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4.5
I'd love to give this 5 stars...it's just one issue that I'm kind of surprised that not more people have brought up...and that's the batteries. It calls for 2x1.5v AG12 batteries. OK...so I hop on over to my local CVS to buy these things...and they don't exist. That's because they go by 301/386 with manufacturers like Duracell. Took me a while to figure that one out!Once I took the leap of faith that I was buying the correct batteries, I plopped them in and waited for the "0.00" to show up as instructed - and all I got was a blue screen. No numbers of any kind. Popped them back out and back in and then the 0.00 showed up. No big deal. (By the way, the instructions will call for a magnifying glass. Tiny).You also get a small 5g weight to use with calibration. Mine was bouncing between 5.01 and 5.02. Close enough for rock n roll!At the end of the day - and this is the most important thing - it did solve my problem with a new turntable I purchased. I've been getting distorted/garbled music since day one. Well, that's because the tonearm was at 2.55g and should have been at 1.75g. Measured, fixed, and clear, great music!So, ultimately, this little item easily fixed what could have been a huge hassle. Very happy with the results. Just good luck on the batteries!Edit: I just thought I'd measure again since it's been a few days to see if things are still where they should be. I hit the power button and just got the blank, blue screen again. And it won't turn off. So you have to take the batteries out and start over. Now one of the batteries rolled off somewhere and I can't find it! Anyway, there are other brands. I'd maybe consider them. This one is a pain...changed to 3 stars from 4.If you're looking at this, you know exactly what it is, and what it does. It's a one-trick pony, and measures the force of the cart on the record (or VTF, if you prefer).This it does very well. Also included is a small weight to use for zeroing out. There are three modes for different tracking settings (which I didn't use, as I was only using it for grams). Two little batteries which aren't described in the documentation, nor are you told how to install them.The documentation is around four lines. But really, aside from the battery installation, that's all you need with this critter. Others sell them up into the 100's of dollars; this one does the trick for under fifteen.Most people probably don't need to measure tracking force that often, so I can't see spending $100+ on a force scale when this one works just fine. I checked accuracy using the included weight and mine was dead-on accurate. Then checked my tracking force and found it right in the range I expected - I had set it to 1.5 grams on the counterweight and the scale measured 1.47 grams. Counterweight markings are never precisely accurate (that's why you get a force scale) so that was a completely expected result, and furthered my confidence in this scale. I was then able to fine tune the force to exactly 1.5 grams.There are really no downsides to this scale that I can see. It does its job well for a great price.This unit works perfectly for my intended purpose, that is to measure needle tracking force on my turntable. I have another small scale for this job and the weight part works great, but it is too thick at the measuring surface for the need. The thicker scale doesn't allow the tone arm to sit level as it would on a record. Because of this the tone arm is elevated and the reading is inaccurate. Using my old scale and setting the tracking force to 1 gram and then weighing with this scale I found the error to be .2 grams. To be 100% honest that really isn't the end of the world but for $11 or so you won't have that problem with this scale.It's cheap plastic but for the price it does work very well for its intended purpose. Instructions on how to insert the batteries would have been nice. For those who don't wont to go thru the trial and error routine both batteries on mine were inserted with the small button side facing down into the battery well where you could read the writing on the back of the battery. Not sure if that's right side up or upside down but both batteries go in the same direction.At first, I had my doubts about the accuracy of a cheaper scale. Upon receiving it, the scale powered on and worked, with no damages. I decided to test the scale with a few brand new coins for accuracy. The two new pennies weigh in at 2.49 grams and 2.50 grams; spot on! Then I tested with a 2016 nickel coin and got 5.00 grams; again, spot on! Now I am ready to use it for my brand new Marantz TT-15S1 turntable and got the cartridge stylus force down to exactly 2.21 grams, well within manufacture's recommendation. Great product, but just make sure to test it before actually using it to measure tracking force.Excellent, accurate stylus force gauge. I had an older one and its been working great now for a few years, expect the same from this one as it seems to be identical.Simple to use stylus scale - documentation was pathetic, however - but didn't really need much. Came with a a little 5g (?) weight to tare /measure the scale. Has helped more than the scale I used to test the kids' pinebox derby racers :) Don't know why you'd need to spend more unless your audiophile neurosis must absolutely know if you're .02 g off....? Mine was satisfied to know that I was about where others were at with the same cartridge after balancing/anti-skate dials were sorted.Buen producto la relación precio y producto es correcta es hecha 100% de plastico...funciona bastante bien...(Si sabes calibrar de manera tradicional/normal tu tornamesa poniendo el brazo flotando y luego al peso que necesite tu aguja no habria problema alguno ya que pesaba mi aguja y siempre salia correcto el peso) pero si quieres una exactitud más fiel para estar seguro de que todo esté en orden creo que esta es la opcion para ti....Muy buen dispositivo; simple; permite aplicar los gramos de fuerza sobre los vinilos de manera más acertada.Solo de 0 a 5 gramos. El peso típico es de 1.5 a 3 gramos, así que es muy buen dispositivo para el ajuste; trae un peso de calibración de 5 gramos.Muy pobre calidad, plásticos y metales muy endebles, articulo chino de mala calidad.Don't waste your time. First, it didn't come with batteries as stated, and they were difficult to find. Second, I tried to calibrate it with the 5 g weight provided and the menu only allows you to calibrate to 10 - 100 g weights. So now I can't calibrate it properly. Complete waste of time and money.Buen producto para calibrar el brazo de mis tornamesas.
