I was trying to service the collins variable capacitor I have and I managed to snap the lever arm. A bunch of like... plastic? washers totally melted and fused to porcelain.
But I noticed the most ridiculous thing, the capacitor itself (the type with the baffle), has like a.. thin metal rod/rope in the middle, connected to a cross bar.
I mean this mechanism is totally ridiculous. I thought it was a spring loaded piston in the middle, but it turns out its a dangling rope for like an attic door. So its naturally retracted instead of extended. There is a dodgy fiberglass arm that grips the rope to pull down on the capacitor baffle.
It does not inspire confidence.
Do they have variable caps that have a beefy piston on the bottom, not a rope? I mean this is how you used to flush an archeic toilet.
This one is jennings brand.
DO they have anything better?
I don't even want to try to make a mechanism for this because it looks so rupe goldberg and dodgy. this looks like a mechanism for lora croft to play with, not one that belongs in a HV setup.
that thing literary wobbles like a guitar string if you pluck it. It kinda seems like a joke. I also definitely don't trust the corroded little whipy rod at all. I figured there would be a massive shaft. Its like alot of force too. You can't pull on it with your hand. that copper baffle is a strong spring. this looks like some BS a convict made in prison to practice pull ups. I guess I should expect it, because the internals of airplanes usually look like bootleg ass exercise equipment. but god damn. when I see stuff like this I think to myself that we are not really that advanced yet.
i guess all those missing airplanes or whatever are not that much of a surprise when this is the cream of the crop technology for old transmitters lol
lol like a potentiometer shaft that transfers no force is like 1/4 inch thick. this thing you can't pull with one arm is like a piece of thin spagehtto