|
Home | Forums | Rules | Articles | diyAudio Store | Blogs | Gallery | Wiki | Register | Donations | FAQ | Calendar | Search | Today's Posts | Mark Forums Read | Search |
The Lounge A place to talk about almost anything but politics and religion. |
|
Please consider donating to help us continue to serve you.
Ads on/off / Custom Title / More PMs / More album space / Advanced printing & mass image saving |
![]() |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
![]() |
#1 |
Spreading triode love.
diyAudio Member
|
![]()
I have a Toshiba turntable from the late 70's. Works great now that I replaced the capacitors in the servo drive. It smells like the 70's though... What is the chemical outgassing that I smell?
![]() The smell of vintage electronics |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
|
Bakelite pc boards have formaldehyde, and even asbestos. Real nostalgia.
Last edited by rayma; 8th October 2019 at 02:47 AM. |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: KyOhWVa tristate
|
I doubt the formaldehyde is the main odor...as it is quite volatile and will off-gas fairly rapidly. Phenol, the other chemical used to make Bakelite, however has a much lower vapor pressure, but a relatively persistent pungent "burnt school paste" smell.... and it (or it's decomposition products) usually accounts for the "burnt electrical" smell from all the cheap toasters, electronics, motors, etc.
If the boards are fiberglass/epoxy resins, then you'd be smelling the accelerators and hardeners used in their manufacturing, which also tend to be pungent and persistent, especially when exposed to heat or electrical stress.
__________________
"I've forgotten more than I care to remember" The Last Conspirators |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Spreading triode love.
diyAudio Member
|
Ya I think it might be the phenol. There is a similar smell when I solder to old terminal strips...
|
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Silicon Valley
|
Cheap phenolic circuit boards commonly used in consumer electronics have a characteristic odor, especially when they warm up. I suspect also that it's the phenol in the mix that makes for the distinctive smell. If it was formaldehyde, your classic amplifier would smell like a mortuary... The phenolic boards are usually dark brown or a graham-cracker color. Epoxy-glass or epoxy-paper laminates usually will not have a strong smell unless they're really heated up,
|
![]() |
![]() |
#6 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
|
![]()
__________________
It's like learning sex during the Victorian era: you get to the wedding night and there are many things to do that you never imagined. |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 | |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
|
Quote:
Two circular PCBs, one anular! ![]() ![]() Edit: To take over the speed drift, I had to remove all the connectors, make the wire to pots shorter Still, if it's not me using it, it starts with some problems - Me thinks some problems in the motor wiring when/where the first two seconds are crucial to put the mass in speed for rotation; it happened also with the thorens TD 160 where the belt use to slip if not accompanied at start ![]() ![]()
__________________
It's like learning sex during the Victorian era: you get to the wedding night and there are many things to do that you never imagined. Last edited by picowallspeaker; 8th October 2019 at 06:07 PM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Budapest, Hungary
|
In the service shop we could tell the make of the test equipment by their smell. Tektronix, Hewlett Packard, Wavetek - each had its distinct smell, especially when new.
|
![]() |
![]() |
#9 | |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: NL
|
Quote:
Smells from Technics and Panasonic are the same (both Matshusita), but differs from Sony. And these from Luxman, Pioneer, all distinctive. The NAD I recently resurrected was almost odeurless, a bit dull. My Thorens TD160 has stopped breathing altogether, but the tube from the SME3 tonearm is unique. Bought a solderstrip recently. Sniffing and back in memory lane.
__________________
Y/Yo=(1-X/Xo)exp2 <> Y/Yo=(e)exp(X/Xo){Xo=kT/q} |
|
![]() |
![]() |
#10 |
diyAudio Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Worksop
|
Old wartime instruments have an almost addictive smell especially if the case is airtight.
|
![]() |
![]() |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|
![]() |
||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Help with "Interface Electronics" portable audio mixer | Binaural | Analog Line Level | 9 | 27th September 2019 09:06 PM |
AES Convention -- "Vacuum Tube Electronics for Solid State Engineers" | jackinnj | Tubes / Valves | 1 | 31st July 2019 03:52 PM |
MIT Open Courseware "Circuits and Electronics" (25 Lecture videos) | KP11520 | Everything Else | 1 | 2nd August 2007 10:39 PM |
Favorite Threads and Posts in "Electronics & Parts" | Variac | Parts | 1 | 19th July 2007 01:24 AM |
John Linsley Hood's "Art of Linear Electronics" | Nelson Pass | Pass Labs | 6 | 24th October 2005 10:20 PM |
New To Site? | Need Help? |