While working on several amps lately I have come up with a nice way to adapt screw terminal filter caps where solder tab caps were originally used. I have not seen this method but it may not be new?
I was recently refurbishing two sets of Kenwood L-05M monoblocks and came up with the following method.
On the first pair I used a method I found here. Using a drill remove the solder tabs from the old caps and screw them to the new ones. This works but bending the tabs to line up the new caps with the holes and mounting brackets was not easy and left the tabs a bit shorter than I would have liked. In the end it turned out OK.
For the second set I thought there might be a better, faster, easier way. Using a piece of solid 14 gauge copper wire from household Romex. I wrapped it around the screw and pinched it together with needle nose pliers so it will not squeeze out from under the screw when you tighten it. I found it best to put the lock washer between the cap and the wire, that way the wire does not spin while you tighten the screw.
Once the screws were tight I formed the wires into the needed position and then using a small hammer and the anvil on the back of my vise flattened the wires into a terminal shape with a thickness that would go through the hole in the circuit board.
After that is was very easy to thread them into place with the long tails.
They are not as wide as the terminals that were on the original caps but they make a solid connection.
(One thought is perhaps 12 gauge solid wire once flattened would produce a wider tab?)
Tighten the clamps to secure them in the desired position then snip off the tails and solder in place.
Sorry the last picture is not so great but you get the idea.
It is much faster and easier than using a drill to remove and reuse the old terminals.
So there you have it, perhaps an original take on a problem we are facing more and more as solder tab filter caps are getting harder to find or are very pricey compared to many screw terminal options.
A shout out for United Chemi-Con caps for this use. The ones I order come with screws and lock washers.
And I find they are relatively inexpensive at this point in time. And they work great.
Cheers
I was recently refurbishing two sets of Kenwood L-05M monoblocks and came up with the following method.
On the first pair I used a method I found here. Using a drill remove the solder tabs from the old caps and screw them to the new ones. This works but bending the tabs to line up the new caps with the holes and mounting brackets was not easy and left the tabs a bit shorter than I would have liked. In the end it turned out OK.
For the second set I thought there might be a better, faster, easier way. Using a piece of solid 14 gauge copper wire from household Romex. I wrapped it around the screw and pinched it together with needle nose pliers so it will not squeeze out from under the screw when you tighten it. I found it best to put the lock washer between the cap and the wire, that way the wire does not spin while you tighten the screw.
Once the screws were tight I formed the wires into the needed position and then using a small hammer and the anvil on the back of my vise flattened the wires into a terminal shape with a thickness that would go through the hole in the circuit board.
After that is was very easy to thread them into place with the long tails.
They are not as wide as the terminals that were on the original caps but they make a solid connection.
(One thought is perhaps 12 gauge solid wire once flattened would produce a wider tab?)
Tighten the clamps to secure them in the desired position then snip off the tails and solder in place.
Sorry the last picture is not so great but you get the idea.
It is much faster and easier than using a drill to remove and reuse the old terminals.
So there you have it, perhaps an original take on a problem we are facing more and more as solder tab filter caps are getting harder to find or are very pricey compared to many screw terminal options.
A shout out for United Chemi-Con caps for this use. The ones I order come with screws and lock washers.
And I find they are relatively inexpensive at this point in time. And they work great.
Cheers
