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Components and Circuits For discussions about component types, alternatives and availability, circuit configurations and modifications etc. Discussions here should be of a general nature and not about specific sets.

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Old 23rd Sep 2019, 8:13 pm   #1
turretslug
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Question Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

Who can resist a "goodie bag" once in a while! Included among a pack of miscellany at Harpenden were about half-a-dozen unfamiliar capacitors, NOS and individually sealed into a sliver of polythene tube- a technique very familiar to those who rummage through ex-MOD stuff. They are in a silvery metal can with a red epoxy seal at one end, looking very much like the high-grade electrolytics of various makes often seen in professional kit from about the late '60s or so. Sometimes these were axial tantalum types, sometimes just well-sealed, high-quality conventional electrolytics. The name "Huntalic" printed on them could be suggestive of a tantalum type- but then again "Micamolds" aren't necessarily mica types!

Is anyone familiar with these?- a brief bit of searching was a dead-end. I don't have a mind-set that condemns all Hunts capacitors out of hand simply based on the failings of their inexpensive and now half-century-plus old consumer paper types, much as I don't condemn all Rifa products on the basis of their pyrotechnic-tendency mains-suppression units. Whilst all elderly electrolytics are objects of suspicion, Hunts types often reform well and soldier on for years, equally big Rifa PSU electrolytics have a good general reputation.

I know from years of work that tantalum bead types had a bad rap for a smoky demise in applications where significant current was available, there was always strong debate between those who simplistically maintained that they were just rubbish and those who said that they were inappropriately specified in low-PSU-impedance situations by the under-aware! I wondered what the rather expensive axial tantalum types were like reliability-wise, both generally and if anyone had knowledge of these Hunts type in particular. The ones I have are all 50uF 18V, which says "cathode decoupler" as an obvious application- I know some modern aluminium electrolytic equivalent from Panasonic or Nichicon would be about 10p a shot but deploying these long-dormant scarce-metal components would be nice- but not so pressing as to risk an output valve over!

Just curious....

Edit: My reason for thinking that they may be tantalum types arises from the fact that they are curiously heavy, whereas similar-looking conventional electrolytics are much lighter- ISTR that tantalum is a high-density metal.
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Old 23rd Sep 2019, 8:27 pm   #2
G6Tanuki
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

Your photo is horribly out-of-focus/noisy - any chance you could take another?
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Old 23rd Sep 2019, 8:32 pm   #3
TowerRadio
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

I have some GE wet-tantalum caps,these are also very heavy compared to a normal electrolytic.The neg.side is the can,the pos.lead is spot welded onto a coloured wire that protrudes from the insulated end (kind of mauve colour) The can looks silver plated and it is serialised.They hold a charge for a long time. Your photo is not sharp enough to show details.Les
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Old 23rd Sep 2019, 8:33 pm   #4
turretslug
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

You ain't kidding, I've been struggling for a long time with an elderly ex-works Blackberry, I've spent ages over the years struggling with various modes, lighting conditions, backgrounds and so on but that was the best of about a dozen tries! It all helps to excuse getting something more up to date and close-in friendly in due course....
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Old 24th Sep 2019, 12:18 am   #5
Craig Sawyers
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

Consign the Blackberry to the recycling centre and get the cheapest fairly recent smartphone. Mine is a 'droid 6 (they are up to 10 now) and it takes pictures of exceptional quality.
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Old 24th Sep 2019, 9:49 am   #6
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

Or go to a chairty shop and spend a tenner on a decent, big name compact camera made in the last 10 years or so. They almost all have an excellent macro facility, especially the Canon Ixus ones.
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Old 24th Sep 2019, 9:53 am   #7
turretslug
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Default Re: Hunts "Huntalic" capacitors

It's a good point, Craig, a more flexible and capable camera would be handy every now and then! The Bb was a free "oh, hang onto it" when I went redundant and I still find it a capable e-mailer and sort-of-OK phone, both aspects indispensable for work, and texting with a physical key-pad is quick and ergonomic. The mobile browsing and camera aspects are largely by-the-by- I really dislike the charmless social trend of everyone turning into hazardous ADHD pavement-zombies and self-absorbed selfie/snappie addicts staring catatonically into a small screen whilst ignoring interaction with those in the physical vicinity. Sooner or later, it will break and I'll have to go back to the Nokia 1100 until I get a more up-to-date smartphone....

Anyway, Huntalic capacitors- if they are axial tants, they seemed a surprisingly sophisticated product and it struck me that they were part of a wider syndrome of unappreciated British quality products being available from an era that it has become almost de rigeur to denigrate, when Japanese TV set and motorcycle manufacturers in particular demolished their opposition. Maybe there was too much of a gulf between ossified, mediocre and under-invested consumer components and quality but expensive and low-volume professional stuff that went to the likes of the military. The attractive orange-red epoxy seal on these caps is the same as that on the film capacitors of the era often found in military kit,

Colin
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