MoFi UltraDeck / StudioDeck Owners and those interested

Angsty said:
If you have a cheap, toss-in interconnect hanging around, try swapping it with the Morrow and see if that matters. Those cheap cables likely have a grounded shield in them.

If the problem goes away, you’ll know the problem could be a lack of a draining shield in the Morrows, which are also known to be high capacitance cables. It’s a no cost spaghetti-on-the-wall trial
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A no cost what 🤣
 
renpar61 said:
not even touching the table, just touching the record, going in and getting out
so it's not even building up during play, it happens also when putting the record on , before it even touches the spindle
I use MoFi antistatic sleeves on most of my records as well

and I did try a mat, just to see if it made a difference, and it didn't
Click to expand...
I believe you because I have the same problem (see also post a couple pages ago). Everyone is really over thinking this. It's static electricity because it is electricity at rest - i.e. it is static. Static electricity will build up on any insulator, including Delrin which is just a trade mark for a particular type of plastic that is particularly dense and machines well. Since it's on an insulator it will not go anywhere until you take the effort to bleed it off. The table is already earthed (but probably only the motor), signal cables should only be connected to the cartridge, and the ground wire probably only connects to the arm. Nothing grounds the platter - nothing can, it's an insulator. Many years ago I used to do ESD sweeps of a factory floor that used some very sensitive devices, and I can say from experience the darnedest things will build up a charge if there is no where it can go. If I still had access to that equipment I could measure how much of a charge is being created.

I've been doing this for the past 2-3 weeks and it has been working well. Get a ground strap for your carbon fiber brush and ground that to earth ground (the big round plug in a US outlet). Don't have a carbon fiber brush? You should, so get one. They're cheap and quite effective at wiping dust, lint, and bits of fluff off before playback. I found a strap and ground plug on Amazon for about $10. The carbon makes the brush conductive, so if you ground the brush any surface charge it sweeps across will go where it needs to go and be neutralized. Clean the record as usual before playing, it will not have static on it when done. When I notice static building on the platter, brush off the platter (which is probably not a bad idea anyway). Quick, easy, and effective.

Eventually I will mod this to tap into a nub on the handle that is specifically intended for grounding (on the right). Good luck!

IMG_20240312_212328.jpg
 
Betelgeuse said:
I believe you because I have the same problem (see also post a couple pages ago). Everyone is really over thinking this. It's static electricity because it is electricity at rest - i.e. it is static. Static electricity will build up on any insulator, including Delrin which is just a trade mark for a particular type of plastic that is particularly dense and machines well. Since it's on an insulator it will not go anywhere until you take the effort to bleed it off. The table is already earthed (but probably only the motor), signal cables should only be connected to the cartridge, and the ground wire probably only connects to the arm. Nothing grounds the platter - nothing can, it's an insulator. Many years ago I used to do ESD sweeps of a factory floor that used some very sensitive devices, and I can say from experience the darnedest things will build up a charge if there is no where it can go. If I still had access to that equipment I could measure how much of a charge is being created.

I've been doing this for the past 2-3 weeks and it has been working well. Get a ground strap for your carbon fiber brush and ground that to earth ground (the big round plug in a US outlet). Don't have a carbon fiber brush? You should, so get one. They're cheap and quite effective at wiping dust, lint, and bits of fluff off before playback. I found a strap and ground plug on Amazon for about $10. The carbon makes the brush conductive, so if you ground the brush any surface charge it sweeps across will go where it needs to go and be neutralized. Clean the record as usual before playing, it will not have static on it when done. When I notice static building on the platter, brush off the platter (which is probably not a bad idea anyway). Quick, easy, and effective.

Eventually I will mod this to tap into a nub on the handle that is specifically intended for grounding (on the right). Good luck!

View attachment 197608
Click to expand...
DIY Thunderon, I like it.
 
Lee Newman said:
I mean, I think it’s a fugly table. I would for sure buy a vpi or a vetere before I would it. The headshell is neat though. I mostly just posted it because it’s the first thing I’ve seen in depth and hands on.
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Actually I kind of like it, but you do have a point. At that price point it has some stiff competition so it better be good! I seriously considered a used VPI before I found the Studiodeck sale. A Scout Master remains my "dream" table.
 
Mentioning the brush gives me an idea that doesn’t require wiring. I remember seeing a video ages ago about how to use a carbon fiber brush for antistatic purposes. The video said to start the brushing of the record from the spindle out to the edge of the record. I never tried it (and have never really had this much static build up either) because I have a nice plastic spindle on the u-turn

Couldn’t hurt anyhow.
 
renpar61 said:
not even touching the table, just touching the record, going in and getting out
so it's not even building up during play, it happens also when putting the record on , before it even touches the spindle
I use MoFi antistatic sleeves on most of my records as well

and I did try a mat, just to see if it made a difference, and it didn't
Click to expand...
Hi, this is quite unusual to have so much static around. I haven’t had any issues with static electricity pops and crackles making it through to the amp from my Ultadeck, but I’ve often noticed that records build up quite a charge just being in their sleeves - especially brand new from the factory, but also older discs that have been sitting on the shelf for a while.
I swear by an old anti-static gun I have. It was made by Ortofon back in the day but still works. A quick zap each side before playing really eliminates static. I notice that another brand called Zerostat is still available (although upstream @kvetcha says he ditched his in favour of the Thunderon brush). This guy has made an interesting video on his experience. The guns aren’t cheap but may be worth it if you’re having these extreme issues?
 
Betelgeuse said:
I believe you because I have the same problem (see also post a couple pages ago). Everyone is really over thinking this. It's static electricity because it is electricity at rest - i.e. it is static. Static electricity will build up on any insulator, including Delrin which is just a trade mark for a particular type of plastic that is particularly dense and machines well. Since it's on an insulator it will not go anywhere until you take the effort to bleed it off. The table is already earthed (but probably only the motor), signal cables should only be connected to the cartridge, and the ground wire probably only connects to the arm. Nothing grounds the platter - nothing can, it's an insulator. Many years ago I used to do ESD sweeps of a factory floor that used some very sensitive devices, and I can say from experience the darnedest things will build up a charge if there is no where it can go. If I still had access to that equipment I could measure how much of a charge is being created.

I've been doing this for the past 2-3 weeks and it has been working well. Get a ground strap for your carbon fiber brush and ground that to earth ground (the big round plug in a US outlet). Don't have a carbon fiber brush? You should, so get one. They're cheap and quite effective at wiping dust, lint, and bits of fluff off before playback. I found a strap and ground plug on Amazon for about $10. The carbon makes the brush conductive, so if you ground the brush any surface charge it sweeps across will go where it needs to go and be neutralized. Clean the record as usual before playing, it will not have static on it when done. When I notice static building on the platter, brush off the platter (which is probably not a bad idea anyway). Quick, easy, and effective.

Eventually I will mod this to tap into a nub on the handle that is specifically intended for grounding (on the right). Good luck!

View attachment 197608
Click to expand...
I like the strap/ground , you said it came from Amazon?
 
Angsty said:
I don’t know… six large for a MoFi. Definitely in Luxman and VPI Classic/Prime territory there.
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I would absolutely love to hear it. I don't know if I'd invest in it, but I'd put it in the demo mix.

kvetcha said:
Strange. Do you use a power conditioner for your system? Also, just to confirm, you're not using any sort of platter mat?
Click to expand...
Power conditioner, yes. Platter mat, no.
 
renpar61 said:
not even touching the table, just touching the record, going in and getting out
so it's not even building up during play, it happens also when putting the record on , before it even touches the spindle
I use MoFi antistatic sleeves on most of my records as well

and I did try a mat, just to see if it made a difference, and it didn't
Click to expand...
I should add that wet washing records before sleeving them is also a good idea. And so is a humidifier during the dry season.
 
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