cleaning the pins on your tubes

bluemeanies wrote:Hi guys...still waiting for the Mullards!
They are coming from the UK. After I won the bid and PAID I was told the guy was going on holiday and would not be able to ship until the 16th...Brits...
Ya gotta love 'em.
So I am trying to be patient.
Maybe it's better this way since this week I am overloaded with family commitments.
Next week will be a different story.

Provided the seller has good feedback, you'll get 'em eventually. I've waited up to six weeks for my MaoTseTung-Sols (compliments to Kentley for that monicker) to arrive from China, but they get here. I've actually never been stiffed on a tube deal. There seems to be a certain honour amongst thieves.

deepee99 wrote:

bluemeanies wrote:Hi guys...still waiting for the Mullards!
They are coming from the UK. After I won the bid and PAID I was told the guy was going on holiday and would not be able to ship until the 16th...Brits...
Ya gotta love 'em.
So I am trying to be patient.
Maybe it's better this way since this week I am overloaded with family commitments.
Next week will be a different story.

Provided the seller has good feedback, you'll get 'em eventually. I've waited up to six weeks for my MaoTseTung-Sols (compliments to Kentley for that monicker) to arrive from China, but they get here. I've actually never been stiffed on a tube deal. There seems to be a certain honour amongst thieves.

Your a funny man deep!...Mao!
Actually it was Kentley who discovered the Mullards! I purchased them on his recommendation since I want to introduce four Sovtek KT88's to the m125's.
Not worried about getting them as you mentioned the seller does have good feedback and I was in contact with him.
Sounds like a nice guy.
Received tracking number on the 16th so would suspect I should receive them by weeks end...latest Monday

Blue, that's good to hear.
The antique Mullards are as bullet-proof as the Bendixes from the old days. Stick 'em in and forget 'em.

deepee99 wrote:Blue, that's good to hear.
The antique Mullards are as bullet-proof as the Bendixes from the old days. Stick 'em in and forget 'em.

Thanks deep...Mitsubishi had some big speakers back in the day!

How does one clean the gold pins on an old amperex 6922?

Also are these normally simply gold plated?

I put these on my Dremel and go to town: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6DE4V0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you guys are talking about User ID yitry ...Langrex, you'll get your tubes. I purchased a CRT from them and got it safe and sound in about 10 days. They're about half price of what Kevin Upscale charges, but I'm not sure they test them the way Upscale does.

cci1492 wrote:I put these on my Dremel and go to town: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6DE4V0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you guys are talking about User ID yitry ...Langrex, you'll get your tubes. I purchased a CRT from them and got it safe and sound in about 10 days. They're about half price of what Kevin Upscale charges, but I'm not sure they test them the way Upscale does.

Gold is one of the softest elements on the planet. It also does not corrode. So if you've got "rusty" gold on your pins, the pot metal beneath them has leached through. Were I you, I'd scrape the plating off and shine up the underlying metal. You can do that with Mr. Clean.

cci1492 wrote:I put these on my Dremel and go to town: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M6DE4V0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you guys are talking about User ID yitry ...Langrex, you'll get your tubes. I purchased a CRT from them and got it safe and sound in about 10 days. They're about half price of what Kevin Upscale charges, but I'm not sure they test them the way Upscale does.

Doesn't that just polish, not remove? Also not sure what "User ID yitry ...Langrex, you'll get your tubes" means...

deepee99 wrote:
Gold is one of the softest elements on the planet. It also does not corrode. So if you've got "rusty" gold on your pins, the pot metal beneath them has leached through. Were I you, I'd scrape the plating off and shine up the underlying metal. You can do that with Mr. Clean.

So under the gold plating the pins are made of pot metal? While it may not corrode, doesn't it oxidize eventually?

jfine wrote:

deepee99 wrote:
Gold is one of the softest elements on the planet. It also does not corrode. So if you've got "rusty" gold on your pins, the pot metal beneath them has leached through. Were I you, I'd scrape the plating off and shine up the underlying metal. You can do that with Mr. Clean.

So under the gold plating the pins are made of pot metal? While it may not corrode, doesn't it oxidize eventually?

Yep, which is why you've got to pull 'em every couple of years and polish them back up. More frequently if doobs, cats &etc. are involved.

https://www.simplyofficesupplies.com/ProductImages/FullSize/1010590661.jpg

I keep one of these - goes back to my college days before AutoCad. Best thing, ever, for removing accessible oxidation from contacts, pins and so forth - and no chemicals. The marl is entirely inert and may be brushed or blown away.

Now, refills are a bit tough - but I happened onto a lifetime supply about a year ago by asking at an old-line art supply store. Sitting in the back, still fresh and at 1979 prices.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/527-05-Staedtler-Mars-Eraser-Strips-7-For-Electric-Erasers-White-Package-of-12/101592656 When they are stocked.

These are dandies for tube-pin cleaning, and available at any grocery store.
https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Clean-Multi-Surface-Cleaner-Original/dp/B0071SCSO0

yeah those my wife sells by the boxload under a generic name deepee ^^ abrasive they are - reckon like 1200 or thereabout sandpaper.
Just a cotton rag and Deoxit afterwards would be less abrasive and leave a bit of a protective film on the pins though

I do not like anything that leaves anything behind, or uses any non-volatiles in the process for time sockets or pins. The consequences are simply too dire. Full stop.

If there was a way to test how well electrons flowed through the pins I'd be kinda skeptical about polishing or scraping or sanding or whatever the gold plating on the pins...but hell..what do i know?

Dogstar wrote:If there was a way to test how well electrons flowed through the pins I'd be kinda skeptical about polishing or scraping or sanding or whatever the gold plating on the pins...but hell..what do i know?

Very few pins were gold plated back in the pre-blight days.

lol Dogstar

Yes I would not abrade the pins any more than needed - there is some anecdotal stuff out there about how knockoff Deoxit residue turns into gunk when used on contacts that get hot but  given that if the aim is to remove oxidation and the right Deoxit will do that without harming the metal at all it while using something abrasive to remove it  wíll remove some metal along with it at the same time   using the Deoxit seems like the thing to do - use a cotton rag on it afterwards of you want to remove any trace of the stuff. There is the quick dry kind and slow dry kind - Deoxit actually has a guide on usage for tube pins and sockets which ones to use and how.

OK, and a few things (note: I have been a good boy and not ranted for a while):

DeOxit and its clones do what? They remove oxidation from something metallic by chemical means.
What is Oxidation? It is a product of a chemical reaction between some metal and some atmospheric component, being Oxygen, Sulphur-Dioxide, Ozone and/or any of several other things.
Oxides, sulfides, nitrites et. al. therefore contain metals. Removing them removes metals, and exposes fresh surface to the elements.

Bottom line - whatever process is used other than reducing chemicals (which reverses the oxidation process) remove metal. Few of us here have access to those chemicals, fewer know how to use them properly, fewer yet, even with that knowledge, would use them on tubes. Rochelle Salts, anyone?

So: The idea is to remove oxidation and other materials (hereinafter called "Skunge") that may reduce good contact between the tube and the socket. Tightening socket springs has been discussed at length in other threads. Back to the pins. Removing skunge by abrasion wants the abrasive to be only a bit harder than the skunge, or in sufficient quantity as to work even when softer. It wants to be non-conductive as the marl does get around no matter what precautions are taken. And it wants to leave no residue - which will inevitably attract more skunge.

I dislike the DeOxit option for any number of reasons - that it is an active chemical being the primary. Secondary is that the active ingredient is of very low volatility.

One more thing to ponder - the nature of tube equipment. The glass envelope under some conditions will exceed 200C in surface temperatures. The socket itself will cycle from some significant percentage of that 200C to room temperature. Any chemical activity possible due to materials on the pins, in the sockets, or interactions between the pin metals and socket metals will be greatly accelerated by these cycles.

Keep it simple.
Reduce opportunities for problems.

I use an electric eraser and a soft rubber insert designed not to damage 1000H drafting paper. I can think of half-a-dozen other means including but not limited to:
Silver polishing cloth (impregnated with those reducing chemicals noted above).
Vinegar on a soft cloth.
#2 Pencil eraser.
Dremel-tool polishing wheel.
TarnX - another form of reducing chemicals - on a soft cloth and with *Great* care.

First, do no harm.

..this is going to get nasty lol    
nah not really   you're not ranting yet but if you want to  I can open the door some more =)

Using the eraser trick is basically  making your own sandpaper on the fly - sandpaper is usually some sort of metal oxide or carbon stuck on paper..
The eraser trick boils down to the soft PVC picking up and gripping the oxides off the surface  and then any further movement you are basically deploying a metal oxide grit 'sanderaser'

A friend of mine is a pretty good technician who works on anything from radios to dieselengines in his work on a boatyard and in his spare time likes to scour the countryside with a metal detector. He would under no circumstances use any sort of abrasive compound to clean his finds - he just uses mild acids like  orange or lemon juice     and deoxit.  
And with caig deoxit deemed fine for use by the gents building tube amps in this town, and by Uncle Doug, David from Elpaso Tube amps, Blueglow, etc it is good enough for me ^^

If I can reach it I do tend to wipe off the contacts I have treated with the stuff just to be sure all the gunk is gone..


The amount of oxidation picked up over in-use the lifespan of a tube and the amount of cleaning one would have to do  either using your method   or the deoxit   is probably so negligable as to be of no consequence unless you live by the sea and the amp is sitting next to the open window
The consequence of oxides on the loose in a tube socket however could be pretty diar

so   it's all good.

In another life when I was a field engineer in the 80's into the early 90's and supported mainframe computers (very large fridge size behemoths), I used a pencil eraser to clean the contacts on the pizza box size logic boards these things used. That's what we were instructed to use and it worked very well. Small temperature fluctuations (in the room) would make the logic boards flex a tiny bit and after a few years they would need to be re-seated. This worked great, however, was it the best/correct way to clean them? I don't know. Some of these boards had 50 gold connectors on each side and the customer could buy a car with the dough they paid for each board. Yet there we were using a .5 cent eraser on it!

Just an FYI on DeOxit. It is highly flammable out of the can and stays that way for quite some time. Try it on a hot socket or even a cold one you're about to light up, but do not attempt this at home (I have.) Makes for quite the light and smoke show.

lol deepee nice one    Must have smelled great =S

http://caig.com/deoxit-spray-selections/ all the diff types detailed in this one I think
theres slow evap and fast evap ( deepee  you will want to use the fast one for more flair next time )



and yeah cci the eraser trick works and works fine - on those gold contacts there wouldnt be much oxidation  probably just dust and nicotine from all the on the job chain smokers lol.. I used to do the eraser thing on my computer boards too - these days though lazy me just dabs everything I can reach with deoxit and it does the trick every time. PC would not boot just last week - after all the other causes were ruled out I went to town with deoxit.. and its running again.

Maybe one of the mainframe attendants is reading this and is now going  so thats where all our pencils went =)

Quick spray of Deoxit D5 on the pins, insert into the socket, pull and reinsert (maybe wiggling a bit) ...the friction cleans them right up. I never use harsh abrasives on contact surfaces. For relays and such, I spray D5 on a strip of clean paper, placed between the contacts, hold the contacts closed while pulling the paper through ......works for me every time.

CletusB wrote:Quick spray of Deoxit D5 on the pins, insert into the socket, pull and reinsert (maybe wiggling a bit)  ...the friction cleans them right up. I never use harsh abrasives on contact surfaces. For relays and such, I spray D5 on a strip of clean paper, placed between the contacts, hold the contacts closed while pulling the paper through   ......works for me every time.

Audio Image: Long, hard, fingernails on a slate blackboard for a full 15 seconds!

http://hosatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MSDS-E-D5S-A_v31.pdf

This is the MSDS for DeOxit D5.

It is possible-but-not-certain that the "trade-secret" is some form of Oleic Acid - which is a major component of Olive Oil, a food additive and has been used for cleaning brass clock movements for over 100 years. And 5% seems to be the magic proportion. How I intuit this is a long story, but it started in Saudi Arabia in 2001.

BUT!! Oleic Acid is a natural oil and will become a gummy mess as the various other volatiles dissipate. And that gummy mess will attract that infamous skunge and hold it where it is nearly inaccessible. Not me, brother!

Never found deoxit to go gummy here - oleic is doubtful for the reasons you mention and  that would quickly mess up stuff like faders something awful ^^
citric perhaps?

just so happens I was working on something here with the stuff  and for fun I put some ( well a lot actually   four squirts so there was a puddle of the stuff ) on a spoon and hit it with a candle flame right away.
It does stink btw deepee lol..  good thing I did it in our doorway outside

anyways    spoon is black where the flame hit it and it was too hot to touch for a bit - could not see much by way of a residue with the naked eye - rubbed it with a qtip and the barest hint of pink on the tip of it - but again  nothing I could see on the surface or could feel much diff with my finger..