[JMS] Grinding crystals? Is an acid etch possible?

[Don Buska]

I was lucky in that I picked up a little crystal oscillator test box 
from the old Radio Recyclers in Milwaukee. It's a home built job with a 
meter that shows crystal activity and has a half dozen different crystal 
sockets on it for testing crystals. I think it cost me a few bucks.

I found the WA4QAL site interesting in that he was moving crystals 
several hundred Kcs and was still able to keep them oscillating. It's a 
good site to read and determine for ones self which would be the best 
method to use for what you want to do.

73

Don N9OO

Joe Rubin wrote:
> I love it ! No special equipment needed. Only a GOOD micrometer (not 
> the inexpensive inported junk) and a frequency meter. Of course you 
> could use one of the later digital readout receivers calibrated by 
> comparison to WWV. Grind a thousand or two orbits... Day after 
> day...Takes lots of patience... Try different grinding compounds... 
> Lots of fun. Thanks for the other website info... 73 Joe W4CBJ/WX4TRA.
>
>
>> From: Don Buska <dbuska at wi.rr.com>
>> Reply-To: The James Millen Society Members Email Reflector 
>> <james_millen_society at mailman.qth.net>
>> To: The James Millen Society Members Email Reflector 
>> <james_millen_society at mailman.qth.net>
>> Subject: Re: [JMS] Grinding crystals? Is an acid etch possible?
>> Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:16:58 -0500
>>
>> Now we just need to experiment. Thanks Peter for emailing the 
>> grinding papers. Also I see there is a great deal of information out 
>> there if you do a Google search. Including better details on doing 
>> the edge grinding to get the crystals to oscillate again or to 
>> improve their oscillating strength.
>>
>> WA4GAL has a nice website where he wrote up his experimentation with 
>> crystal grinding in a daily journal form. Great reading. 
>> http://home.netcom.com/~wa4qal/crystal.htm
>>
>> Have fun
>>
>> Don N9OO
>>
>>
>>
>> Sherrill Watkins wrote:
>>> Friends: Perhaps an easier way would be to simply immerse the 
>>> crystal blank
>>> in a strong acid solution, such as hydrocloric or sulfluric acid? That
>>> should remove the quartz material in a uniform rate from both sides 
>>> of the
>>> blank? That is unless the quartz blank is inert to the acid? - Sherrill
>>> k4own
>>>
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