In article . net, "Phil
Nelson" writes:

For a radio that I intend to use regularly, I follow the credo, "kill 'em
all, let God sort them out." Why would you take a chance that a decades-old
electrolytic will survive for another hour, day, or week? You can replace it
as fast as you can test it, and if you guess wrong, it may cost you an
expensive power transformer.

Amen. I had a lovely old Philco mini-console literally blow up (clouds of
steam nad smoke) while playing away as I worked on something else. Haven't
checked yet to see if the power trans went, but there's black goo all over the
chassis -- want to give it a year to dry out of any toxic stuff.

Then there was the night I left an antique lytic re-forming overnight on my
favorite laboratory variable power supply. It was doing great. Next AM, I
find the cap is still looking great, but the power supply's insides are a
charred mass of clinkers. Enough soot on the ceiling joists to make be
thankful I still had a house to live in.

For the price of a few lattes or a couple of
beers, you can afford to put new electrolytics in your boatanchor and sleep
soundly :-)

Actually, that's more like a couple lattes or a 6-pack of beer, but the point
is well taken! --Mike K.



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