Question on contact cleaners
ri...@mindspring.com
When cleaning potentiometers and rotary switches when would you use a
lubricating as opposed to a non-lubricating solvent formula
only...........liquid spray cleaner?
Some cleaners contain a lubricant and some do not,so there must be a
reason why.
Does the frequency of the circuit in which a switch is used have some
bearing on the kind of contact cleaner that should be used on that
switch??I am thinking of posible leakage between switch contacts at
higher frequencies with some kinds of chemicals....is that a real
concern?
And lastly,what is your personal favourite contact cleaner?
Thanks!
Malcolm Leonard
Scott Packard
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Original Message <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
On 1/31/00, 10:31:33 AM, ri...@mindspring.com wrote regarding Question
on contact cleaners:
> Actually ,*three* questions on contact cleaners.
> When cleaning potentiometers and rotary switches when would you use a
> lubricating as opposed to a non-lubricating solvent formula
> only...........liquid spray cleaner?
Pretty much only use lubricating cleaner on pots. I've frozen them
solid
by using non-lubricating ones.
I'm thinking here of the typical el-cheapo carbon disc with a metal
finger type.
> Some cleaners contain a lubricant and some do not,so there must be a
> reason why.
> Does the frequency of the circuit in which a switch is used have some
> bearing on the kind of contact cleaner that should be used on that
> switch??I am thinking of posible leakage between switch contacts at
> higher frequencies with some kinds of chemicals....is that a real
> concern?
I've found that better equipment comes with better potentiometers.
There doesn't seem to be any way to make cheap equipment last or feel
good, short of replacing the factory pots with aftermarket replacement
pots of the same resistance, taper, and contacts.
> And lastly,what is your personal favourite contact cleaner?
You may find the new TF-replacement cleaners on the market today will
work well. These are called HFE solvents. They are the first in my
opinion to have the cleaning power that TF had but not dissolve
delicate
parts.
Also, Cramolin (from Caig Laboratories, www.caig.com) has been
recommended
by many people and used by military contractors. I have some, and it
actually does work (it is not snake-oil). Pretty costly, but worth
it.
You can get the HFE solvents from Techni-tool (www.techni-tool.com).
They sell the Cramolin also (Cramolin was an old, accepted name. I
guess
it's now sold as DeoxIT (liquid) and DeoxIT D5 (spray).
Regards, Scott
> Thanks!
> Malcolm Leonard