The OP was asking about substitutes for Deoxit that less expensive and more readily available in the UK. Following a mild outbreak of intermittent-contact errors on my own quite early K3, someone recommended Contralube 770 (available from Maplin, code N73HL). Contralube is a clear gel which comes in a plastic tube with a convenient long-reach nozzle, and is widely used as a corrosion protector for outdoor electrical terminals.
I applied a <very small> quantity of Contralube 770 to the male connector pins only, by first smearing it thinly along the edge of a QSL card and then wiping the card onto each row of pins from two sides. This ensures an even, thin distribution. (The final amount is much too thin to see on the pin, but I just noticed on the data sheet that Contralube 770 contains a UV-fluorescent dye, so that would be a good way to check for even coverage.) Take very careful ESD precautions when doing this job, because many connector pins are connected directly to ESD-sensitive parts. The whole job took about an hour, and all I can say is... the K3 hasn't failed again. It's impossible to know how much of that benefit has been due to the Contralube, and how much was due to the self-cleaning effects of disassembly and reassembly; but the Contralube has certainly done no harm. (Meanwhile, in a much more challenging application, larger quantities of Contralube have been doing a very good job of protecting the screw terminal strip for the SteppIR. Despite heavy moisture, there is no sign of intermetallic corrosion.) 73 from Ian GM3SEK ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
