Digest for sci.electronics.repair@googlegroups.com - 25 updates in 5 topics

oldschool@tubes.com: Nov 12 02:47AM -0600

What is the color code for a -10 ohm resistor.
That's a NEGATIVE 10 ohm resistor, not a standard (positive) 10 ohm
brown-black-black resistor. (Thats 10 ohms below zero ohms).
Rheilly Phoull <froggins@iinet.net.au>: Nov 12 04:59PM +0800

> What is the color code for a -10 ohm resistor.
> That's a NEGATIVE 10 ohm resistor, not a standard (positive) 10 ohm
> brown-black-black resistor. (Thats 10 ohms below zero ohms).
 
Have you heard of "milliohms" ??
Most folks express would express that as 0.1ohms or in milliohms.
So if you google "Resistor multipliers" you may very well come across
the colour code you seek.
Andy Bennet <andyb@andy.com>: Nov 12 09:24AM

> What is the color code for a -10 ohm resistor.
> That's a NEGATIVE 10 ohm resistor, not a standard (positive) 10 ohm
> brown-black-black resistor. (Thats 10 ohms below zero ohms).
 
By definition it is not a resistor, primarily because it has no resistance.
 
I suppose you could call it an ass-istor?
oldschool@tubes.com: Nov 11 11:40PM -0600

I have an old radio that has a "domino cap" between the plate and
cathode of a 50B5 audio output tube. The dots were never colored on it.
It appears to be a Micamold brand (hard to read). It has 3 uncolored
dots between arrows, and one more dot above them.
 
Instead of coloring the dots, there is this [ CA-281 ] stamped on it.
Does that mean anything? Or is that a manufacturer part #?
 
The schematic says it's supposed to be a .01uf @ 600v.
This is a Abbotwares Z477 radio from 1947.
 
Normally I dont even bother with those mica caps, since they do not
normally go bad. However, this radio had one lead to that cap cut, so
there is likely a problem with it. (Maybe)??? (or it was worked on by
someone who dont know much)...
 
After I replace the nasty looking filter cap and a few other caps that
look very bad, I will plug it in. Then I will clip this cap back into
the circuit and see if it really is bad or not....
 
Anyhow, if I want to replace it, what is the best replacement. Can I use
a ceramic disk, or should I try to locate a mica (probably wont be easy
to find), or just use a modern tubular cap rated at 600v?
 
The old one is reading 9.73 NF with my meter, so that is close to the
correct amount. (Of course there is no voltage on it, so it make
breakdown when voltage is applied).
tabbypurr@gmail.com: Nov 11 09:50PM -0800

> dots between arrows, and one more dot above them.
 
> Instead of coloring the dots, there is this [ CA-281 ] stamped on it.
> Does that mean anything? Or is that a manufacturer part #?
 
to micamold it probably did. Probably is.
 
 
> Anyhow, if I want to replace it, what is the best replacement. Can I use
> a ceramic disk, or should I try to locate a mica (probably wont be easy
> to find), or just use a modern tubular cap rated at 600v?
 
Mica had low ESL and high stability.
 
> The old one is reading 9.73 NF with my meter, so that is close to the
> correct amount. (Of course there is no voltage on it, so it make
> breakdown when voltage is applied).
 
Why not test it, easy enough to do. Mains & a small mains LED in series would test it to 330v in 240v land.
 
 
NT
Foxs Mercantile <jdangus@att.net>: Nov 12 02:26AM -0600

> normally go bad. However, this radio had one lead to that cap cut, so
> there is likely a problem with it. (Maybe)??? (or it was worked on by
> someone who dont know much)...
 
And still is.
 
Replace ALL the damned capacitors and be done with it.
And yes, that .01 is important, it's there to limit transient
spikes in the output.
 
A 0.01 1 KV disc ceramic will work.
 
--
Jeff-1.0
wa6fwi
http://www.foxsmercantile.com
Frank <analogdial@mail.com>: Nov 12 08:38AM

The short answer is -- the .01 ufd 600V capacitor is not a mica
capacitor, it's a paper capacitor in bakelite case. Just replace it with
a correct value plastic dielectric capacitor.
 
The capacitor serves the purpose of reducing voltage spikes across the
audio output transformer secondary when short pulses, such as from
lightning noise, cut off the audio output tube. The cap also reduces
high frequency response, but that's no problem, given the limited audio
bandwidth typically used on AM radio.
 
It's not a super critical application and it's obvious a radio can work
just fine for years without the cap. Still, it's part of the radio's
original design and I'd replace it.
 
I've seen line bypass caps clipped out of the circuit and I'm assuming
servicemen, back in the day, would clip them out as a cheap and easy way
of eliminating a nasty failure point with aging paper capacitors.
 
Seems likely your capacitor was clipped out by an experienced serviceman
a few decades ago.
rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: Nov 04 12:19PM -0400

RS Wood wrote on 11/4/2017 9:00 AM:
 
> I reflected that the car still works fine without the bolt, but there is no
> way they put that bolt there in the first place if it didn't do anything.
 
> He didn't believe me.
 
I guess that's why he is repairing cars instead of designing them. He
should be introduced to the bean counters in Detroit. They'll explain why
that bolt is there because if the designers couldn't explain it to the bean
counters, it wouldn't be there.
 
--
 
Rick C
 
Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998
RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 06:17PM

rickman wrote:
 
> anytime soon. The parts that have been repaired often were not repaired
> right so some have needed repairing more than once, but otherwise the truck
> is very sound.
 
You make a good point which I don't know the answer to.
 
In my kid days, plastic toys did not exist (transistor radios didn't exist
either), so our Tonka toys were rubber wheels and steel bodies.
 
Nowadays, if you leave a kid's toy car outside, the sun alone will destroy
it within a year or two.
 
So they certainly don't build *some stuff* the way they used to.
 
However ... cars *seem* to be different. Are they?
 
My Chrysler's and Dodges days (in the olden days, we had brand loyalties
that sprang from the brand loyalties of our fathers) showed me that a
tuneup was needed every year, bias-ply tires lasted something like 20K
miles, and, as you said, the interior was shot by the time the engine went.
 
And that was in the days before plastic bumpers and plastic headlights
(they were real glass bulbs in those days).
 
But yet, it seems to me, cars last forever now.
In those days, 100K miles was a lot.
Now, it seems, 200K miles is approaching a lot.
 
Do they really make cars better but nothing else is better?
How can that be?
RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 09:19PM


> I almost always ELIMINATE the friction by jackin the weight off the
> tire. I'm too "thick" to fit under the car with the wheels on the gr
> turn the tie-rod sleeves.
 
I don't understand how it would work to lift the tire off the ground, so I
assume you just remove some of the weight off the tire.
 
But isn't the alignment spec with the tires weighted with full load?
 
How can you do a proper alignment if you don't load the suspension?
 
Do you (a) load, (b) measure, (c) unload, (d) adjust, (e) load (f) measure?
 
(Of course I know all about loading for a driver and I know all about the
BMW-style loading to "normal" conditions which is defined by BMW as a
distance from the centerline of the hubcap to the middle of the fender
flare and which typically requires about five hundred pounds spread out
evenly - but I'm just talking about the generic loading of the suspension
here with a full tank and no people in the car.)
RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 10:37PM


> You can adjust it with the tie-rod on the bench if you want to and
> are smart enough to figure out how many turns it takes. Only the
> measurement requires the suspension to be loaded.
 
Thanks for answering as I know that the measurement is what takes loading
of the suspension.
 
I guess, at home, time isn't the issue, but it is a pain to load, measure,
unload, adjust, load, measure (repeat).
 
Then again, it doesn't really matter if it takes a week to do the alignment
as it's not a critical issue if it's close enough and not driven for long.
 
Of course, it has to be checked again after doing the camber and caster.
 
I forget the proper order from high school mechanics class.
I think it's either caster, then camber, then toe?
Or it might (offhand) be the other way around?
 
If toe is last, then unloading, adjusting, reloading makes more sense.
oldschool@tubes.com: Nov 04 07:24PM -0600


>If you really want to tackle #3, it is easy enough to do. Buy a new
>Corvette and for an extra $5000 you can go to the plant and assemble
>your own engine. Of course, they have a pro with you.
 
I dont know why this is posted to sci.electronics.repair, but since it's
here, I have done all of the 7 on the list above. As far as 2.
alignment, I cant say it was a perfect job. I did it with a tape measure
and boards, after replacing some front end parts. I got it close, so I
could at least drive it, but I took it to an alignment shop soon after.
That is one thing a homeowner just cant do accurately without proper
equipment. I never rebuillt an entire engine, but I replaced a few as
well as transmissions. In my old age, I dont work on a much of that
stuff as I did years ago. I still do my own brakes, and oil changes and
stuff like that. But I wont tackle engine changes or any of that heavy
work anymore. And I wont mount tires anymore. That was always a tough
job withoiut a tire machine and only saved me about $12. Not worth the
hassle.
 
I once painted a whole truck with a paint brush. I added some stuff to
make the paint flow nicely. A lot of people thought I was crazy, and
said you need a sprayer. In the end, it turned out pretty good. It was
an old truck anyhow, but the paint made it look better and stopped a lot
of rusting. Although spraying is easier to apply, the taping and
preparation offsets any time savings. With a quality brush, I cut in a
good edge around windows and chrome and other body stuff.
 
To get back ON TOPIC, I have done a lot of car wiring and changing
radios and that sort of thing. Knowing electronics makes car wiring very
easy, except it's often hard to get to some of the wires, especially
under the car, and under the dashboard.
 
The mini van I drive now, was at a used car lot. The guy said he could
not sell it to me until someone fixed the headlights (they did not
work). He had already replaced the bulbs and the switch. He told me to
come back the next day, after he got a wiring professional there to fix
it. I went there the next day. When I got there, he had a guy under the
hood trying ot fix them. I watched the guy and he was not succeeding. A
half hour later that guy told the seller that he could not fix it, and
the car would have to be taken to the dealership.
 
After that guy left, I offered to buy the car AS-IS for $500 less thn
the asking price. The seller said that according to his dealers license
he is not supposed to sell a car without headlights, but he would note
in writing on the sales slip "headlights do not work", and accepted my
offer, except he said I had to pay for the new headlight bulbs. (about
$20). I accepted the offer.
 
When I got it home, I had the headlights working in less than an hour.
There are relays under the hood, in the fuse box, and one of them was
bad. For me, that was a simple fix. Apparently the so called
"professional" who he had working on it, was not very bright!!!
RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 05 03:32AM


> More quality in the manufacture along with the fact that a lot of the
> things that used to fail were replaced by computers that do a far
> better job that Mr Venturi.
 
I'm going to have to agree that I think the only thing that really changed
over time was the quality.
 
I think Japan took half of Detroit's profits, and that was the sole
determinant that made Detroit start thinking about quality.
 
If that's the case, you have to hand it to Japan for even coming up with
the idea of quality in the first place.
 
> When was the last time you replaced the old "points plugs and
> condenser" That used to be a once or twice a year thing.
 
Wow. My timing light is still packed away, along with the dwellmeter. Every
once in a while I use the feeler gauges that I used to use for points, but
for something else. Even the spark plug gapper is used, but nowadays only
on the home tools like the leaf blower. I have a contraption that has a
heavy duty switch for "bumping" the engine. I forget even why I *built*
that thing.
 
Why did we bump the engine? I forget why.
 
I also still have a dial gauge that I screwed into the number one cylinder
on a motorcycle to time the points on the bike where there is no concept of
a timing light. The points open in millimeters before TDC.
 
It's rare though for tools to go out of style. I'm still using my first
Christmas gift of Sears Craftsman open-end wrenches, for example.
"tom" <tmiller11147@verizon.net>: Nov 04 11:55PM -0400

"RS Wood" <rswood@is.invalid> wrote in message
news:otm0o7$3eb$9@solani.org...
clare@snyder.on.ca wrote:
 
I agree that points were a weak link that just had to go. I'm not sure why
timing changed, because, as I recall, we twisted the distributor to time
the engine where, the distributor would have no reason to twist back once
locked down.
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
The rubbing block wears down. The points gap gets smaller.
The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com>: Nov 04 09:39PM -0700

>>cheap for our own good.
 
> KD makes a special tool for that - at the value O put on skin and
> suffering, cheap at twice the price
 
30+ years ago. Ratchet box wrench?
 
>>springs on the drums went. I couldn't believe how easy pads were; it
>>took me longer to find the C-clamp than to do the work :-(
 
> A cell phone camera makes all of that SO much simpler!!!
 
So would a time machine!
 
--
Cheers, Bev
"If you like to stand on your head and spit pickles in the snow, on the
Internet there are at least three other people just like you."
- Langston James Goree VI
rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: Nov 05 01:35AM -0500


>> No, it's not. It's still the same steel that lasts around 4 years.
 
> What crap are you driving??? Most have been stainless steel for over
> 20myears.
 
A 20 year old Toyota T100 with 240,000 miles. Is that your typical crap?
 
--
 
Rick C
 
Viewed the eclipse at Wintercrest Farms,
on the centerline of totality since 1998
Xeno <xenolith@optusnet.com.au>: Nov 05 08:22PM +1100

On 5/11/2017 4:13 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> the heat ratings. It's amazing to me that we don't gap them anymore though.
 
> You'd wonder why the gap mattered in the days of yore and now it doesn't
> matter. I don't get that.
 
High energy ignition systems, platinum electrodes.
> was in my thirties. Maybe late twenties. Boy oh boy though, did the
> airplanes have service!
 
> But that's another difference in the days of yore!
 
I first worked overseas when I was 26 years old.
 
--
 
Xeno
clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 04 09:58AM -0400

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:23:54 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>
wrote:
 
 
>He has more experience and better equipment.
>You care more about the results where your equipment just has to be good
>enough.
A GOOD tech cares as much as you do - mabee more - because a poor job
reflects badly on him and can cost him BIG TIME if he gets a bed
reputation.
 
I cared more about most of my customers' vehicles than they did for
the 25+ years I was actively in the trade.
>but it doesn't seem like the right way to do the job to me.
 
>When they do the clutch, they put in whatever they put in but I doubt it's
>Redline.
 
And "redline" isn't necessarily the best or any better for your
application/ use than what they put in.
 
>That's what I mean more so than they don't know more than we do.
 
>They know. But they might not care as much as we do about the results.
 
Or they might. You just need the right shop, and the right
technician.
Mike_Duffy <mqduffy001@bell.net>: Nov 04 10:02AM -0400

On Fri, 3 Nov 2017 21:04:42 -0600, rbowman wrote:
 
> The best paint guy I ever knew was someone you had to catch in
> the zone between sober but shaky and falling down drunk.
 
I know who you mean. My Dad took care of his dog while he did a few months
in the slammer for DUI.
RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>: Nov 04 08:32PM

The Real Bev wrote:
 
> Did that, along with minor bodywork repair. Sprayed orange lacquer on
> my MC tank and chain guard (with a REAL sprayer, not cans), which came
> out really nice.
 
Given an air compressor of decent size, a vapor condenser on the end, and a
well regulated flow, it would seem to me that the paint will come out
evenly where the trick is technique.
 
Given that we said the trick with alignment is knowledge, and the trick
with car tires is tools, the trick with welding and painting seems to be
technique.
 
> Fixed a few rust holes on the 55 Chevy with fiberglas
> and bondo before letting Earl Scheib paint it. The Clymer bodywork
> manual was definitely worth the money.
 
Clymer. I remember them. Hanes too. And of course, the FSM which always
seemed to be written in the japinish or germinish language.
 
Nowadays I use the Internet for the DIYs.
 
>> 3. replace/rebuild engine
>> 4. clutch replacement
 
> Does a MC count?
 
Maybe. But a master cylinder rebuild/replace is not on the same scale.
 
An alignement takes a few tools and a lot of thinking.
An engine rebuild takes a lot of tools most of all the instructions.
 
A clutch, by way of comparison, is easier than those two as it only needs
one or two special tools and the instructions are pretty simple by way of
comparison.
 
> Did all the work except milling the heads and final torquing down of
> head bolts -- I just wasn't strong enough and didn't have a long enough
> cheater.
 
Ain't you one of 'dem dat dere long-haired long-fingernailed high-heel
wearing members of society?
 
If so, you 'jes needs yo'self a bigger breaker bar!
 
> What's a vcg?
Valve cover gasket.
It's like doing a head gasket, only a lot easier.
 
> Alternators, generators, starters, water pumps, motor mounts, brake
> pads/drums, hoses, belts.
 
I think almost everyone has done that, where we can throw in voltage
regulators and batteries to alternators, and we can add starters and
batteries to that list.
 
With water pumps goes the entire assemblage of while-you're-there jobs such
as belts and fan clutches and radiators and harmonic balancers.
 
With motor mounts there isn't much ancillary work that people do, but with
brakes there's the whole shebang from pads and sensors to calipers and
rotors and bearings and speed sensors, and abs intricacies.
 
 
>> What are some car-repair jobs you always wished you could do but have never
>> done?
 
> NONE! I did this stuff because it was cheaper to do it myself.
 
I get a satisfaction out of understanding what it takes.
I can't get that understanding by reading a book.
If we haven't done the job at least once, I think we can't understand it at
all.
 
Sure we think we understand it, but until we've actually done an alignment
or changed a tire or painted a car or replaced an engine, we really don't
know all that much IMHO.
 
We can just guess but guessing is 1/4 right and 3/4 wrong for most of us.
 
> it because someone else lifted it. One of the tires has a slow leak
> (indicated by a sensor so I don't even have to check!) which I pump back
> up every month or so, and I do that with a certain amount of resentment.
 
I understand which is that as we get older, we do less often.
That's why I think I missed my chance on these half-dozen "big" jobs.
 
> Don't get the cheap $10 Harbor Freight compressor, splurge on the $35
> one; trust me.)
 
Harbor Freight is something that you have to get used to since sometimes
they're the only place to get cheap-enough tools (like a transmission or
motorcycle stand) while other times they're the worst place to get tools at
any price (like any of their linesman pliers or drill bits).
 
> spool of wire and said to pay for what I used. I gave up after only a
> few ounces. The guy said that he knew tiny Hispanic women who could do
> that. They're heroes.
 
Motorcyles used to have a rotating magnet inside three static coils of
about 50 feet of copper wire coated with a baked-on heat resistant enamel.
Without that enamel, the wires will short (ask me how I know).
 
The winding is pretty hard by hand because you only have three wires but
you have something like 24 posts, where that post has a cap which overhangs
and when you get to the last few windings, if you didn't wind it tightly
enough, there's no room for the windings on the next post (again, ask me
how I know this).
 
I'm _glad_ I wound my first motorcycle coil (which failed in just 100 miles
by shorting out) and I'm glad I replaced the entire sulfuric acid content
of my battery (which also lasted for only about 1/2 year), but neither are
things I'd do again.
 
Then again, I'm glad I hiked (I don't remember the names exactly) the
Kaibob to the Colorado River and then back up from Bright Angel to the top
but it's not something I'll ever do again.
clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 04 04:28PM -0400

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 11:30:22 -0700, The Real Bev <bashley101@gmail.com>
wrote:
 
 
>Did all the work except milling the heads and final torquing down of
>head bolts -- I just wasn't strong enough and didn't have a long enough
>cheater. What's a vcg?
 
I'm guessing Valve Cover Gasket
clare@snyder.on.ca: Nov 04 09:42AM -0400

On Sat, 4 Nov 2017 13:00:16 +0000 (UTC), RS Wood <rswood@is.invalid>
wrote:
 
>have taken my very first car or maybe one of the cars from the 60s, or 70s,
>or maybe as late as the 80s, and then rebuilt it "my way", whatever that
>would mean, such that it would be unique.
 
Done that many times.
>likes best, probably it's a simple one, manual, inline six perhaps, and
>then just learn it, work it, and repair it, and make it what you want it to
>be.

 
My '63 Valiant (170 slant six, push-button automatic) had lowered
suspension so it cornered like it was on rails, and put 206HP to the
rear wheels. 60 in 1st, 90 in second, and bury the needle in drive.
 
The 69 Dart wasn't quite as radical but would do 104 all day long
(225 slant six)
 
the 1953 Coronet Sierra (241 Red Ram Hemi Overdrive) was a complete
rebuild, as was the custom 1957 (Dodge) Fargo Express.
Wish I still had those 2. The Coronet was one of my paint jobs.
"\'69 Chevelle and 72 VW Beetle were 2 others. Both turned out nice
except for one "sag" on each. The Coronet had no sags, but not much
shine either.
tabbypurr@gmail.com: Nov 11 12:58PM -0800

On Saturday, 11 November 2017 16:04:34 UTC, frank wrote:
> by Salcomp of Finland with part no. 7765.
> What do you think?
 
> Frank IZ8DWF
 
they knew it could fail
 
 
NT
John-Del <ohger1s@gmail.com>: Nov 11 10:40AM -0800

> > Cabinet: $5.70
 
> incredibly expensive by today's standards
 
> NT
 
 
Yep. Compared to the 1970s, those parts are at least 4X as expensive. The power XFR seems to be the best deal of the group, less than twice the cost of the IFs.. Strange.
"tom" <tmiller11147@verizon.net>: Nov 11 02:56PM -0500

"John-Del" <ohger1s@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0d5608c2-517a-4332-9e40-37080a31cb21@googlegroups.com...
 
> Yep. Compared to the 1970s, those parts are at least 4X as expensive.
> The power XFR seems to be the best deal of the group, less than twice the
> cost of the IFs.. Strange.
 
 
In 2017 money:
 
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