• Replacing Electrolytics

    From Cursitor Doom@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jul 23 17:34:45 2024
    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From John Robertson@21:1/5 to Cursitor Doom on Wed Jul 24 13:03:51 2024
    On 2024/07/23 9:34 a.m., Cursitor Doom wrote:
    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    You want to check out https://www.justradios.com/

    A reliable supplier of radial and axial lead caps for tube equipment!

    John :-#)#
    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Cursitor Doom@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 25 00:30:50 2024
    On Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:03:51 -0700, John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com>
    wrote:

    On 2024/07/23 9:34 a.m., Cursitor Doom wrote:
    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of
    clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    You want to check out https://www.justradios.com/

    A reliable supplier of radial and axial lead caps for tube equipment!

    John :-#)#

    They have some interesting parts and appear to offer a very good
    service, but I'd still be concerned about them sourcing - albeit
    without knowing - some dodgy Chinese crap. As I said, if it can happen
    to Mouser....

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From legg@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jul 25 08:09:19 2024
    On Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:34:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
    wrote:

    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of >clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    NOS electrolytics should be re-formed before re-use.

    This is a standard requirement for parts approaching end of
    shelf-life.

    RL

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Robertson@21:1/5 to Cursitor Doom on Thu Jul 25 15:15:03 2024
    On 2024/07/24 4:30 p.m., Cursitor Doom wrote:
    On Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:03:51 -0700, John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com>
    wrote:

    On 2024/07/23 9:34 a.m., Cursitor Doom wrote:
    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of
    clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    You want to check out https://www.justradios.com/

    A reliable supplier of radial and axial lead caps for tube equipment!

    John :-#)#

    They have some interesting parts and appear to offer a very good
    service, but I'd still be concerned about them sourcing - albeit
    without knowing - some dodgy Chinese crap. As I said, if it can happen
    to Mouser....

    Counterfeit parts exist. Hard to avoid being burned once in a while.
    Better to deal with a real Brick & Mortar business than buying on Amazon
    where companies last as long as it takes them to clear out their junk...

    Just Radios has provided us with caps for years and I can't think of any
    failed examples that were correctly installed. I am certain that if
    something they sold was not up to spec that they would replace it. What
    more can you ask for?

    John :-#)#

    --
    (Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
    John's Jukes Ltd.
    #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
    (604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
    www.flippers.com
    "Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Cursitor Doom@21:1/5 to legg on Fri Jul 26 08:54:56 2024
    On Thu, 25 Jul 2024 08:09:19 -0400, legg <legg@nospam.magma.ca> wrote:

    On Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:34:45 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
    wrote:

    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of >>clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old >>spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly >>there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in >>longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many >>cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!

    NOS electrolytics should be re-formed before re-use.

    This is a standard requirement for parts approaching end of
    shelf-life.

    RL

    Indeed, yes. Unfortunately nowadays I find myself forgetting to
    discharge them again before fitting! That had disastrous consquences
    recently with a Uher Stereo Report I was attempting to get back into
    service. :(

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Phil Hobbs@21:1/5 to Cursitor Doom on Mon Aug 5 19:11:16 2024
    On 2024-07-23 12:34, Cursitor Doom wrote:
    HI all,

    Electrolytics of all values tend to fall under suspicion when any
    vintage piece of equipment develops a fault. I'm just seeking a bit of clarification on a couple of points:

    1) Axial electros are getting really hard to find new and even my old
    spares bin doesn't have that many to choose from. I find increasingly
    there's no option but to replace axials with radials. This results in
    longer lead lengths than one would like, however. Is that likely to be
    a problem generally speaking (ignoring the issue of whether they can
    be accommodated on a board 'expecting' axials).

    A good axial can have remarkably low ESL, down to 5 nH per inch or so,
    compared with 20 nH/inch for wire. In boat anchors, you almost
    certainly don't care as much as in modern SMPS-powered boxes.

    2) Unused old caps ("NOS" stock). Is there any reason why one
    shouldn't use NOS electros for repairs? Assuming they can be reformed
    and pass muster with an ESR meter, of course?

    Yes, I know ideally you'd want to use brand new caps, but with so many
    cheap Chinese fakes around, I'm wondering if I'd be better off using
    NOS caps from unquestionably high-end manufacturers. Even Mouser's
    supply chain got infected with these a while ago!


    Good caps last basically forever at room temperature.

    Cheers

    Phil Hobbs


    --
    Dr Philip C D Hobbs
    Principal Consultant
    ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
    Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
    Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

    http://electrooptical.net
    http://hobbs-eo.com

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)