I always remember this effect from a college Physics demonstration many years ago.
The class was located in an old building supplied with 110 VDC power. The instructor had an enormous iron core inductor, connected to a foot long knife switch fed from the DC supply. We all waited to see what would happen. When he closed the switch, absolutely nothing. Then he opened the switch slowly, which produced an arc that lit up the room and got longer and longer until it extended fully across the open contacts.
It certainly got our attention, and to this day I can still visualize the release of the energy stored in an inductor as its magnetic field collapses.
One is high voltage, another is arc.
Arc does not require high voltage, in fact it is a low voltage discharge.
But when you are sat on you a** when disconnecting an iductance, it is the high voltage that does it.
Both are the result of the energy stored in the magnetic field trying to go some place else.
Well,
I don't really understand all the babble going on,
but I used 16 mfd Ecaps to replace the 20's after rigging up the new pilot lamp.
I turned it on slowly and got nothing. waited about 2 minutes and the L49B ballast tube got very hot and started lightly smoking. I shut her down and nothing was hurt but where does that leave me.... I have no idea. I am assuming I need a new ballast or something else is wrong that I will have to figure out. I need to start testing the radio but I dont know where to start. I also don't know if I have the right equipment. I have an Ohm meter, A tube tester that I don't know if it is calibrated after 25 years, and the auto transformer. No variac, no signal tester.
LOL, oops.
Guess I don't need one then. I found it in a junk pile I bought for $30 so thats great. Now I just need to find out if this tube tester from my grandfather still works or is not calibrated.
Well It does not really matter for the Halson,
It and my 45 fell off the table while i was taking pictures of all the finished radios. I left the room without looking. Maybe tomorrow.
Here is it before it fell (5 minutes after I reassembled it and put the grill cloth in.)
You mean, by themselves? Or did you stumble over the cords? How does a radio just jump off a table?
You know, you need to walk away from it for a day or two. First caps, now that. Serious. Sometimes there are signs you need to give it a rest for aa week.
Well,
I mustered up the strength to get back into this Halson today. Well, yesterday but whatever. I rebuilt the cabinet, glued and clamped her and today I began stripping and then... YES! I am grain filling the cabinet like I should have. Took 2 coats of grain filler and still might need another coat.
It does my heart good to see you getting back to this one. What a heartbreak after all the work you put into it. Hats off to you, as you have the touch with woodwork.
Joe
Matthew 16:26 "For what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?"
Ok I grain filled this sucker good and have put on the medium brown toner instead of dark walnut, I just have to do the top and bottom and the dial surround, Clear her and she will be re-rebuilt
![[-]](https://philcoradio.com/phorum/images/bootbb/collapse.png "[-]")
