[time-nuts] Re: Vernier interpolation

[Wilko Bulte]

For those who do not know that RIFA caps are: these are X, Y safety caps, that run at mains line voltage and are used to filter out EMI entering/exiting via the mains feed. Time makes them degrade, they develop cracks in their epoxy case. A some point they tend to blow, and/or catch fire. Given that they are sometimes on the mains inlet, so before the mains power switch, they can do that even when the equipment is switched off.

They look like this:




Get rid of them, all of them. Burning the house down is not worth it.

Wilko

> On 15 Jul 2025, at 19:22, Aaron Beck via time-nuts <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
> On Mon, 14 Jul 2025 11:23:05 -0700
> Tom Verbeure via time-nuts <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
>> I bought myself an HP 5370A yesterday at the electronics flea market.
>> Smoke came out of it after plugging it in (which means I bought
>> myself a good amount of entertainment for just $40), but it made me
>> study the dual Vernier method of interpolation.
> 
> I don't have a 5370A. This could all be bad advice:
> 
> It sounds like that could be rifa caps, which are common smoke makers
> "after plugging it in" on a lot of devices that were made in a year
> that starts with 19. They're usually relatively easy to replace with
> something that won't smoke out on regular mains voltage if thats the
> case - once you get past the burnt particulate...
> 
> 
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