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Originally Posted by init4fun
 Hi Tubejunke ,
Great for you to have gotten a C3 ! I'm happy to hear you got one since I know you had been searching for one for a while . Tell me , in your question you mention "precision VS plain capacitors" and I wanted to expand on this a bit . If the precision aspect is referring to actual value only there is one more piece of the pie missing . |
Thanks, and you are very well spoken on this subject. From what I gather looking around on the Web at forums where people are restoring vintage test equipment, it appears that what we are really talking about is simply a very tight tolerance for what is essentially laboratory grade equipment made to precisely measure a given component; here it is resistance and capacitance.
Back when the C3 and similar instruments were made most electronics found in the home could have components varying up to I think 30% with no negative effects. But I think; and it makes sense, that you wouldn't want a number, any number of components being off or drifting 15% much less 20-30% in a device that is designed to give you a precise measurement. Percentages add up too, so there's another potential issue.
That was then though and this is now as they say. Supposedly we have far superior capacitors compared to what they had back then. I believe this only to a certain degree. With small value caps I say give me the "film" or "orange drop" type over the old paper/foil. Just a better design. Now these days we have the stumbling block of being able to obtain well manufactured caps since everything is made in some foreign country, and from what I hear you really have to watch what you get and from what company. A penny saved is no longer a penny earned in this arena.
In the 50s you simply could get American made products like a Sprague "Atom" cap and KNOW for the most part that you put in a quality component. I don't even think Sprague is in business anymore. I hope someone will chime in with perhaps a list of good brands and where to get them. Actually, I think I have made a thread on that at some point, but a reminder for newer members won't hurt. Back to the topic and my original thoughts which I am still unsure of; I wonder if good modern, fresh standard tollerance (whatever that is) would be good enough for this application. I'm sure that replacing whatever I have that is bad would make things better, but I want the device to do what it was meant to do. Kirk out!
