Re: Silicone for transformer repair

Artfromnys@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 2/3/2004 5:28:06 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> rlboots@cedar-rapids.net writes:
>
>> We had red, green, and blue glyptol at my Real Job but have mostly
>> replaced it with Loctite. I usually only used the blue glyp,
>> switched over to the blue Loctite (and sometimes purple).
>>
>> And just who are you calling old? Next you'll be asking what a
>> tungar bulb is!!
>
>
>
> We used to use the red glyptol to repair cracks in the wax casings on
> the flybacks in the old tube sets. Not zactly sure what a tungar bulb
> is but IIRC it is some sort of old rectifier from the 4 and 5 prong
> tube days of radio.

Tungar bulbs were huge nasty high-power rectifier tubes used in
automotive battery chargers (here's one
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2222661198&category=418>,
here's another
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43998&item=2458377451>).
The user could hook several batteries (mostly 6 volt in those days) in
series and dial the variac (if it had one) on the charger to put out the
proper voltage to gang-charge the entire batch. Every now and then one
will show up on eBay, there's two chargers there now and three tungar
bulbs (1
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2221419414&category=933>,
2
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2222593408&category=7275>,
& 3
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3271680859&category=413>).

>
> All right OT but what the hell - one more - whats a ballast tube, and
> why did line cords on the old radios (guys, if your idea of old is the
> 1940s and 1950s, this isnt your question :) have a resistance of IIRC
> 5 or 6 ohms or so?

Ballast tube was basically a resistor, but not necessarily a linear
one. It would allow a fairly stable current over a not so stable
voltage range. Some ballast tubes had multiple resistors. See "The
Ballast Tube Handbook
<http://www.tubesandmore.com/new/scripts/silverware.exe/moreinfo@d:%5Cdfs%5Celevclients%5Ccemirror%5CELEVATOR.FXP?item=B-573>"
sold by Antique Electronic Supply <http://www.tubesandmore.com/>.
Basically a current limiter, similar to the concept of a fluorescent
ballast.

Instead of putting a hot running resistor inside the radio (days of 1.5
volt filament tubes---basically radios made to run on batteries
(filaments from an "A" battery and plates from a "B" battery---you now
know where the term B+ came from for high voltage power, and in rare
instances grid bias from a "C" battery) would sometimes also be made to
run on AC power) they would put the resistance in the power cord. With
the heat spread out in the cord it didn't run very warm. The resistance
of the power cord supplied the filaments, a third wire bypassed the
resistance and supplied the plates. Not sure, the resistance may have
been like a ballast tube and shot up as power was applied to regulate
the current. A little before my time, but I have seen them.

>
> Art

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Received on Wed Feb 4 04:17:45 2004