11 Aug
2009
11 Aug
'09
10:23 a.m.
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
Thanks
11 Aug
11 Aug
10:38 a.m.
On 11 Aug 2009 at 11:23, e.stiebler wrote:
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
Have a look at the CAIG DeOxIt cleaner-lubricants. Pick one that
fits your wallet and requirements. It's all good stuff.
http://www.caig.com/
--Chuck
10:39 a.m.
e.stiebler wrote:
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
The problem with contact lubricants is that they necessarily have to be
conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's game-over.
There are lubricants out there that are designed for this purpose (such
as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for connectors larger
than the ones common in computers. Applying them to connectors the size
of which are common in computers would be very tricky. Once you get
them on there, though, they tend to be very resistant to evaporation and
migration.
Peace... Sridhar
12:28 p.m.
On 11 Aug 2009 at 13:39, Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
The problem with contact lubricants is that they
necessarily have to
be conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's
game-over. There are lubricants out there that are designed for this
purpose (such as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for
connectors larger than the ones common in computers. Applying them to
connectors the size of which are common in computers would be very
tricky. Once you get them on there, though, they tend to be very
resistant to evaporation and migration.
Do you mean that I should throw out my can of GC Tunerlube?
--Chuck
12:43 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
I didn't say anything approaching anything resembling anything like that.
Peace... Sridhar
The problem
with contact lubricants is that they necessarily have to
be conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's
game-over. There are lubricants out there that are designed for this
purpose (such as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for
connectors larger than the ones common in computers. Applying them to
connectors the size of which are common in computers would be very
tricky. Once you get them on there, though, they tend to be very
resistant to evaporation and migration.
Do you mean that I should throw out my can of GC Tunerlube?
7:07 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
(I wasn't offended. 8-) )
Oh, I have no other suggestion, except that when one is applying the
stuff, they should do so with a bit of care. When in doubt, err on the
side of caution. I use contact lubricants myself, but only when
absolutely necessary.
Peace... Sridhar
I didn't
say anything approaching anything resembling anything like
that.
...And I apologize for the remark. But what do you recommend? 
9:27 p.m.
Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
Chuck Guzis wrote:
(I wasn't offended. 8-) )
Oh, I have no other suggestion, except that when one is applying the
stuff, they should do so with a bit of care. When in doubt, err on the
side of caution. I use contact lubricants myself, but only when
absolutely necessary.
Perhaps you two are working from different definitions of 'contact lubricant'.
There are contact cleaners, contact cleaners with lubricant (oil), and, (from
what Sridhar is saying, I've never used them myself) 'contact conduction
enhancers'.
The stuff I personally hate is the contact cleaner with oil in it, primarily
because a lot of people - unaware of the oil - like to liberally spray it
around. Even if one is aware of it, it's generally under high enough pressure
in the spray can that it's impossible to keep it from ending up all over the
place. The cleaner evaporates, leaving a film of oil everywhere that it
shouldn't be, that then drips and seeps around further, collects dust, and so
on. Ick.
I
didn't say anything approaching anything resembling anything like
that.
...And I apologize for the remark. But what do you recommend?
10:38 p.m.
On 11 Aug 2009 at 21:27, Brent Hilpert wrote:
Perhaps you two are working from different definitions
of 'contact
lubricant'.
That's probably true. There are some questions that probably should
be asked, such as:
1. What is the nature of the contact? e.g. High power, RF, digital
signal, millivolt, etc.
2. What are the contacts made of (e.g. gold over beryllium copper,
tungsten, etc.)
3. How do the contacts operate? (e.g. wiping action vs. non-wiping)
4. What environment are the contacts exposed to? (e.g. high temp,
oil mist, dust, corrosive vapors, etc.)
I suspect that the answers to questions such as these will determine
what, if anything, should be used.
My apology was for a flip response . I'll mind my manners in the
future.
--Chuck
12 Aug
12 Aug
9:17 a.m.
New subject: How tough is it ??
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MESSAGES TO MY OLD EMAIL ADDRESS. I'M SHUTTING
THAT ADDRESS DOWN. THROUGH THE CC WEBSITE I FILLED OUT THE CHANGE OF EMAIL
ADDRESS. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIX THIS SINCE MAY 23RD. I THOUGHT THE BOUNCES
WOULD FIX THIS ( IT DID TEMPORARILY ) BUT WE ARE RIGHT BACK WERE WE STARTED.
THANKS, STEVEN
11:31 a.m.
New subject: How tough is it ??
Scanning wrote:
PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MESSAGES TO MY OLD EMAIL
ADDRESS. I'M SHUTTING
THAT ADDRESS DOWN. THROUGH THE CC WEBSITE I FILLED OUT THE CHANGE OF EMAIL
ADDRESS. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIX THIS SINCE MAY 23RD. I THOUGHT THE BOUNCES
WOULD FIX THIS ( IT DID TEMPORARILY ) BUT WE ARE RIGHT BACK WERE WE STARTED.
Shouting not appreciated.
Peace... Sridhar
10:25 p.m.
New subject: How tough is it ??
TOUGH TITTY !! I'M AT THE END OF MY PATIENCE.....
/ sac
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sridhar Ayengar" <ploopster at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 11:31 AM
Subject: Re: How tough is it ??
Scanning wrote:
> PLEASE DO NOT SEND ANY MORE MESSAGES TO MY OLD EMAIL ADDRESS. I'M
SHUTTING
> THAT ADDRESS DOWN. THROUGH THE CC WEBSITE I
FILLED OUT THE CHANGE OF
EMAIL
> ADDRESS. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FIX THIS SINCE
MAY 23RD. I THOUGHT THE
BOUNCES
> WOULD FIX THIS ( IT DID TEMPORARILY ) BUT WE ARE
RIGHT BACK WERE WE
STARTED.
Shouting not appreciated.
Peace... Sridhar
13 Aug
13 Aug
midnight
New subject: How tough is it ??
* haramzada *
/sac
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sridhar Ayengar" <ploopster at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:39 PM
Subject: Re: How tough is it ??
Scanning wrote:
TOUGH TITTY !! I'M AT THE END OF MY
PATIENCE.....
*plonk*
Peace... Sridhar 
12:48 a.m.
New subject: How tough is it ??
It's not very tough at all. Just follow the instructions to the
unsubscribe email you'll be receiveing right about now.
And please stop this silliness.
.tsooJ
15 Aug
15 Aug
5:39 p.m.
New subject: How tough is it ??
If you sent the unsubscribe email, thank you, but it only worked for one
day. Once again I am receiving email on the WRONG email address which I'm
still trying to shut off. Do you want to try to send another unsubscribe
email ? Maybe two times is the lucky number..... This is starting to not be
so funny...........
Best regards, Steven
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joost van de Griek" <gyorpb at gmail.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 13, 2009 12:48 AM
Subject: Re: How tough is it ??
It's not very tough at all. Just follow the
instructions to the
unsubscribe email you'll be receiveing right about now.
And please stop this silliness.
.tsooJ
12 Aug
12 Aug
8:31 a.m.
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:39:06 -0400
From: ploopster at gmail.com
To:
Subject: Re: contact lubricant
e.stiebler wrote:
Hi
This is abslutely not true. I use DC#4 and it works great. I is often used
in high voltage applications and an insulator so I doubt it is conductive
in any way.
I posted about experiments I've done while at Intel, years ago.
It improved gold on gold contacts from 10-15 milliohms to less than
2 milliohms. This all while being non-conductive.
Dwight
_________________________________________________________________
Get back to school stuff for them and cashback for you.
http://www.bing.com/cashback?form=MSHYCB&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSH…
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
The problem with contact lubricants is that they necessarily have to be
conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's game-over.
There are lubricants out there that are designed for this purpose (such
as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for connectors larger
than the ones common in computers. Applying them to connectors the size
of which are common in computers would be very tricky. Once you get
them on there, though, they tend to be very resistant to evaporation and
migration.
Peace... Sridhar 
13 Aug
13 Aug
3:53 p.m.
dwight elvey wrote:
We use DC#4 on our classic computerized (to stay on topic) pinball games, and we
find too that contact resistance appears to drop after application. We are dealing with
medium current (6 - 15A) through regular Molex pins and the connectors are noticably
cooler after a dab of DC#4 is added.
We apply it to connectors and plugs and the results are longer life and reduced
insertion/extraction resistance as well.
I have searched for documents from Dow Corning to support this as I do recall seeing
something to that effect when I first found out about this great compound about ten years
ago. No luck so far!
John :-#)#
--
John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, VideoGames)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out"
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:39:06 -0400
From: ploopster at gmail.com
To:
Subject: Re: contact lubricant
e.stiebler wrote:
Hi
This is abslutely not true. I use DC#4 and it works great. I is often used
in high voltage applications and an insulator so I doubt it is conductive
in any way.
I posted about experiments I've done while at Intel, years ago.
It improved gold on gold contacts from 10-15 milliohms to less than
2 milliohms. This all while being non-conductive.
Dwight
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
The problem with contact lubricants is that they necessarily have to be
conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's game-over.
There are lubricants out there that are designed for this purpose (such
as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for connectors larger
than the ones common in computers. Applying them to connectors the size
of which are common in computers would be very tricky. Once you get
them on there, though, they tend to be very resistant to evaporation and
migration.
Peace... Sridhar
15 Aug
15 Aug
6:31 a.m.
From: pinball at telus.net
dwight elvey wrote:
We use DC#4 on our classic computerized (to stay on topic) pinball games, and we
find too that contact resistance appears to drop after application. We are dealing with
medium current (6 - 15A) through regular Molex pins and the connectors are noticably
cooler after a dab of DC#4 is added.
We apply it to connectors and plugs and the results are longer life and reduced
insertion/extraction resistance as well.
I have searched for documents from Dow Corning to support this as I do recall seeing
something to that effect when I first found out about this great compound about ten years
ago. No luck so far!
John :-#)#
Hi
I thought I might add that it works well on low current connections
as well. If anyone has had a ZX81 with the RAM pack well tell
you, it is frustrating to use. One little bump and the program
you'd been entering is gone.
I put some DC#4 on the edge connector and one could drop
the computer from 6 inches above the table without having
a single bit fail in the RAM. I suspect it could handle
a higher drop but feared damaging the case of the computer.
( Sorry that I've not replied sooner. My place is at risk
in the Santa Cruz mountains from fire and I've been watching that )
Dwight
_________________________________________________________________
Express your personality in color! Preview and select themes for Hotmail?.
http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/LearnMore/personalize.aspx?ocid=PID23391…
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:39:06 -0400
From: ploopster at gmail.com
To:
Subject: Re: contact lubricant
e.stiebler wrote:
Hi
This is abslutely not true. I use DC#4 and it works great. I is often used
in high voltage applications and an insulator so I doubt it is conductive
in any way.
I posted about experiments I've done while at Intel, years ago.
It improved gold on gold contacts from 10-15 milliohms to less than
2 milliohms. This all while being non-conductive.
Dwight
Hi all,
so, after all this cleaning of contacts on old computers, is there
anything really good to put on the contact surface to protect it ?
Grease/Lubricants/etc. ?
The problem with contact lubricants is that they necessarily have to be
conductive, so if you get more than a tiny amount on, it's game-over.
There are lubricants out there that are designed for this purpose (such
as polyphenyl ethers), but they tend to be used for connectors larger
than the ones common in computers. Applying them to connectors the size
of which are common in computers would be very tricky. Once you get
them on there, though, they tend to be very resistant to evaporation and
migration.
Peace... Sridhar
10:56 a.m.
dwight elvey wrote:
here's what's in it from the material safety data sheet on Dow's site:
http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/products/details.aspx?prod=01…
CAS Number Wt % Component Name
68037-74-1 > 60.0 Dimethyl, methyl silicone resin
7631-86-9 7.0 - 13.0 Silica, amorphous
70131-67-8 5.0 - 10.0 Dimethyl siloxane, hydroxy-terminated
Description
Silicone-based compound, moderate consistency.
Lubricant suitable for electrical connectors and joints.
And it listed as having high electrical resistance.
This is abslutely not true. I use DC#4 and it works
great. I is often used
in high voltage applications and an insulator so I doubt it is conductive
in any way.
I posted about experiments I've done while at Intel, years ago.
It improved gold on gold contacts from 10-15 milliohms to less than
2 milliohms. This all while being non-conductive.
Dwight
We use DC#4 on our classic computerized (to stay on topic) pinball games, and we
find too that contact resistance appears to drop after application. We are dealing with
medium current (6 - 15A) through regular Molex pins and the connectors are noticably
cooler after a dab of DC#4 is added.
We apply it to connectors and plugs and the results are longer life and reduced
insertion/extraction resistance as well.
I have searched for documents from Dow Corning to support this as I do recall seeing
something to that effect when I first found out about this great compound about ten years
ago. No luck so far!
John :-#)#
12:12 p.m.
I've been using a product for electricians by Gardner Bender, Ox Gard,
same basic silicone grease, but it contains zinc crystals, which are
chemically sacrificial (mainly for mixed aluminum and copper) and
mechanically pokie on the contact surface. I wonder if the DC4 would be
any better with gold plated contacts?
12:20 p.m.
Mike Ford wrote:
I've been using a product for electricians by
Gardner Bender, Ox Gard,
same basic silicone grease, but it contains zinc crystals, which are
chemically sacrificial (mainly for mixed aluminum and copper) and
mechanically pokie on the contact surface. I wonder if the DC4 would be
any better with gold plated contacts?
Speak of the devil, I was looking gold tubes and sockets.
http://www.jacmusic.com/ehx/more-info/gold-series.htm
12:35 p.m.
On 15 Aug 2009 at 13:20, Ben wrote:
Speak of the devil, I was looking gold tubes and
sockets.
http://www.jacmusic.com/ehx/more-info/gold-series.htm
If you want good contacts, solder the tube pins into the socket or
dispense with the base entirely and wire to the tube leads directly.
After all, sockets are bad news too. In the old days, hacksawing
the base between the pins was used to improve high-frequency tube
performance.
Given that some of the audiophile places even sell gold-plated AC
wall outlets, I think there's a reason to be skeptical of some of the
claims of the "more gold is good" crowd.
--Chuck
12:47 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Given that some of the audiophile places even sell
gold-plated AC
wall outlets, I think there's a reason to be skeptical of some of the
claims of the "more gold is good" crowd.
I was thinking, did not Radio Shack promote GOLD tubes, and for a short
time - lifetime guarantee on the tubes.
--Chuck
Now days all they sell up here in Canada
- batteries,cell phones and
audio connectors.
4:27 p.m.
On 15 Aug 2009 at 13:47, Ben wrote:
I was thinking, did not Radio Shack promote GOLD
tubes, and for a
short time - lifetime guarantee on the tubes.
Could be--I can't say that I've ever paid much attention to (now
newly renamed) "The Shack".
It's odd that the site says non-gold socket w/ gold plated tube pins
= "perfect option" but non-gold tube pins w/ gold-plated socket =
"not so good". You'd think they were trying to sell tubes witth gold-
plated pins....
-Chuck
4:41 p.m.
Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 15 Aug 2009 at 13:47, Ben wrote:
Out here, in these 'One horse'[1] towns, that is all you had for
any kind of electronic stuff. [1] Well two horses in town :).
I was thinking, did not Radio Shack promote GOLD
tubes, and for a
short time - lifetime guarantee on the tubes.
Could be--I can't say that I've ever paid much attention to (now
newly renamed) "The Shack". It's odd that the site says non-gold socket w/
gold plated tube pins
= "perfect option" but non-gold tube pins w/ gold-plated socket =
"not so good". You'd think they were trying to sell tubes witth gold-
plated pins....
And here I thought it was gold plated grids. :)
Still gold is cheaper than the snake oil used in some audio components.
Ben.
-Chuck
16 Aug
16 Aug
1:39 p.m.
Ben wrote:
Mike Ford wrote:
I believe the product they are talking about is Cool Amp, made for high
current switching applications.
"best described as a mixture of silicon grease and very fine silver powder."
I don't think I would use it on tubes, but the non conductive stuff I
would think should be fine, BUT in the ultra non science world of tube
audio all bets are off. ;)
************
The Silica in the DC4 could that be to absorb moisture?
I've been using a product for electricians by
Gardner Bender, Ox Gard,
same basic silicone grease, but it contains zinc crystals, which are
chemically sacrificial (mainly for mixed aluminum and copper) and
mechanically pokie on the contact surface. I wonder if the DC4 would
be any better with gold plated contacts?
Speak of the devil, I was looking gold tubes and sockets.
http://www.jacmusic.com/ehx/more-info/gold-series.htm
2:08 p.m.
On 16 Aug 2009 at 13:39, Mike Ford wrote:
I believe the product they are talking about is Cool
Amp, made for
high current switching applications.
"best described as a mixture of silicon grease and very fine silver
powder."
No--I've got a jar of Cool-Amp right here. It's a dry powder made up
of (no trade secret) silver chloride, calcium carbonate (chalk) and
sodium chloride (table salt). It works by laying down a *very* thin
layer of silver over a more active metal (usually copper) by ion
exchange (metallic silver is deposited out of solution in exchange
for copper going into solution). The reaction stops essentially when
a one-molecule thick layer of silver has been deposited.
You can see the same phenomenon without shelling out $$$ for Cool-Amp
by placing a clean nail in a solution of copper sulfate (blue
vitriol). Copper will be deposited onto the surface of the nail.
You apply Cool-Amp powder with a wet rag and rub until the silver
appears. Since the layer is so thin, it will wear or tarnish away
(via atmospheric sulfur) fairly quickly, so it must be replenished
periodically. It's no substitute for real silver plating.
No lubricants whatsoever--you wash any reside off before putting the
object back into service. The stuff is fairly gritty, so I suspect
there's a mild abrasive such as silica in the mix.
I think that Cool-Amp may have changed their formulation over the
years from silver-nitrate formula.
--Chuck
15 Aug
15 Aug
12:29 p.m.
On 15 Aug 2009 at 12:12, Mike Ford wrote:
I've been using a product for electricians by
Gardner Bender, Ox Gard,
same basic silicone grease, but it contains zinc crystals, which are
chemically sacrificial (mainly for mixed aluminum and copper) and
mechanically pokie on the contact surface. I wonder if the DC4 would
be any better with gold plated contacts?
Given that it contains silica (a mild abrasive), I don't think I'd
use it with microns-thick soft gold plating.
--Chuck
5607
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28 comments
11 participants
participants (11)
-
aek＠bitsavers.org -
bfranchuk＠jetnet.ab.ca -
cclist＠sydex.com -
dkelvey＠hotmail.com -
emu＠e-bbes.com -
gyorpb＠gmail.com -
hilpert＠cs.ubc.ca -
mikeford＠socal.rr.com -
pinball＠telus.net -
ploopster＠gmail.com -
steven.alan.canning＠verizon.net