[Boatanchors] WESTERN ELECTRIC 276k MERCURY OCTAL RELAY

[Bob Kulow]

>Hello Bob & Crew,
>Bob, where did you find the specs on the WE 276K Relay?

Years ago, I was given a pretty poor copy of the Western Electric 
spec for mercury relays.  It comes in handy now & then.

As an additional bit of information, the 276-type relays uses the 
"218A sealed contact" which is glass-enclosed and pressurized with 
hydrogen to 250 PSI.  The fixed contacts are "bar-type" 
platinum.  The moving contact is made from "a piece of oval 
platinum-nickel alloy wire that is formed into a T shape".

To illustrate the reliability of these relays, the AT&T microwave 
office I worked in many years ago had about 100 mercury relays that 
constantly switched at a 31 cycle rate, day in and day out, for years 
with NO failures.

73
Bob WA2UEH