[ARC5] WHINK and crystals.

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 1 Aug 2013 at 22:49, hwhall at compuserve.com wrote:

> 
> Hi,
> Have you tried moving other crystals, perhaps even further in frequency? I'm wondering how far 
> outside of a ham band I could buy a crystal and have a reasonable chance of successfully moving 
> into a ham band. Is a half megahertz or even a megahertz out of the question, do you 
think?

No. I have moved crystals a megahertz into a ham band and have had them work very well.

However, as the Whink is used, it gets weaker, and will have to be renewed.

What often does happen is that the edges of the crystal get "rounded" and therefore, 
sometimes the activity will drop as you etch higher in frequency. When that happens, you 
have to grind the edges a bit to get the crystal back to a more active state.

Others here can tell you how to do that. I have not yet had to do it. So far, all of the crystals I 
have worked on have retained good activity.

There is another issue with even this weak HF (hydroflouric acid) that is in Whink that you 
must keep in mind: the stuff evaporates.

Therefore, you must keep your container with the acid and the crystal in it covered with 
something impervious. Saran Wrap or equivalent works pretty well.

If you leave it in an uncovered container, as it evaporates, it can make anyone in the vicinity 
of it ill. One of the symptoms will be that your sinuses will get very sore.

(Don't ask me how I know this.)

Ken W7EKB