Checking Anti-Skate?

1. See the thornes white paper on antiskating. The correct value is 14% of the tracking force.

or

2. Use the Wally tractor method. This equates to approximately 12% of tracking force.

Hope this helps, both methods are valid and work.

Another method is to listen for the best soundstage. Start with too little and work your way up. When you get enough antiskate, the image will "bloom" noticeably.

Skating force depends on a whole lot of things...where you are on the record...groove modulation...vertical tracking force, and more. You can only set it for best overall results. (That's why linear tracking arms were invented).

Shure put out a test record specifically designed for testing phono pickup performance. Beg, borrow or steal the record, or buy it if it is still made, and use it to optimize all variables of pickup installation.

In my experience the main benefit of antiskating force is to permit the pickup to track at a lower downforce. If you increase the downforce a bit most good pickups will track OK without any antiskating, but that isn't good for the record. When I first got into this hobby good pickups typically used 5 to 6 grams of downforce, and few arms had any provision for antiskating.

Sidssp, The Wally tool IS the tool I was looking for. I can confirm every adjustment on this table except for anti-skate.
Great info, Thanks.

Onhwy61, The laser level was something I came up with while remodeling my house. I purchased the tool to assist throughout the remodeling process. It's a very cool tool. The house is very cool also. Before I purchased it, it was featured on a television show on HGTV. The name of the show was "This Old Piece Of Shit". But, it's gettin' there.

Eldartford, 5-6 grams of stylus pressure? Was that one of those turntables with the crank on the side?

And also, I recognize the Shure test disc that you suggested. In fact, I think I know of someone who still has it. I forgot all about it. You know his phone will be ringin'.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, I really do appreciate it. Ed.

5 grams was the recommended downforce for the GE pickup (Monophonic) that was commonly used in the 1950's. Other pickups were similar. 5 grams was easy to set because a US Nickle coin is 5 grams, exactly. You could calibrate your finger with the coin and then put the pickup on the finger.