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Date:         Thu, 17 Aug 2000 13:41:45 -0700
Reply-To:     Brent Christensen <brent@vanagon.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Brent Christensen <brent@vanagon.com>
Subject:      Re: Capacitor fix questions
Comments: To: David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hey! That's what I used to do for kicks in the garage as a kid (my Dad was an ME/EE). I fixed up this rig with a lamp plug and switch, except instead of the lamp, I put two alligator clips. I would go through my Dad's bins of misc "junk" electronic parts, clip the leads to them, and whack 'em with 110v household current to see what would happen.

I was about 10 years old, and all I remember was that the bigger capacitors would REALLY make a great *POP* and jump all over the place. :-) Most of the resistors were pretty boring, though.

God I hope my kids never do anything like that when they get older...

Brent Christensen '89 GL Syncro Westy "Klaus" Santa Barbara, CA

----- Original Message ----- From: "David Beierl" <dbeierl@attglobal.net> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2000 11:43 AM Subject: Re: Capacitor fix questions

> At 13:27 8/17/2000, Jay L Snyder wrote: > >since replaced the AFC with a new unit. I am pretty sure I did not use the > >tantulum capacitor. Maybe this is key. > > Getting the polarity right is certainly key, as a backwards one will get > leakier and leakier (electrically) and finally short. If there's enough > power in the circuit, an aluminum cap will blow its can off (until the > spoilsports put a crease in the top so now it just peels open) and a > tantalum will squirt a tiny jet of molten tantalum in some random direction. > > d > David Beierl - Providence, RI > http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/ > '84 Westy "Dutiful Passage" > '85 GL "Poor Relation"


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