12-09-2005, 11:52 AM
Poston
Yes, I too used metalized film caps rated at 630V for many, many years. It wasn't until recently (within the last couple of years) that I began to use the X/Y safety caps.
Your comment on the AC rating of metalized film caps is what the guy at the counter at Hutch & Son was trying to convey to me when I inquired whether they carried them (they don't). As you say, they do have that 200 volt or so AC rating - but they fail shorted (as Chuck mentioned), making the X/Y a far better choice for line-to-ground and line-to-line applications.
In regard to local jobbers. When I was a teenager and in my early years as an antique radio collector, living in western Kentucky at the time, I used to drive up here to Evansville and get most of my parts. Back then (mid-late 1970s) there were three distributors in town - Hutch & Son, Ohio Valley Sound and WESCO Radio Parts. Back in the day, WESCO was the GE distributor; Ohio Valley Sound was an RCA distributor, and I think Hutch & Son had been a Sylvania distributor but even then had moved into industrial electronics, which they continue to specialize in.
Back then, WESCO was pretty much on its last legs; anytime I went in there, more often than not I was their only customer. I bought more from them than the other two as they were usually the cheapest of the three.
WESCO went out of business in the 1980s as their building was scheduled to be razed to make way for a new east-west highway. As they went into their "quitting business" sale, I found out that they still had some parts from as far back as the 1930s in their inventory; I bought a few electrodynamic speakers and a very old RCA tube tester from them before they closed their doors.
Ohio Valley Sound closed its doors about 10 years ago.
Hutch & Son had a devastating fire about 15 years ago, but they rebuilt on the same site and are still in business, Evansville's last electronics distributor. I frequently buy heat shrink tubing from them for the 1939-42 Philcos I work on, and the occasional odd resistor or capacitor when I don't want to wait for a mail order.
Yes, I too used metalized film caps rated at 630V for many, many years. It wasn't until recently (within the last couple of years) that I began to use the X/Y safety caps.
Your comment on the AC rating of metalized film caps is what the guy at the counter at Hutch & Son was trying to convey to me when I inquired whether they carried them (they don't). As you say, they do have that 200 volt or so AC rating - but they fail shorted (as Chuck mentioned), making the X/Y a far better choice for line-to-ground and line-to-line applications.
In regard to local jobbers. When I was a teenager and in my early years as an antique radio collector, living in western Kentucky at the time, I used to drive up here to Evansville and get most of my parts. Back then (mid-late 1970s) there were three distributors in town - Hutch & Son, Ohio Valley Sound and WESCO Radio Parts. Back in the day, WESCO was the GE distributor; Ohio Valley Sound was an RCA distributor, and I think Hutch & Son had been a Sylvania distributor but even then had moved into industrial electronics, which they continue to specialize in.
Back then, WESCO was pretty much on its last legs; anytime I went in there, more often than not I was their only customer. I bought more from them than the other two as they were usually the cheapest of the three.
WESCO went out of business in the 1980s as their building was scheduled to be razed to make way for a new east-west highway. As they went into their "quitting business" sale, I found out that they still had some parts from as far back as the 1930s in their inventory; I bought a few electrodynamic speakers and a very old RCA tube tester from them before they closed their doors.
Ohio Valley Sound closed its doors about 10 years ago.
Hutch & Son had a devastating fire about 15 years ago, but they rebuilt on the same site and are still in business, Evansville's last electronics distributor. I frequently buy heat shrink tubing from them for the 1939-42 Philcos I work on, and the occasional odd resistor or capacitor when I don't want to wait for a mail order.
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Ron Ramirez
Ferdinand IN
