Opened an old scientific instrument to see if it works...

Comments

• MehBlah@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Give it the vinegar and baking soda treatment.

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  • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I greatly prefer citic acid. It comes in crystals so a small tub equals gallons of vinegar, it doesn’t smell bad, and you can control the strength by dissolving more crystals into water.

    It’s incredibly fast compared to vinegar at cleaning battery alkaline.

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    • clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Citic or citRtic?

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    • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Coca Cola works really well if you don’t have citric acid on hand. I’ve cleaned car battery terminals with it a bunch of times (over decades). The only bummer is that it’s sticky, but you can drink the leftovers.

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    • MehBlah@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      To each his own. I’ve tried a few solutions. I use vinegar and apply it with some large cotton swabs. I usually wash them with the vinegar two or three times and let it sit for an hour. Then I use the baking soda dissolved into water and apply it several times. If possible to remove the contacts completely I will soak it in vinegar and then the baking soda solution. I buff the contacts if they are badly corroded. I can’t stress enough how much a little dielectric grease prevents further corrosion.

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  • DavidGarcia@feddit.nl ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    and make a nice vinaigrette with it

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  • syaochan@feddit.it ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I understand the vinegar, but why baking soda?

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    • WaterWaiver@aussie.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I would recommend rinsing the vinegar away with water instead. It’s already completely dissolved, but the baking powder might not be if you add that undissolved. You don’t want to leave anything behind.

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    • homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Fizz

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    • intensely_human@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Volcano!

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    • roofuskit@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Abrasive maybe?

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• bekopharm@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Jul 91? Now I feel old.

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  • troyunrau@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The instrument is fully analogue, designed in the late 70s. The serial number on the device implies it was manufactured in 87. I contacted the manufacturer and the last person who could service it has long since retired, but they sent me the calibration and tuning documents so I might be able to revive this beauty.

    Image

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    • naonintendois@programming.dev ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      That’s actually awesome they sent you anything useful at all.

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  • Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    My brain kept tried to correct it to Jul 19…

    I was still in junior school back then.

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• Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  What you got there, is spicy salt. Get all that flavor and mix it with some eggs. The cat in the hat ain’t got shit on it!

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• fubarx@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Protip: once you dissolve as much of the gunk as possible, take a small metal brush and give the contacts a scrub. If they’re coated, this helps open up metal contact surface to give the new batteries a chance.

  But if the contacts are too corroded, you may need to MacGyver something with a soldering iron.

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  • troyunrau@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The whole battery mounting board is shot – entire traces corroded on it, and the contacts have effectively dissolved.

    Fortunately, the machine was designed in 1977(ish) and batteries have gotten a lot better since. 6x AA batteries can now be replaced by a single modern 9V and it’ll deliver enough current. So I’ll mount a new 9V holder and solder it into the battery board wiring harness. I’ve already tested that solution on the breadboard and the machine appears to work.

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    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      9V batteries existed in the seventies. They just have far less capacity than six AA cells.

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  • cordlesslamp@lemmy.today ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    please advise how to dissolve the gunk at home (using household items, cleaning products, or something that is available at local stores).

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    • Kangie@aussie.zone ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Vinegar is acetic acid. Distilled Vinegar is quite useful as a general household cleaner.

      Lemon juice contains citric acid.

      CLR or a similar product that takes care of limescale (etc) is a mixture of acids.

      Muriatic (another name for hydrochloric) acid is available from most hardware stores and can be used for dealing with rust.

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    • troyunrau@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Mild acids that are food grade are great because you don’t have to worry about occupational health exposure. A lot of people use vinegar. I use citric acid – which you can find in the grocery store in the spices section. Citric acid is what makes sour candies sour. You buy it as a powder.

      I mix a little water and citric acid and let the part soak in it, then brush with a soft wire brush (not steel wire, as it’s too hard and will scratch the parts too much).

      But, as a tangent, buying stronger acids is pretty easy, depending on the acid. Hydrochloric acid is sold in hardware stores as muriatic acid. Sulphuric acid is used to recharge lead-acid batteries. You’ll have a harder time finding nitric acid (because people can make explosives with it) or hydrofluoric acid (cause it is actually deadly as fuck), but industrial suppliers often have them. I wouldn’t handle any of these without some training. Even muriatic acid will off-gas chlorine and cause all the tools in your shop to rust if stored improperly. (From experience.)

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    • fubarx@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      nytimes.com/…/how-to-clean-battery-corrosion/

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• TotalFat@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Lots of good suggestions already, but you could also try oxalic acid aka Barkeeps Friend. It’s pretty mild and works wonders on metals.

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  • troyunrau@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I use citric acid on a lot of connectors when the pins are corroded (for the same reason). Revived a lot of cables that way. Good advice :)

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• caesaravgvstvs@feddit.org ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Puts you at ease to know those batteries are good for another 67 years

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• edwardbear@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  I would personally scrape it, remove the contact pads and resolder new ones.

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• intensely_human@lemm.ee ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Looks like you’ve got a computronium infection. That’s getting more and more common these days.

  Just hit it with some vinegar or windex. If those don’t work, you may have to just toss it out.

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• ch00f@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Fun Fact: batteries only do this when they’re over-discharged. If you design your circuit right, this won’t happen.

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  • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Then why have I had Duracells leak in an unopened package before the expiration date?

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    • thesohoriots@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I hate Duracell for this reason. Thank god we finally got decent rechargeables.

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• TotalFat@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Hey I just remembered thirty years ago I worked at a car dealership. Anyway you could pay extra for all the chrome emblems to be gold plated. It’s cheap and easy to do. You etch the chrome with acid. Then i think there was some sort of rapid electroplating entirely to deposit the gold layer from a solution.

  Your thingy has already been acid etched and gold is an excellent conductor! I would use this method unless you knew someone that has the kit, or you were thinking about it as a hobby anyway.

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