ATML150 Replacement stylus?+ Stylast issue

[Jeffrey Dunnam]

I need a replacement stylus for my Audio Technica ATML 150. Does anyone
here know where I could order one. The AT website was helpful as they
had a replacement stylus reference guide, but I couldn't see to get to a
page to order one. They may, of course, no longer manufacture them.

The Stylast issue is that I think that my use of Stylast or their stylus
cleaner is responsible for the stylus detaching. The cantilever is fine,
but stylus appears to be just ..gone. Has this happened to others?

One contributing factor may be that my stereo system is no in a finished
out attic so the heat there may have also played a role.

If Stylast is the culprit, what is the safest way to clean a stylus
these days? I seen the sort "gel" like substance that supposedly uses
only the VTF to clean with. Does this work well?

Thanks in advance

[Norman Schwartz]

"Jeffrey Dunnam" <chefj...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:LtNpa.69660$gK.1...@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att.net...

> If Stylast is the culprit, what is the safest way to clean a stylus
> these days? I seen the sort "gel" like substance that supposedly uses
> only the VTF to clean with. Does this work well?
>

I use an inexpensive artist's type brush (dry) to clean away accumulated
dust balls and when I can see it becomes necessary I moisten the brush with
100% iso-propyl alcohol (2-propanol) to remove any material which does not
appear to come off using the dry brush. Of course, as always noted, one
always moves the brush in a straight line starting at the rear of the
cartridge body heading towards the front. I do my best to avoid touching or
moistening the cantilever itself. Every so often I remove the headshell and
examine the stylus under bright (reflected) light with the aid of a
microscope fitted with a 10X objective or magnifying glass. If you happen to
be using a removable headshell, which easily maintains its alignment after
being removed and replaced, that is the best way to go. I use the same
solvent on a cotton puff to clean vinyl surfaces before transferring to CD-R
and to remove "stubborn" matter that does not come off LP surfaces using a
dry "Decca" type record and/or artist's brush. I have never damaged any
stylus of a wide variety of cartridges or LPs in at least 30 years of this
practice.