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Can anyone tell me what this is?
- Thread starter Brett Dean
- Start date
What?
That brown shmegma?
Nah; not leaky caps. It is glue; it doesn't hurt a thing . . .
That brown shmegma?
Nah; not leaky caps. It is glue; it doesn't hurt a thing . . .
RatsoW8
Supporting Member, W9WDX ARC Member - WD8T
Good question. Other than a sloppy build at a factory in China, Vietnam, and/or Taiwan, I don't have a clue.
often certain components are glued to prevent damage due to vibration,
this one looks like Hellen Keller glued it
So I sent the photo to Bells (Who I will be mailing this radio to in the next week or so) and their reply, quote "GLUE, because electrolytics are subject to vibration related cold solder joints."
Correct. Unless a cap has seriously overheated, and therefore bulged at the top, you won't see it at first. They leak at the seal around the legs. Since boards in CB rigs are usually upside down, you'd see it running from the bottom upwards. Can be green, or clear, or black, or "pus yaller," seen it all.
The stuff is corrosive, usually when it leaks downward to the board, it erodes copper circuit boards traces, and as soon as the connection is broken, things cease to function.
So, if you find damage like this on something: clean it up good with alcohol and a Q-tip, or a tiny piece of paper in some tweezers to get into tight places. Get all of it. Scrape it shiny with an Exacto. Solder in some clipped-off resistor lead to restore the trace, put a new cap in, done.
I do this daily at work on automotive electronics.
807
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