Hello all,

I am about to re-cap an (as yet) unidentified Radio. (I will start a new post with some pictures to get help with an ID)

There is a range of caps I require, all 500+ volts, and I am having trouble finding a source? Where do you shop?

Wagner have some but their higher voltages are all "audio grade" and have the price ticket to match...

Thanks
Ash

Hi Ash
ebay user qch sells caps, he is in brissy I think. Steve Savell has some caps (user steve on here) but he sells out from time to time.
Dave at just capacitors http://www.justradios.com/capacitors.html sells out of Canada. His prices are good and shipping is cheap and fast

I could have sworn that Wagner/WES have some suitable caps. I will check the catalogue tomorrow at work.

QCH is in SA:

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/qch/m.html?_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

Justradios is a great source, but note that minimum order is US$20.

Wagner/WES do have them. The fellow who did my skyraider orders from them at reasonable prices. The guys in canada sell Cap kits but you need to order the higher μF caps seperately . but once you have the quantities that you need then its cool . They are good to deal with and speedy delivery. Looking forward to seeing the radio.

Evatco in Queensland have a reasonable range of capacitors. They do a lot with the valve guitar amp crowd.

http://www.evatco.com.au/product-category/capacitors/

Good luck with your restoration.

Fantastic, thanks guys.

Oh I know Wagner have them but I got about 1/2 way into what I needed in the cart and it was already $85, which seemed pretty excessive to me. (18 caps in total required)

Ahh Evatco looks a lot cheaper, thanks again.

What are the capacitors you need?

The caps do not need to be gold plated. The yellow CT tubular (axials) 630VDC are the best choice to replace the wax paper type & 630V is now the most common value.

In some cases the red green cap is good for a short hop and RB type electrolytics are good on cathode bypass but leave the wires a bit long, for heat transfer.

Now one of the dangers of putting the cart before the horse, unless you have the circuit, is the rectifier. I will not use under 500V caps on a 5Y3 with a loaded "B" rail of 250V and some PYE & a few others may need 600V filters. Do not be tempted to use 450V ones some of those are crap & I have seen a lot fail within a few years.

I have issues with at least one brand I see advertised & have had a 500V one let go on startup before it got there. I was not impressed with the attitude of the supplier and have not bought from them in quite a while as a result.

From what I see a five valve radio, which is likely to need a couple of resistors eg Grid resistors on 6V6 as they have an attrition rate. Based on what I see on EVATCO with 500v filters I am seeing around plus or minus a few dollars either side of $30 plus P&H. Mica resistors are not normally changed in an Australian radio until proven faulty.

The Americans describe the Audiophiles that buy some of that stuff as Audiophools.

I would wait & see & test a few things before spending money. Turning it on to see if it works is another way of causing added expense.

I do have issues when technical stuff starts to end up in two places. There is discussion in Member Introductions that I feel should stop and be here, in respect of identifying it.

This is basically a paste of what I put there & would think any reply to the other post & further comment on ID should be here:

I am smelling a rat: 6K8 was not a common valve here. I have found them in the hole that a 6A8 belongs in and 6A8, 6J8, 6K8 & ECH35 all invariably where they should not be. This lot tend to be interchangeable, but don't expect them to behave the same as the valve that should be in the hole.

The other thing is too many pentodes. 6J7; 6K7; & 6U7 I have found in the others space & I can't envisage a Plate detector if it is past 1934 and has octals. I would expect 6B8 or something else with diode plates.

I have seen 6K8 in Genelex and my WWII Frequency meter, so its presence narrows the known makers down. Eg Genalex 458 uses 6G8 (1939) as the detector & probably first audio & a 6K8

This is basically a paste of what I put there & would think any reply to the other post & further comment on ID should be here

I agree with you in principle but, as this thread is clearly about sourcing capacitors, I reckon your duplicate post should be in a new thread entirely devoted to identification of the radio in question.

The only "issue" I see here "Marcc" has been created by you.
This post is about sourcing caps, nothing more.

I do appreciate your info though and we are already in agreement about selection of components, my query was simply one of where to shop.

I'll post the full list of what I need Carl, I'm using my phone at present and its too slow to type on.

G'day Ash.

Wasn't too sure which thread to put this post in.

I had the same query about the valve line-up too. The valve line-up is not an issue & a 6J8G should work in place of a 6K8G. It is just that none of valves you listed have diode plates which are used for detection. This is most unusual. Is it possible that there is another valve hiding somewhere? I was thinking of perhaps a 6H6, twin diode, which is a little squat black metal valve that could easily be hidden.

The make of radio is a bit of a mystery. It could be a generic set - a house brand for a department store. There is a Music Masters here on Trove that has the same dial and push-buttons as yours:

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/98006931

And you are right - it is a 1938 model. Push-Button Tuning radios were all the rage in 1938. The station markings on the dial only go up to stations opened on or before late 1938.

Hi mate,

Interesting re. the lineup. I cannot see another valve anywhere!
Ill take some better pictures at lunch and post a link.

Cap wise I need;

Film, axial lead.

0.1μF x 9
0.25uF
0.01uF
0.02μF x 2
0.05uF

Electrolytic, axial lead.

16uF
8μF x 2
25μF x 3

There is a mix of 400, 525 and 600v items. The 25μF are 40 P.V.
It is proving hard to get all these in 630v so I guess ill just aim for whatever I can get above the original rating?

I want axial leads where possible as I plan to restuff the old paper casing to keep the original look of the thing.

My main concern is that information is not lost by the risk of having it in two places. I am still of the opinion that 6J7 does not belong in it. Unless it is as a Plate detector.

The only way to prove anything like that is to look at the socket wiring. If it was something like 6B6 I would likely see pins 4&5 wired together. If it was a plate detector I would expect a very high value cathode resistor.

630VDC non polarised axials to replace wax papers are as common as dishwater.

We need to see where the caps are? Cathode types are rarely over 25V & you can use a higher voltage. Philips used 40V on Back bias & if its Back bias it will be positive to chassis?

The most common "universal" filter caps on 250VDC (loaded) rails had a 525 surge volt rating. Very few modern ones give a surge voltage which is why I will not use 450V ones to replace them.

Steve did have 600V but I do not know what the current situation is there? Some of the prices for 600v caps here are more like extortion.

I fix so I maintain some stocks, That costs.

Marc