jlsem said:
1. I haven't had bad luck with cheap tires (though I avoid the really, really cheap.) They've all exceeded their milage ratings with no problems. My inlaws just had a belt slip on a cheap tire, though.
2. The best food in town is cheap: A Thai/Laotian place called "Asian House." Granted, the decor and ambience leave something to be desired (located in an old gas station with 20 year old everything), but the large portions of perfectly balanced, ultra fresh food annialate all but Corks Wine Bar and Grill. My most recent entree there was $42. Veracruz Mexican Bakery in Willmar, MN made the best Tacos I've ever eaten (easily eclipsing anything I found in Santa Fe, NM) for $1.50. Their flan was world class at $2 for a huge slice. Too bad I was practically their only customer or they'd still be in business.
3. I'm not looking to spend much more than $100 for a pair of step ups. Many folks in the same boat are buying vintage mic transformers on ebay. Plenty of folks used to scout for output trannies from consoles and r2r's, but there seems to be a growing consensus that one is better off purchasing the budget options from Hammond and Edcor. I may give the little guys a shot.
pj
You get a Slim Whitman Record! Virtually, that is.
slim whitman indian love call from mars attacks! 480x200 - YouTube
It's an M.A. Cotter, it was wired for low output. It was in such good shape, I still have the box and instructions. (somewhere around here) Another one sold for $1300 a few days ago... and I'm doing things like this.
At least you now know what they look like on the inside. It appears to be bees wax.
slim whitman indian love call from mars attacks! 480x200 - YouTube
It's an M.A. Cotter, it was wired for low output. It was in such good shape, I still have the box and instructions. (somewhere around here) Another one sold for $1300 a few days ago... and I'm doing things like this.
At least you now know what they look like on the inside. It appears to be bees wax.
This is one of the better more transparent units out there.. Why torch it BTW?
I remember trying this with some friends back in the early 80's. We had tested nearly every stepup and 3 other transformers on loan over about 3 weeks time.
There were some that produced more life or sheen ADDED to the signal and you could be fooled if you stopped comparing, but overall the cotter was just a transparent boost with no noise and this lets more information flow IMHO
It really slowly sneeks up on you over time, and thats a mark of a really great component
Regards
David
I remember trying this with some friends back in the early 80's. We had tested nearly every stepup and 3 other transformers on loan over about 3 weeks time.
There were some that produced more life or sheen ADDED to the signal and you could be fooled if you stopped comparing, but overall the cotter was just a transparent boost with no noise and this lets more information flow IMHO
It really slowly sneeks up on you over time, and thats a mark of a really great component
Regards
David
I was thinkin' lard, but bees wax would be more practical.
jeff
Bear fat?
Dump bears are the easiest to 'catch' but they don't make the best sausage. tastes distinctly.....grabagey.
(Only half joking, I'm from the deeps woods and I do know what a dump bear is, and bear sausage makes for probably the most horrific fart extravaganzas known to mankind. Dump bears being added to the mix..well...use your imagination, if you have what it takes to go there)
I wanted to re-strap it to a different value.
I've been looking for the re-strapping data for about 20 years, and it only now appeared on the internet in the recent past.
I was curious why it was so well respected.
I've owned it for +20 years.
It was obtained NIB at a yard sale, for $15.
I wanted to know it's 'secrets'.
I think I can do better. (Improve via learned techniques and understandings, not design from the ground up)
All of the above prompted me to respond to the itch I've had for 20 years, which is to take the Cotter apart. I already took the unit apart once, due to a broken pin at the solder/board point, on one RCA jack, about 15 years back. This time, I decided to do an actual 'take apart'.
It sits there, halfway done, due to the filler that was found. I expected to find, maybe, silicone, or similar. It appears to be bees wax, or something akin to bee's wax. That is a time-honored method, but feel there are better methods to pursue nowadays.
Re-soldering the unit and reversing the 'damage' is no big deal, easily done.
It is still the best SUT I've ever owned or used, but it can be improved.
As you can see, from the side view, the 'wax' is only on the end, it is double cased. Looks to be sheet folded, then a thin wax support and end casement layer, where the wires come out of the primary mu folded sheet box (the inner one)
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Off-topic:
As someone who is also from "the wilds of Canada" I can say with confidence and experience that "Bear Grease" (properly rendered Bear fat ... must be done immediately after kill because bear fat starts to go rancid within an hour) is an excellent waterproofing and dressing for leather. Better than silicon-based (attacks leather over time) in every respect and also better than beeswax-based (e.g. NikWax) because it soaks into the leather rather than just coating it.
Your boots will thank you. Or maybe I should say your feet will.
Keep it in the freezer and your supply will last indefinitely.
Not so good for transformers, though.
As someone who is also from "the wilds of Canada" I can say with confidence and experience that "Bear Grease" (properly rendered Bear fat ... must be done immediately after kill because bear fat starts to go rancid within an hour) is an excellent waterproofing and dressing for leather. Better than silicon-based (attacks leather over time) in every respect and also better than beeswax-based (e.g. NikWax) because it soaks into the leather rather than just coating it.
Your boots will thank you. Or maybe I should say your feet will.
Keep it in the freezer and your supply will last indefinitely.
Not so good for transformers, though.
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I've got a set of mint 15095's here..just bought them yesterday. I'm looking on the forum for some 'take apart' images, a bit more in depth than the atrocity that I committed to the Cotter.
The Cotter still looks like a horrible road accident. To do it right, I'd have to spot weld it. But that requires that I get the wax out first.. I look at it, think about the complexities..and then I walk away and do something else. So there it sits, only needing a jar and some formaldehyde, and trip to the audio museum.
As for the Altecs...I've been looking for an image of their guts... for two-three days. I hope I find one soon, in the next few hours.....or......
(Ive picked up the tools and the transformers at the same time more than once already)
The Cotter still looks like a horrible road accident. To do it right, I'd have to spot weld it. But that requires that I get the wax out first.. I look at it, think about the complexities..and then I walk away and do something else. So there it sits, only needing a jar and some formaldehyde, and trip to the audio museum.
As for the Altecs...I've been looking for an image of their guts... for two-three days. I hope I find one soon, in the next few hours.....or......
(Ive picked up the tools and the transformers at the same time more than once already)
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Can't leave well enough alone..inquiring minds want to know. 
Did you ever loose the RCA plugs on this or were they decent? Tiffany's I think?
The ONIX plugs (non magnetic) locking are a cheap upgrade. They used to have hollow center pins but the latest batch has solid split pins
Regards
David
Did you ever loose the RCA plugs on this or were they decent? Tiffany's I think?
The ONIX plugs (non magnetic) locking are a cheap upgrade. They used to have hollow center pins but the latest batch has solid split pins
Regards
David
Can't leave well enough alone..inquiring minds want to know.
Did you ever loose the RCA plugs on this or were they decent? Tiffany's I think?
The ONIX plugs (non magnetic) locking are a cheap upgrade. They used to have hollow center pins but the latest batch has solid split pins
Regards
David
The original MA cotter units were brass Tiffany types. The smaller ones with the thin outer shell.
If I was to get the transformer running again, I'd use..hhmmm...probably the ETI units, or the WBT nexgen.
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