13 Apr
2010
13 Apr
'10
2:51 p.m.
On 13 Apr 2010 at 14:14, David Griffith wrote:
I was examining some old Vectrex cartridges and I noticed on one that
the gold on the edge fingers has worn down to the copper below.
What's the proper way to rehab things like this? Wipe with some
solder and blow off the excess with an air compressor?
Most gold is plated over a nickel flash over copper (pure gold
doesn't adhere well to copper for some reason). If I wanted to be
near-original, I'd plate the edge contacts with electroless nickel,
then perhaps finish up with a gold brush plate. Not cheap if you
don't have a lot to do.
Alternatively, consider electroless tin plate, such as Tinnit.
Inexpensive and should be pretty durable.
--Chuck