On 2019/05/18 11:22 a.m., Cursitor Doom wrote:
> On Fri, 17 May 2019 21:19:07 +0100, Mike Coon wrote:
>
>> I can hardly wait!
>
> Then I shall keep you in suspense no longer.
>
> Here's what I found from a random selection of old components I snipped
> out. Firstly, pretty much *all* the capacitors were fine. The 350VDC
> Hunts capacitors could easily have been new. An Erie plate ceramic of
> 0.01uF likewise. A Dubilier type SM22 50pf cap, however, had gone up to
> 62pF. That one was one of the ones used for tuning. The biggest changes
> were as expected in the carbon resistors, all of which aged to higher
> values like so:
>
> 27k became 38.6k (bad)
>
> another 27k ----> 29k (within 10%)
>
> 100k ----> 107k (within 10%)
>
> 10 ----> 10.7 (ditto)
>
> 3.3k ----> 4.2k (bad)
>
> 4.1k ----> 5.2k (bad)
>
> 15k ----> 20.7k (bad)
>
> 220k ----> 246k (barely bad - just above 10%)
>
> 8.2k ----> 9.9k (bad)
>
> 400k ----> 509k (bad)
>
>
> These were all marked with a silver tolerance band, so clearly Taylor
> back then at least not *that* bothered about accuracy.
>
No, those resistors have drifted since their original construction.
People did have ohm-meters back then and would verify values on
resistors particularly if they were colour deficient or colour blind as
I did, testing Rs when building kits - red/green deficient vision. I
still check almost all resistors I come across with a meter as I don't
trust my green, dark red, and brown differentiation.
If they are in power circuits - plate or cathode or voltage dropping
then those do drift as they were only compressed carbon and heat/cooling
cycles would cause them to change value - usually upwards as you have
discovered. I consider your values typical of tube gear that is 40 or
more years old.
1920s resistors were a chunk of carbon rod with a wire wrapped around
each end then dipped in a sealant - how long do you think that value
would last within X%? Wire wound resistors external connections were
pressure bonded to the resistance wire, not uncommon for that joint to
fail over time...
Like I said earlier you HAVE to verify all the resistors as they wander
over time. Modern Rs are much more reliable when operated under their
rated wattage.
John :-#)#
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