---------------------------------------------------------- AeroElectric-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Fri 12/04/15: 7 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 12:30 PM - strobe capacitors (Sheldon Olesen) 2. 12:51 PM - Re: strobe capacitors (Jeff Luckey) 3. 01:17 PM - Re: strobe capacitors (Sheldon Olesen) 4. 01:49 PM - Re: strobe capacitors (Charles Kuss) 5. 03:23 PM - Re: strobe capacitors (Charlie England) 6. 05:29 PM - Re: NanoCAD SoftwaRe: resurrecting an old thread (Charlie England) 7. 09:32 PM - Re: strobe capacitors (user9253) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 12:30:11 PM PST US From: Sheldon Olesen Subject: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors My strobes aren't working and I am assuming that the power pack is bad. The fuses aren't blown and I have checked that there is voltage to the unit. I think the capacitors are to blame. Creativair, the company I bought the Avi-Pak strobe unit from, appears to be out of business. The capacitors are 400uf and 360vdc. I checked on Mouser and Digikey for equivalents but there none that match the specs, are in stocked in <12 weeks, or don't require the purchase of >30 units. Digikey showed nothing. The actual part reads: Nova-Cap-12 400uf 360vdc 658-0793-049 Does anyone know where to source these parts quickly or of an equivalent part that would work? Am I correct in thinking the capacitors are the problem? Sheldon Olesen Sent from my iPad ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 12:51:12 PM PST US From: Jeff Luckey Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors Sheldon, It would be good to confirm that the caps are the problem before you start swapping parts. Sometimes, as caps age, they swell or leak.=C2- Do yours exhibit those sy mptoms? Can you get one out of the circuit & test it? -Jeff On Friday, December 4, 2015 12:41 PM, Sheldon Olesen wrote: .net> My strobes aren't working and I am assuming that the power pack is bad.=C2 - The fuses aren't blown and I have checked that there is voltage to the unit.=C2- I think the capacitors are to blame.=C2- Creativair, the comp any I bought the Avi-Pak strobe unit from, appears to be out of business. =C2- The capacitors=C2- are 400uf and 360vdc.=C2- I checked on Mouser and Di gikey for equivalents but there none that match the specs, are in stocked i n <12 weeks, or don't require the purchase of >30 units.=C2- Digikey show ed nothing. The actual part reads: Nova-Cap-12=C2- 400uf=C2- 360vdc=C2- 658-0793- 049 Does anyone know where to source these parts quickly or of an equivalent pa rt that would work?=C2- Am I correct in thinking the capacitors are the p roblem? Sheldon Olesen Sent from my iPad =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2- -Matt Dralle, List Admin. - S - - =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2- =C2- -Matt Dralle, List Admin. ________________________________ Message 3 _____________________________________ Time: 01:17:21 PM PST US From: Sheldon Olesen Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors Jeff, There is no swelling or leakage. With my multimeter set CAP, one reads .051nf and the other .083nf. My ca pacitor testing knowledge is meager. Sheldon Sent from my iPad > On Dec 4, 2015, at 3:49 PM, Jeff Luckey wrote: > > Sheldon, > > It would be good to confirm that the caps are the problem before you start swapping parts. > > Sometimes, as caps age, they swell or leak. Do yours exhibit those sympto ms? Can you get one out of the circuit & test it? > > -Jeff > > > > On Friday, December 4, 2015 12:41 PM, Sheldon Olesen wrote: > > .net> > > My strobes aren't working and I am assuming that the power pack is bad. T he fuses aren't blown and I have checked that there is voltage to the unit. I think the capacitors are to blame. Creativair, the company I bought the A vi-Pak strobe unit from, appears to be out of business. > > The capacitors are 400uf and 360vdc. I checked on Mouser and Digikey for equivalents but there none that match the specs, are in stocked in <12 week s, or don't require the purchase of >30 units. Digikey showed nothing. > > The actual part reads: Nova-Cap-12 400uf 360vdc 658-0793-049 > > Does anyone know where to source these parts quickly or of an equivalent p art that would work? Am I correct in thinking the capacitors are the proble m? > > Sheldon Olesen > > Sent from my iPad > > > > htsp; -= - The AeroElectric-List Email Fo rum -avigator?AeroElectric-List" target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/ Navi======================== ________________________________ Message 4 _____________________________________ Time: 01:49:40 PM PST US From: Charles Kuss Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors Sheldon, Before you start replacing parts, a question. Has the power pack sat unused for an extended period of time? [more than 1 year] If so, you can probably bring those capacitors back to life. You just need to reform them, by applying reduced voltages to the unit, in stages. See http://www.robotroom.com/Capacitor-Self-Discharge-3.html http://www.vcomp.co.uk/tech_tips/reform_caps.htm If you do need to replace them, read this first. http://www.robotroom.com/Capacitor-Self-Discharge-3.html I seem to remember that Bob Nuckolls listed a method to resurrect a dead strobe power supply. I believe I have that info stashed on my home computer. I'll look when I get home. Charlie -------------------------------------------- On Fri, 12/4/15, Sheldon Olesen wrote: Subject: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors To: aeroelectric-list@matronics.com Date: Friday, December 4, 2015, 3:27 PM --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: Sheldon Olesen My strobes aren't working and I am assuming that the power pack is bad.The fuses aren't blown and I have checked that there is voltage to the unit. I think the capacitors are to blame. Creativair, the company I bought the Avi-Pak strobe unit from, appears to be out of business. The capacitors are 400uf and 360vdc. I checked on Mouser and Digikey for equivalents but there none that match the specs, are in stocked in <12 weeks, or don't require the purchase of >30 units. Digikey showed nothing. The actual part reads: Nova-Cap-12 400uf360vdc 658-0793-049 Does anyone know where to source these parts quickly or of an equivalent part that would work? Am I correct in thinking the capacitors are the problem? Sheldon Olesen -Matt Dralle, List Admin. ________________________________ Message 5 _____________________________________ Time: 03:23:29 PM PST US Subject: Re: AeroElectric-List: strobe capacitors From: Charlie England That certainly *looks* bad. Find another random value known-good capacitor you can use to verify your capacitance tester. (Electrolytic caps may measure as much as 80% higher than their rated capacitance.) The old school method of testing for bad vs 'maybe good' was to first, be sure it's discharged. (A 300V pop can be painful, and would destroy an analog ohm meter.) An old analog ohm meter was connected across the cap's leads, first in one direction, then the other. Idea is that if it's a good cap, it will accept a slight charge from the ohm meter's test voltage (even with reversed leads). When the leads are swapped, the meter will momentarily move toward low resistance, then rebound to show open circuit as the cap charges the other way. This does *not* prove the cap is good, but if you don't get meter movement, it will prove it's bad. For a replacement, you want the capacitance to be close to original (check the tolerance on the label, if possible), but voltage can be anything higher than the original rating. Here's an Allied search, showing one that should work (for a seemingly painful price; I remember paying <$10, but that was over 30 years ago...). http://www.alliedelec.com/passive-components/capacitors/?navigation=4294921432 Charlie On 12/4/2015 3:16 PM, Sheldon Olesen wrote: > Jeff, > > There is no swelling or leakage. > > With my multimeter set CAP, one reads .051nf and the other .083nf. > My capacitor testing knowledge is meager. > > Sheldon > > > Sent from my iPad > > On Dec 4, 2015, at 3:49 PM, Jeff Luckey > wrote: > >> Sheldon, >> >> It would be good to confirm that the caps are the problem before you >> start swapping parts. >> >> Sometimes, as caps age, they swell or leak. Do yours exhibit those >> symptoms? Can you get one out of the circuit & test it? >> >> -Jeff >> >> >> >> On Friday, December 4, 2015 12:41 PM, Sheldon Olesen >> > wrote: >> >> >> > >> >> My strobes aren't working and I am assuming that the power pack is >> bad. The fuses aren't blown and I have checked that there is voltage >> to the unit. I think the capacitors are to blame. Creativair, the >> company I bought the Avi-Pak strobe unit from, appears to be out of >> business. >> >> The capacitors are 400uf and 360vdc. I checked on Mouser and >> Digikey for equivalents but there none that match the specs, are in >> stocked in <12 weeks, or don't require the purchase of >30 units. >> Digikey showed nothing. >> >> The actual part reads: Nova-Cap-12 400uf 360vdc 658-0793-049 >> >> Does anyone know where to source these parts quickly or of an >> equivalent part that would work? Am I correct in thinking the >> capacitors are the problem? >> >> Sheldon Olesen >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> >> > htsp; -= - The AeroElectric-List Email >> Forum -avigator?AeroElectric-List" >> target="_blank">http://www.matronics.com/Navi======================== >> ________________________________ Message 6 _____________________________________ Time: 05:29:55 PM PST US Subject: AeroElectric-List: Re: NanoCAD Software: resurrecting an old thread From: Charlie England *snipped** * > But, it does seem perfect for panel layouts and electrical plans. > > * Agreed > * > * There's another free program called NanoCAD > > * > *http://tinyurl.com/pqw35rw > > * > * Very powerful clone of AutoCAD. If you're already * > * familiar with driving autocad, the transition into * > * nanocad is smooth and painless. > > * > > Bob . . . > I installed NanoCAD many months ago, registered it then promptly forgot about it. Now, when I open it, it tells me my registration is expired, & when I try to re-register, as instructed, I get an email telling me....my registration is expired. Anyone else having these issues? Charlie ________________________________ Message 7 _____________________________________ Time: 09:32:30 PM PST US Subject: AeroElectric-List: Re: strobe capacitors From: "user9253" You could charge the capacitor using 120 VAC rectified with a bridge rectifier, and maybe a series resistor to limit inrush current. Observe capacitor polarity so that the capacitor does not explode like a firecracker. Then unplug the AC and measure the voltage across the capacitor. It should hold the charge for at least a few minutes. Some people check large value capacitors by charging them up, then shorting the capacitor leads together. If it sparks, it is assumed the capacitor is good. -------- Joe Gores Read this topic online here: http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=450752#450752 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Matronics Email List Services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post A New Message aeroelectric-list@matronics.com UN/SUBSCRIBE http://www.matronics.com/subscription List FAQ http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/AeroElectric-List.htm Web Forum Interface To Lists http://forums.matronics.com Matronics List Wiki http://wiki.matronics.com Full Archive Search Engine http://www.matronics.com/search 7-Day List Browse http://www.matronics.com/browse/aeroelectric-list Browse Digests http://www.matronics.com/digest/aeroelectric-list Browse Other Lists http://www.matronics.com/browse Live Online Chat! http://www.matronics.com/chat Archive Downloading http://www.matronics.com/archives Photo Share http://www.matronics.com/photoshare Other Email Lists http://www.matronics.com/emaillists Contributions http://www.matronics.com/contribution ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.