08-30-2009, 06:10 PM
The Magic Brain
All of the plastic wires had hardened and cracked over the years. I replaced all of them and the bundled interconnect to the chassis. The split spring connectors must have been really nice at first. Most were not usable as designed but did provide an nice mounting point once the old solder was cleaned. I managed to break off two lugs and fortunately enough was left to connect and solder new wire. Rather than tugging at the wire when the solder melts its a much better idea to clip the wire first and remove the left over piece once the solder is cleaned away.
A few out of spec resistors were replaced but they were mostly good. All of the paper caps were replaced. I haven't paid much attention to the low capacitance mica caps since they read the same as the replacements. Both read high using the cheap multimeter I've got. I've notice that the the old paper caps almost always read higher than spec. Not sure why the new and old micas would do that unless it's a systematic fault with the meter.
More frustration
I'm moving on to the chassis and I'm out of 0.5 mf caps and I need to replace some out of spec resistors. Back to order more. Will it ever just slow down. I feel like the shipping and handling is going to eat me alive unless I can become proactive enough to know what I may need in the future.
Transformer wires
I'm not sure if I like what I see. All of the wiring is tucked away nicely and they lay on top of one another. The old fabric is looking old. How far can someone go into an old transformer and replace the wiring. 20- gauge OK?
Desoldering
Lots of ways to do it. I've been brushing it away. Vacuum would be nice but I'm afraid any of the fancier guns or stations would be choked by the massive blobs on most of the terminals.
Fuses
There are none. I'm guessing 1 amp is good enough. Not sure if it should be before or after the transformer.
All of the plastic wires had hardened and cracked over the years. I replaced all of them and the bundled interconnect to the chassis. The split spring connectors must have been really nice at first. Most were not usable as designed but did provide an nice mounting point once the old solder was cleaned. I managed to break off two lugs and fortunately enough was left to connect and solder new wire. Rather than tugging at the wire when the solder melts its a much better idea to clip the wire first and remove the left over piece once the solder is cleaned away.
A few out of spec resistors were replaced but they were mostly good. All of the paper caps were replaced. I haven't paid much attention to the low capacitance mica caps since they read the same as the replacements. Both read high using the cheap multimeter I've got. I've notice that the the old paper caps almost always read higher than spec. Not sure why the new and old micas would do that unless it's a systematic fault with the meter.
More frustration
I'm moving on to the chassis and I'm out of 0.5 mf caps and I need to replace some out of spec resistors. Back to order more. Will it ever just slow down. I feel like the shipping and handling is going to eat me alive unless I can become proactive enough to know what I may need in the future.
Transformer wires
I'm not sure if I like what I see. All of the wiring is tucked away nicely and they lay on top of one another. The old fabric is looking old. How far can someone go into an old transformer and replace the wiring. 20- gauge OK?
Desoldering
Lots of ways to do it. I've been brushing it away. Vacuum would be nice but I'm afraid any of the fancier guns or stations would be choked by the massive blobs on most of the terminals.
Fuses
There are none. I'm guessing 1 amp is good enough. Not sure if it should be before or after the transformer.
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