SAT III Problems and Questions

[David Love]

I started using an SAT III about a year ago.  I find it to be a useful tool, 
certainly not an ear substitute, but useful.  I always take new FAC readings 
for each piano and I am confident that they are taken accurately.  Yet I 
often find that as I progress through the piano the scale that the machine 
calculates from those readings is off.  When there is a problem it is most 
often noticeable in the 4th and 5th octaves (or going down in the bass). The 
octaves in this section are invariably too wide and not just by a little 
bit--clearly objectionable.  For example, today I tuned a Steinway L recent
model.  When I got to this problem section I set the pitch initially by the 
ETD and corrected to the flat side by ear.  Oddly, when I got to the sixth 
octave, the problem seemed to correct itself, i.e. the machine's scaling was 
now correct.  This implies, of course, that had I tuned strictly by the 
machine, the 4th and fifth octaves would have been calculated too wide and 
the 6th octave too narrow.  What gives?  Is it possible that there is a 
problem with this machine?  Is this sort of anomaly a regular occurrence?

One more question.  When one alters the DOB on a page, does that alteration 
stay on that page even if you save a new FAC to that page? Or, when you save 
a new FAC reading to that page does it default back to its original setting?

Any input is appreciated.

David Love
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