On Thu, 2 Feb 2017 15:38:45 -0600, Foxs Mercantile
wrote:

On 2/2/2017 2:53 PM, wrote:
Why should someone replace ALL the capacitors on old Tube equipment?

It seems that some people advocate that.

Most "old" radios are from 1930-1960.
That makes them 87-57 years old.

Manufacturing has changed a lot.

I change all the caps simply because I don't waste my time
"troubleshooting" bad caps.
Bad caps can cause collateral damage.
Why risk it for the cost (low) of replacement parts?

Old electrolytic filter caps dry out.
It's a fools game to waste time trying to reform them.
Paper dielectric capacitor absorb moisture and that
combines with the acids in the paper and cause them to fail.

For the most part, mica, silver dipped mica and ceramic
capacitors are very reliable. The band ones, you can find
AFTER you've replaced the usual suspects and can actually
trouble shoot the radio rather than running around in circles
chasing known bad parts.

Yes, I've had to replace the occasional vacuum tube, or found
an open coil, but for the most part 99% of the radios I've
worked on, worked to a fashion by just replacing known bad
parts. I.e. Paper and electrolytic capacitors.

I'm 66 years old. According to my doctor, I dont have any bad
capacitors, (just arthritis).

Seriously, I wonder what the life expectancy is for the new caps
(meaning the replacements for the wax coated paper caps. ???)

And what are these newer ones made from?

I know the mica and ceramic caps are reliable and last almost forever.

A for electrolytic caps, it seems that the newer ones have a much
shorter life than the old ones did. You'd think that it would be the
other way around with modern technology, but today the name of the game
to to make stuff as cheaply as possible, for profit, not long life.
After all, today's electronics, cars, even homes are disposible. That's
why those old radios still work after 60 or 80 years, while most stuff
made today is in a landfill in less than 10 years.

One other thing that most people dont know, is that if we have a nuclear
blast, all of the semiconductors will cease to work. That means all
modern electronics, radios, tvs, cpmputers, cars, and darn near
everything around us, will stop working. The only stuff that will still
work are tube based electronics and vehicles made which still have
ignition points in their distributors.

Most likely WE wont survive either, but if we do, all we will have is
the old stuff from the 1960s and earlier, to rely on. The internet will
be gone, since it's all run with silicon. Most radio transmissions will
also be gone, except those still powered with tubes. This day is coming
soon, and we will be tossed back into the early 1900s. Thats why we need
to keep this old technology alive. The gear we relied on during WW2 is
the gear we will rely on once again during the upcoming WW3.