Oil Caps, Motor Start and etc...

[nyazzip]

what does "mechanical" versus "natural" music sound like?

[Slartibartfast]

what does "mechanical" versus "natural" music sound like?

Ever been around a monkey on one of those organ grinders? That is
"mechanical"... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_04

[dhuebert]

Don't ask that, man. We don't want to expose the Emperor's tallywhacker.

Don

[SDS-PAGE]

Electrolytics sing in German and Dutch. Oil caps sing French and Portugese...

[EWBrown]

And teflon caps sing in Russian Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_03

To me "mechanical" sound would be an old Victrola grinding away with its steel or cactus needle on a shellac 78 RPM disk, or some pre-electronics music making machine (as opposed to more conventional musical instruments). Of course if an amp sounds like that, then it's "mechanical" sounding, too :o Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09

To me, a callipoe or a hurdy-gurdy is "mechanical", a violin, piano or guitar is "musical" YMMV, etc, etc, etc...



Attempting to describe a sound, an arome or a taste in so many flowing flowery terms is just another example of marketing hype BS, and mowt of these terms are ossed around by those who wouldn't know the difference between a jug of ripple with an alka-seltzer thrown in, and a bottle of fancy expensice vintage champagne...

I know, I have a brother-in-law like that, the self-appointed world's foremost authority on everything. Just ask him.... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09

/ed B

[Slartibartfast]

Attempting to describe a sound, an arome or a taste in so many flowing flowery terms is just another example of marketing hype BS, and mowt of these terms are ossed around by those who wouldn't know the difference between a jug of ripple with an alka-seltzer thrown in, and a bottle of fancy expensice vintage champagne...

I know, I have a brother-in-law like that, the self-appointed world's foremost authority on everything. Just ask him.... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09

/ed B

Does your wife know you are ragging on her brother? Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_03

[EWBrown]

Actually it's my sister's husband, and yes, she knows.... It's a family-wide thang , dumpin' on him... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_05

Just consider him as 63 years old, going on 13... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09

/ed B

[Slartibartfast]

Actually it's my sister's husband, and yes, she knows.... It's a family-wide thang , dumpin' on him... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_05

Just consider him as 63 years old, going on 13... Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09

/ed B

ED, since you are cleaning house, getting ready for the move, do you have any books on tube circuits you want to unload? Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_02

[EWBrown]

At this point I will be moving and keeping all useful books, then I'll do any "sorting out" later on down there. If it's tube related (including all parts, tubes, iron, etc, it's moving down south.

The main throw-outs will be most of my (junky) furniture and other household stuff, old clothes, and useless accumulated "stuff" in the cellar and garage. old fish tanks, dead computers etc, etc, etc... Some of those boxes and cartons haven't seen the light of day in 15 or more years, I figure I won't miss it...

Anyone need / want an 1870s vintage Carter (made in Vermont) "pump" organ, complete with wheezy bellows and probably a lot of mold and other nasty stuff growing inside of it? I'm asking the same price I paid for it 25 years ago: FREE! Pick-up only.... Just the ticket for those who want to emulate Captain Nemo. Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_04 Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_09 Get the organ and then find a WWI German U-boat and start your own "20,000 leagues under the sea" adventure!

The internet has been my main source of information, for tube circuits and maps, plus various RCA and other tube manuals, ARRL radio amateur's handbooks form the 50s and 60s.

/ed B

[DerekVa]

PCB's haven't been sold in about 20 years, so unless yours are really old, I wouldn't worry about it. Like many other "cancer scares" PCB's probably weren't as dangerous as they make them out to be. Guys used to stick their hands in the stuff, dive in tanks of it to repair problems, etc, and they lived to ripe old ages.

Prolonged / excessive exposure to PCBs can be pretty nasty - from your garden-variety chloracne (more aesthetic than debilitating), to cancer of the liver, kidneys or bones. Just because some people lived to ripe old ages doesn't mean it's safe. It's not as straight-up viscious as some of the heavy metals out there (cadmium, arsenic, etc.), but still not something I want to mess with. Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_08

On the other hand, unless the can is leaking, you are probably pretty safe. Just don't lick it (a good idea with capacitors generally).

-Derek

[crispycircuit]

I've had a few amps with oil caps and they sound excellent along with they seem to last forever..... So if you have room AND a source for these caps, they are a worthy consideration.... I'm not sold on mega capacitance. If the power supply is designed properly, reasonable capacitance is all that's needed. I feel there are advantages to oil caps...