my first electronic stylus force gauge. It's a generic type made in China, but looks and feels a surprisingly decent quality. It was purchased from Mehran at SoraSound for those who happen to have it.

I noticed that when I try to measure the VTF, the gauge begins to display a minus reading of -0.01-03 g as I'm lowering the tonearm to place the stylus on the black dot. It then displays a steady reading once the stylus is placed on the dot, which appears to be accurate by comparing with the Shure gauge I used in the past.

I make sure that the platter is secured so I'm not quite sure why the gauge displays the minus reading before the stylus lands in the measuring spot.

Has anyone else experienced this with their electronic gauge? I realize the minus value is arguably negligible, and the issue might be of no practical significance, but I'm trying to get my Delos to track as close to 1.75 as possible so I wonder whether I need to adjust for the minus value. I'm also curious why this is happening.

actusreus
Stringreen,
It's evident from several recent threads that Actusreus is not yet comfortable with trusting his ears and prefers the security of measurements, even measurements that don't necessarily correlate to optimal sonics. If he believes that every Lyra is so free of sample deviations that precisely 1.75g of downforce is optimal, well, Jonathon Carr himself would tell him otherwise but we all have our own way of enjoying this silly hobby. It certainly won't do any harm to play at that downforce. ;-)

Actusreus,
I tried one of those scales and it was strongly affected by magnetics, so much so that I regard it as unfit for the purpose for which it is sold. Additionally, ANY scale that resolves to .01g or better will respond to the slightest changes in air currents. I can alter the reading on my scale (different brand, same resolution) by waving my hand over it. Try moving verrrrrry slowly... and hold your breath. Seriously.

You don't need a $250 scale, unless you insist on one with an audiophile logo. My My-Weigh MX-50 cost <$99. With the addition of a DIY weighing step it works just fine, certainly far better than the one you originally described.
Pradeep,

A scale that resolves to .1g is okay. If it displays 1.7 then you're somewhere between 1.65000 and 1.74999... That's close enough to begin tweaking by ear. My scale resolves to .01g but I rarely pay attention to the second digit.
One definitely needs to adjust by ear after initial setup. The value in having an accurate scale is one knowing your in the ballpark and two being able to return to a specific weight after removing a particular cartridge. If you don't change carts very often then it's not as necessary. I only have one arm now and several carts so once I have a certain cart dialed in I note the weight I had it at last for next time. This saves time dialing it in latter.
Definitely have had the same experience with those scales. For me, it was never the same reading twice. Total rip off. I use the Shure with my Delos and for me 1.75 (assuming the Shure is accurate) tracks and sounds the best.
I used the less than $15 pocket scale from ebay. Very accurate. Nickel weighs out to 5.00g and my audio shop had a 5.01g weight for calibrating and the scale was dead on. Has a tare button and does US / metric. Also comes with an extra battery and case.

pocket scale - no affiliation