[Milsurplus] Fwd: Re: Plastics that EAT metal! Remember the green Acetate Enigma filter eating the

[Bruce Gentry]

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I am very familiar with plastics attacking metals. In RCA color TV 
receivers of the mid 1960s, the insulation on wiring exposed to elevated 
temperatures would exude a corrosive chemical that would corrode the 
conductor inside to green powder. The ends of the wire looked fine. Even 
worse, the process was slow so the conductor could become thinner and 
thinner until it could no longer handle the current flowing and burn in 
two. It was a major nuisance to those working on the sets, but it gave a 
source of them for us who wanted a color set but could never afford one 
on the starvation wages we received. With several hours of work, one 
could rewire  a bad set from a garage sale  and restore it to full 
operation at almost no expense. I escaped the TV sweatshop to the 
elevator trade, where older vinyl insulated wiring from the early 50s 
was slowly being consumed the same way. You could tell if it was 
happening because the outer surface of the wiring was coated with an 
aweful sticky crud as the plasticizer leached out of the insulation. The 
controllers were totally worthy of the expense of rewiring, and I did 
many. If the tinning on the conductor was good and thick, the problem 
often would not occur. If the wiring was untinned or only lightly like 
Really Crummy Apperatus did it, there were soon vinyl tubes filled with 
green power in the circuitry.   Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY




On 12/3/16 1:10 PM, Ed Sharpe Archivist for SMECC via Milsurplus wrote:
> *Plastics that EAT metal!
> Remember the green Acetate Enigma
> filter eating the Enigma's metal keys?? *
> **
> *Well Here is is another!*
> *https://www.jstor.org/stable/20619421?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents*
> *This is   from JSTOR  which your library may have access to.... we
> do not...  but  there is quite a buzz about the hungry properties of 
> this and other plastics...*
> **
> *Even if you do not read the full article... The abstract will strike  
> fear in your heart!*
> **
> *As always remember... were are all only temporary  owners of this 
> stuff and need to think 50, 100 or even 200 years into the future. 
> Beware of paper and plastic types used to house other papers or 
> artifacts.*
> **
> *Ed Sharpe Archaist  for SMECC www.smecc.org *
>
>
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