Vintage Tube Radio Can Capacitor Question

 
User avatar
mozz
Member
Posts: 1351
Joined: Mon. Sep. 17, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Wayne county PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 1982 AA-130 Steam

Post by mozz » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 1:52 pm

Unless they are out of tolerance 20%, don't replace them. You change too much I hope you have equipment to do a alignment. Soldering just takes practice.

 
User avatar
warminmn
Member
Posts: 8110
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 3:28 pm

Thanks Mozz. I hadnt thought of that, even though I had read it somewhere. I'll have to read up on how to test them first.

 
User avatar
mozz
Member
Posts: 1351
Joined: Mon. Sep. 17, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Wayne county PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 1982 AA-130 Steam

Post by mozz » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 4:09 pm

You should be able to pick up a digital meter fairly cheap, either Radio shack, used,or Harbor freight. Do you buy the caps at Digikey or Mouser? They have a great selection of resistors too. Don't know how to tell the wattage of the dogbones but sure there is some info on the web. Carbon composition resistors usually go high in old age. Also depends where they are in the circuit of how critical the value has to be.


 
User avatar
skip
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue. Dec. 24, 2013 2:19 pm
Location: Kansas
Baseburners & Antiques: Favorite 416A Baseburner , Columbian Joy A2 Baseburner Sterling Base Heater All-Fuel K-6
Coal Size/Type: Hard Coal, Nut
Other Heating: Pro-Pain

Post by skip » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 4:17 pm

Ok looks like everything on the 8mf e-cap goes to the positive side. The wires you highlighted in blue look to go to the two IF transformers. So it simply looks like the neg goes to the chassis and all other leads go to the pos of the cap.

Agree with mozz, 20% tolerance is the limit. For me I usually just replace them since resistors are cheap and I am in there anyway. But if you leave them in, the radio should play just fine. Yeap get a cheap volt/ohm meter. It is good practice to at least lift one leg of the resistor to measuer the ohms across it. This way there should not be any influence on the meter reading from other components within the circuit.

 
User avatar
warminmn
Member
Posts: 8110
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 5:28 pm

Thanks guys!

So on the size 16 cap, is the one side that goes to speakers pos and the other side neg? I just want to make sure and its a good thing I asked to begin with. I can wire an old car from scratch and do alright on house wiring, but this is a whole new ballgame. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.

Ive been ordering from Antique Electric supply. I was on Mousers site but that confuses me with the amount of stuff they have and all the catagories. I did get some at Radio Shack too. I hope they don't close but it doesnt look good.

 
User avatar
skip
Member
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue. Dec. 24, 2013 2:19 pm
Location: Kansas
Baseburners & Antiques: Favorite 416A Baseburner , Columbian Joy A2 Baseburner Sterling Base Heater All-Fuel K-6
Coal Size/Type: Hard Coal, Nut
Other Heating: Pro-Pain

Post by skip » Fri. Jan. 16, 2015 9:11 pm

That looks right in the pictures. It looks like the red side goes to the filament of the 80 tube and to the speaker. That would be considered the pos side.

I have used Antique Electric Supply, Radio Shack, Radio Daze, Just Radios, and Mousers to name a few. Each have good things about them, never hurts to shop around, never had any problem with any of them.

Post Reply

Return to “Technology”