[ARC5] Etching Crystals and WHINK Revisited - contact resistance.

[Kenneth G. Gordon]

On 4 Nov 2014 at 18:08, WA5CAB--- via ARC5 wrote:

> Over the last 30-40 years, I've sold a lot of crystals in FT-243 holders, 
> mostly for either BC-611 or BC-659.  My experience has been that about 85% work
> OK.  5% work but have noticably lower activity than most.  These may be/have
> been candidates for plate cleaning.  The remaining 10% are dead.  100% of these
> dead ones have one or sometimes both pigtails broken off of the brass contact
> plate.  These are all repairable with a matching plate from a donor holder. 
> Unfortunately, the different manufacturers used various size/shape plates and
> for the most part, only the same size/shape of plate with work in the crystal
> you are attempting to repair.

Yes. This has begun showing up in the 100 or so crystals I have here. 

I HAVE been able to make a couple of the copper-plates-with-tail out of very 
thin "flashing copper" which is used in art work. I can't remember what the 
artistic process is called, but you use an orange-wood stick and a mold to 
"bend" the very thin copper into the mold to make a sort of 3-D artwork.

However, cutting the pigtail coppers out with a scissors is very time 
consuming and I only get about 50% of them to really fit well.

> FT-241's are exhibiting a different problem.

Yes. And in addition, I have yet to find an FT-241 which can be moved at all.

Ken W7EKB