Reading that damn speed strobe disc

What you need, in order to read a strobe disc, is a light source that is flickering to the 60 hz frequency of the power line. I don't know what kind of bulb you have in your light source, but, you should try a different kind of light. Incandescent bulbs do flicker enough to make the strobe markings visible (the image will look a bit hazy, but, you should see a faint pattern of still or slowly rotating lines. Flourescent bulbs tend to be better at bringing out the pattern. A hard time seeing the pattern is more an issue of lighting than problems with the strobe disc itself.

You could try a blue LED night light plugged into an extension cord. I have a blue and a white one and the blue is so much easier to see for some reason on my cream colored disc with black marks. Doing it at night with all other lights out is also a big help.

One word: KAB

Flourescent light or any multi cell LED light won't work.
You need single-source light. If you're using those modern energy saving lights, replace them for the time being with regular bulb light.
The strobe also should have a certain dgree of glare so the printed out versions less likely will show you anything.
Timing light from Autozone is available to loan for free(loan a tool program when you first purchase it for the full price and than return with all money back) may do the trick where the blinking frequency is fully adjustable.