Subject: !HELP!! ALTAIR BLEW SMOKE!!!

From: Steve Leach <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun May 25 22:59:00 2003

>What type of switches are they? Toggle? Rotary? Both C&K and Alco both
 >manufacture a huge variety of switches, one of which is bound to be a 
very
 >close, if not an exact replacement. Are the original switches not
 >repairable?

These are toggle switches with two closed positions and three contacts, 
ie two on positions and a common ground in the middle.

My problem is finding the correct dimensions, ie spacing between 
connectors as well as height above the board and the length and width 
of the "neck" to protrude through the panel..

---

From: "Dwight K. Elvey" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue May 27 18:28:00 2003

>From: "Peter Turnbull" <[email-masked]>
---snip---
>
>Not from a capacitor as a whole, but if you look inside the "black
>box"...  The discussion was about electrolytic capacitors.  Of course
>they have an insulator (the oxide on the aluminium foil anode) but they
>also have an electrolyte (which is the cathode), and indeed wouldn't
>(don't) work without it.  It's the ability of the electrodes to conduct
>electrons that give the capacitor its ability to store them.
>
>-- 
>Pete						Peter Turnbull

The other trick of the electrolytic is that the aluminum is
slightly etched first before forming. This greatly increases
the surface area and gives a higher capacitance per square
inch of foil.
 I have a radio that was made in the 50's. I brought the
capacitors in it up slowly. I've checked them on my
bridge and they are all above 45% of the labeled value.
The radio works fine.
Dwight