The small size skirted top caps used by many sweep tubes are troublesome. The current crop of Chinese top caps don't fit very well, or ride high and look dorky (or both), not to mention exposing metal bits at high potential.
Attached is a picture of a partial solution - a commonly available fuse clip. I bought a bag of these on E-pay, and they are available in many configurations from your usual line-up of catalog distributors. The clip fits snugly on the top part of the cap, solving one problem. The fast-on connector provides a secure place to solder the plate wire. What's missing is an insulating shroud that goes all the way down to the glass, but busy little beavers out there will no doubt come up with something. One person in another thread suggested using a silicone distributor cap/spark plug connector boot - not a bad idea, and not all that expensive.
Attached is a picture of a partial solution - a commonly available fuse clip. I bought a bag of these on E-pay, and they are available in many configurations from your usual line-up of catalog distributors. The clip fits snugly on the top part of the cap, solving one problem. The fast-on connector provides a secure place to solder the plate wire. What's missing is an insulating shroud that goes all the way down to the glass, but busy little beavers out there will no doubt come up with something. One person in another thread suggested using a silicone distributor cap/spark plug connector boot - not a bad idea, and not all that expensive.
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Heat shrink would work, it just won't be very pretty. For the small skirted caps, anything not specifically designed to cover the skirt will ride high. There were some plastic plate caps in the old days that worked, but I haven't seen any of those for 40 years. The fuse clip also fits my newlyacquired Russian Geiger tubes.
An idea - the little ceramic cups used with TIG torches would work with this concept, with a little silicone (the hard variety if you can find it) to center the plate wire and anchor it in place.
Edit - Look for "TIG Nozzle" on E-pay to see what I mean. A lot of the items available are pink, but WTF... I've been thinking of doing a petite pink-and-blue amp anyway that I'll call "Ladies Choice", especially as I now have 100 pieces of pink LEDs for pilot lights....
Edit - Look for "TIG Nozzle" on E-pay to see what I mean. A lot of the items available are pink, but WTF... I've been thinking of doing a petite pink-and-blue amp anyway that I'll call "Ladies Choice", especially as I now have 100 pieces of pink LEDs for pilot lights....
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Hey Wrenchone, I guess the topcaps are quarter inch? If thy are you can use the collet from a control knob. Some of them are phenolic material which should be fine with heat, in which case you amy be able to keep the plastic part of the knob and put a solder tag in the top. Otherwise you can smash the plastic off and use any of the other methods of insulation. Much like this sort of thing:
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That was exactly what I was thinking
If the correct sized knob was chosen its skirt would cover the step in the tophat shaped anode cap aswell. Plus it would look pretty smart.
Only one problem I can see is that kids/people not in the know may think they are controls and wrench the anode cap off the top of the valve.
Cheers Matt.
If the correct sized knob was chosen its skirt would cover the step in the tophat shaped anode cap aswell. Plus it would look pretty smart.Only one problem I can see is that kids/people not in the know may think they are controls and wrench the anode cap off the top of the valve.
Cheers Matt.
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