[sdiy] capacitor ID please

[Batz Goodfortune]

Y-ellow mark 'n' all.

At 11:22 AM 7/5/02 -0400, markus wrote:
>in an old tube console stereo amplifier from the 60's i was surprised to
>find only one large aluminum canister-type cap. it reads :
>
>40MFD 400WV (half-circle icon)
>40      400     (square)
>40      400     (triangle)
>200     50
>1013    6137 FP
>"stereo 33" sticker on top of the canister

I'm guessing from this description and someone else might have more 
experience with these. That someone might be Eric I'm thinking. But! This 
looks like,,, what would you call it? a Multi-unit electrolytic? They use 
to be common at one time. Mainly manufactured to order but it was, at one 
time possible to buy certain ones off-the-shelf.

If you look underneath you'll probably not that there are not a pair of 
legs but a whole spider work of them. Usually there's a common pin which 
might *say* go to ground. Various parts of the power supply etc might be 
strung across the top and in effect, you've probably got 4 caps in one 
there. I don't have the foggiest how they make these things with any degree 
of independence between the actual caps but perhaps there doesn't need to be?

I use to see them in TVs up to the end of the 70s or there abouts. Then 
similar items pop up from time to time in video monitors and switchmodes 
with a much more modern look about them.

Your chances of replacing it with the original bit is highly unlikely I 
would think. But it might be possible to hot-melt a bunch of ring-ins 
together and sprout a replacement.

It's likely that when you unsolder the thing and turn it over. The "Icons" 
as you aptly described them will be stamped or printed next to certain 
pins. And this will tell you which end of which cap is connected to what. 
The odd one out will probably be marked either positive or negative as 
depending on the polarity. But as I've said, I have no idea how they make 
them so I'm not sure what's even possible.

I've got a curious one out in the other shed somewhere which as a nylon 
insulated thread and nut arrangement on the bottom. Instead of pins there 
are wires coming out of the centre of the nylon shaft. The wires are colour 
coded and there's a colour guide printed (stamped actually) on the side. A 
curious artifact from a curious power supply.

And a word on hot melt. This stuff is a dream come true in the electronics 
lab. As long as the surfaces your applying it to do not get hot enough to 
liquify it, you can do almost anything with this stuff. I use it for 
everything from blind rivets to custom grommets. In this case it would 
allow you to slam together a group of ordinary garden variety electros, and 
position them for best orientation to the original bit. The legs will 
probably be longer and likely to short out in this configuration but you 
can insulate them from one another with a bit more hot-melt splashed 
around. It's not necessarily a very pretty solution but it could get you 
out of trouble. And if you can't fit 4 caps into the same space as the 
original, you can always hot-melt them into a safe orientation somewhere handy.

There are two sizes of hot-melt gun and I recommend the smallest for 
electronic work. Though I have both. You won't regret it.

Hope this helps.

Be absolutely Icebox.

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