[ARC5] Connectors and contact cleaners

[Mike Everette via ARC5]

Be really careful when choosing contact cleaners.  Even some which claim to be plastic-safe, really are not safe on ALL plastics and may craze or crystallize ABS or even some kinds of bakelite.  Some which are safe on harder plastics will soften or even melt styrene plastic.

I've had direct experience with this and it ain't no fun.  Where I work, some of the guys used to spray the "system cable" connectors on Motorola Syntor-X9000 radios.  These sort-of-Jones-looking connectors have something like 40 pins more-or-less, and are soldered to one of the main boards in the radio.  Changing one takes quite a bit of time in order to avoid damaging that board.  

Garden-variety cleaners like Jiffy Bath (one of the biggest offenders) would "eat up" these things... make the plastic body crumble when the cable was plugged in and the retainer tightened down.  Replace the connector!

We tested numerous cleaners, and the only thing we found to be absolutely safe on the job was "Termi-Kleen CS" sold by Dyna Systems, in Texas.  It ain't cheap; but neither were the connectors ($72 each in the 90s).  Think of it; some of the connectors on WW2 gear are near unobtanium now.  When we started using that cleaner, our requirement for replacement connectors dropped to near zero.  We had been using 10 or so a month, sometimes more than that.

Moral of the story:  When in doubt, TEST FIRST on a sample, and give it maybe 24 hours to see what happens.  Assume NOTHING.  Remember:  ASSUME = make an ASS outta U and ME.

I have no stock in Dyna Systems.  I just know their stuff works.

73

Mike
WA4DLF