: : OK, now take that old relay, get a piece of bond copy paper and some pure
: : isopropyl (the 99% stuff) alcohol, tear/cut a strip of the bond paper about
: : a quarter of an inch wide, soak the first two inches of the paper in the
: : alcohol, and run the paper between EACH of the contacts of the old relay,
: : holding pressure on the top and bottom contact just enough so that the paper
: : doesn't tear.


: I find old business cards are just the right thickness & strength to handle
: this task. Since my old company changed area codes, then logos, I have enough
: old business cards to last a few lifetimes.
: --
IIRC, the Bendix mag service instructions allow for cleaning of the points
using exactly that... a business card. Note, however, that pulling it through is
*NOT* allowed... simply closing the points on it and opening it back up.

I think that it has to do with the microscopic roughness on the mating
surfaces. Once they've "worn in," dragging a card through will cause the "teeth" not
to mate anymore.

-Cory

--

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* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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