[Hallicrafters] Re: [Boatanchors] BBOD's are really reliable (sic)

[GBrown]

Jeff and the boatanchor members.
    First of all, if the cap is a black, red, green or a brown beauty,
replace it, no questions asked. If the cap is the bumble bee type, replace
it, no questions asked. If the cap is a paper/wax type, replace it, no
questions asked. What I am trying to express is the fact the caps GO BAD.
Age kills most types of capacitors. I do a leakage test first and here is
how, very easy. With an analog meter attached across the cap and a 500 mil
dc meter in series with the positive lead, apply a small amount of dc to the
cap while watching the meter. This can be done from a power supply hooked to
a variac. Keep bringing the voltage up, slowly and keep watching the meters.
If the volt meter deflects down or try's to and the current meter jumps up,
you have a leaky cap. I always test my caps at 20% above rated voltage. This
also holds true with NEW ones.
    As far as the old Eico tester your using, they work fine. If its close
to what its supposed to be, keep it. If its way out, throw it away. Another
way is to take a new one and compare it to the old one on your Eico.
Regards,
Gary...WZ1M
----- Original Message -----
From: "jeff" <jeffv at op.net>
To: "boatanchors list" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Cc: "Hallicrafters list" <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2005 11:57 AM
Subject: [Hallicrafters] Re: [Boatanchors] BBOD's are really reliable (sic)


> On Sat, 2005-06-04 at 22:51, WA5CAB at cs.com wrote:
> > recommendation has always been and remains that all Black Beauties
should be replaced
> > out of hand
>
> I'm confused.
> (this is nothing new)
>
> I bought a Craftsman DMM with capacitance range.  WHen I attach a cap to
> it, it gives consistent readings, in that they're always nowhere close
> to the marked value.
>
> Not to be outdone by electronic components, I ordered a cap checker.
> The meter that showed up doesn't have a cap range.
>
> As a last straw, I found one of those cool Eico cap/resistance testers
> with the green eye tube.  This one reads weird too.... sometimes close,
> sometimes not.
>
> Could someone suggest a way to check capacitance that doesn't involve
> purchasing a $1000 HP tester or capacitance standard?  Perhaps I'm just
> not meant to check caps :)
>
>
> Thanks,
> Dumbfounded with Dielectrics
>
>
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