173.21.180.55
In Reply to: RE: My Fisher 500c posted by jaybomb on October 22, 2009 at 04:46:29
My current "regimen" for using deoxIT goes this way:
For miniature tube sockets, I first clean each pin using common naphtha (lighter fluid) and then, using a "junk" tube, I insert the tube into the socket and give it a circular motion around the pins. Remove the tube, spritz the contacts with a bit more naphtha and allow it to evaporate.
Once the socket is dry, I squirt deoxIT into each pin of the socket and allow it a few minutes to de-oxidize the contacts. Once again, I use the junk tube to "cut through" any remaining "grunge" and give it a few more minutes of de-oxidation time. (The time interval is not that critical here. It can be allowed to remain overnight, if necessary.
Now, clean the socket pins once again using the naphtha to remove as much of the deoxIT as possible. Allow the naphtha to evaporate. Check the amount of remaining deoxIT. If it appears that the socket has an "oily" residue, apply more naphtha to remove it. You *should* get to a point where the socket and terminals appear "shiny" but not "coated" with deoxIT residue.
THIS is actually the critical step. Apply deoxIT GN5 contact "conditioner" using as little as possible. Ideally, you would prefer to have an application that is a few molecules thick! This is one area where application is TRULY important. The thinner the layer, the better the "conditioner" works.
It takes me over an hour to totally clean, de-oxidize and condition EACH tube socket, but the results (so far) have been well worth the time invested.
Naphtha has become my "brute force" contact cleaner of choice because it doesn't attack most plastics and leaves no residue. It also appears to be pretty effective at removing excess amounts of deoxIT from the tube sockets and pins. I have used other solvents like iso-propyl alcohol, lacquer thinner and acetone, but naphtha appears to do the best job without harming anything.
Caig used to make a product called cramolin. We used it extensively back in the 80's to enhance poor molex connectors in MCI audio consoles. It also required the lightest application possible in order to work properly. The trouble is, cramolin was discovered to have carcinogenic properties, so it was withdrawn from the marketplace. DeoxIT's product line appears to have been introduced to replace cramolin. It CAN work well, but it does require more "fussiness" in application.
Please realize that this information is from my "dim-bulb memory" so the details of the cramolin story *could* be off a bit, but this is how I recall it all going down. This is NOT meant as any sort of indictment of Caig, cramolin, or deoxIT in ANY way.
By the way, this same cleaning "regimen" appears to also work for potentiometers as well. (minus using an old tube to "burnish" the socket contacts.) Clean with naphtha, work the control back and forth (don't EVER force it!) clean again and allow to dry. Apply deoxIT and work the control again. Allow it to "work" for a few minutes or more and then clean the remnants with more naphtha - again "working" the control. Allow to dry. Apply the *tiniest* amount of GN5 and work the control again. I strongly suggest that you try this method on something you don't mind trashing FIRST!
If anyone has any other "tips" that seem to work better, I am all ears; but SO far, this seems to be the method that provides the best results (in my limited experience.)
For octal sockets and such, tiny brushes replace the function of "wiggling" the tube in a circular motion. This reduces the possibility of expanding or "opening" the contacts of the tube socket.
Always keep the "Hippocratic Oath" in mind when working on this stuff: "First, do no harm!"
I hope this is helpful.
Bill Thomas
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