Recapping a CTC-15 clone

[Jonathan]

I think all three pictures of caps you've posted are paper, but I could be wrong. All of them have the band at one end indicating it's the foil end of the capacitor. The big blue one even says "Outer Foil". If I was restoring it, I would replace all of those and hope for the best, but just like these guys said; If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Jonathan

[RetroHacker]

Some of those plastic looking caps are really just paper caps with molded plastic around them. The "black beauties" were this way. Some, like these slightly more modern ones, are a bit more reliable, but I've seen several leaky ones. If you're recapping the set because it's not working properly, then yeah, I'd probably just go ahead and replace 'em all, but if all is well, then you should probably just leave them alone... but - remember - replacing capacitors with the same value shouldn't really change anything, provided that the original was good at the time you replaced it. A .01 cap is a .01 cap is a .01 cap - but if you replace a leaky .01 cap with a good one, then there will be a difference. I'd say spot check a few with a meter, try to see if any are obviously leaky - if so, replace 'em. If everything works and the caps check out, leave it alone. Check your voltages, and make sure things are within spec, if you've got way-off voltages on some of your tubes, start suspecting the caps in that area. Just because the set _works_, doesn't mean that everything is perfect. But, then again, this is the obsessiveness in me speaking. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Watch it until it breaks, then fix it .

-Ian

[Chad Hauris]

Personally I have not had too much trouble with caps in 60's TV's but have had more trouble with caps in public address amps and stereo amps of the same time period. Most trouble with caps in 60's tv's has been bad electrolytics.

However when I have something on the bench from the 60's or before I like to replace any old paper or electrolytic caps and selenium or old silicon diodes, especially if it is a unit for a customer. Even if the unit works now with the old parts, replacing these common failure items helps ensure the unit will stand up for long service into the future...these old components like electrolytics or paper caps continue to degrade as time goes on.