What is "red copper"?

[Jadran]

Originally Posted by john dozier

I have ordered from these folks several times, and have always been pleased with the product and found them helpful. I think we may be dealing with a language problem here. I do not think their English is good. Regards

I agree with this. I have three products ordered from this shop that are just fine, arrived fast with recommended post (tracking number).
But just don't understand threads like this, and the purpose of it.

cheers

[john dozier]

BTW If you look up red copper on a crafts website you will find it is a surface treatment designed to prevent more oxidation. Regards

[ngchaisoon]

Red copper = Copper
Yellow copper = Brass

[pinkmouse]

Nothing to do with Red Mercury then?

[KlipschKid]

Here's a pic of the speaker binding posts with "red" copper.



And here are some branded Golden Gun



And here is a pic of some RCA's six months on with the same "red" copper that now looks brown and dull.

[Alvis]

Some metal oxides, with the oxide leaving a protective layer that protects the metal from further corrosion.

If you have ever heard the term, "Not one red Cent." that is in direct reference to a sub standard penny.

One of the earlier changes from a pure metal coin to an alloy was these "red Cents". People were weary of them at the time, as they were no longer "pure" copper.

Incidentally these coins are still much more durable then modern copper clad zinc that the last of the Canadian pennies were made from.

I find several coins when I am out metal detecting, the patina can be quite striking as well the preserved condition of these older coins.

Coins are one thing, but there is no need for using anything much less then pure copper for electronics. I mean how far we going to go with this whole cheapness thing. The spin marketing is very cute though.

You can see in the attached pictures some pennies I have found over the past few weeks.

The blue ones on the left are older pennies the one up front is a 1933. Malleable copper like this is good for wires etc.
The pennies in the middle are the "Red Cents", an alloy of copper, OK for coins, brittle for wire and connectors etc.
The ones on the right are zinc pennies from the last 10 years. Nasty.

I suppose it will be a new fad.

[KlipschKid]

And here is a photo of Neotech up-occ power cable stripped next to the "red" copper binding post. I bought the Neotech from Soniccraft. Note the binding post is the same colour as the 99.99998% pure up-occ copper.

Ultra Pure Ohno Continuous Cast

Cable made of this copper is great, but I'd still rather have pure silver coated in gold or platinum for the connectors.



I am currenty trying to de-oxidise the rca's in my post above using lemon juice. If that fails, I'll try some baking soda solution....It'll be interesting to see if they respond to typical copper treatment.

[KlipschKid]

And here are the rca's after 30 mins in lemon juice and a gentle polish. Almost good as new.

[Alvis]

Ya you can always polish it easy enough.

Then just get a tube of dielectric grease will keep it from corroding further.
The stuff is great for keeping connections "bright".
Most connectors will penetrate the grease fine.

Not suitable to be used in applications where arcs can occur, such as high current switches. The silicone in the grease converts to silicon-carbide which will gum up the works.

http://www.permatex.com/products/aut...-Up_Grease.htm

[AndrewT]

I like petroleum jelly for battery terminals and steel bushes with a bolt through the middle.
Copaslip performs well for these jobs, but costs quite a bit more especially if you have to buy a 1kg can instead of 50g of jelly.

I wonder if either of these would be any good at maintaining an "airtight" joint in the mechanical couplings of interconnects?
Anti-seize Compounds - Molyslip Atlantic Limited
Vaseline | Petroleum Jelly