Re: Autolite capacitors

[phil]

I too am not that good at it, But Ill try to explain I will try to explain simply and others can pipe up if you have questions or if what I say is too elementary.

first off read this, it is very well written ,(not by me) :https://www.antiqueradio.org/recap.htm

Make sure what you are doing is safe. I will eave out any suggestions about that ,but make sure you read up on safety if you are unsure of anything. be extra careful if you can’t read the schematic. do you have an isolation transformer?

Get the schematic and print out the tube data for each of the tubes from https://www.nostalgiaair.org/
Print out the base diagram for each tube in the set, example: https://www.nostalgiaair.org/tubes/6f6.htm

lay or prop the chassis upside down and prop it up so it is safe and unplugged.

pick a capacitor and mark it on the schematic.
write down what parts the cap connects to. probably you can follow it to a pin on one of the tubes or maybe a transformer or something. it may well go to more than one part.

use the base diagram to help you determine which pin you are looking for in the radio. It will read the same way around as you are viewing the radio when it is upside down on the bench. Pins are numbered clockwise from the key in the base.

It’ll take time at first to find each pin and follow the wire to the cap, but then you will at least know where the part is on the schematic. When you know that you can usually see the value written either beside the cap on the schematic or it will give a callout number and you refer to the parts list on the schematic. That will give you the value. note the voltage and the capacitance.
test the radio to make sure it still works properly between each part.

I assume you have some sort of digital voltmeter. see if it has a setting for capacitance. if it does, try reading a few new ones of that value.

you can unsolder one leg of the cap and check it for capacitance to see what it measures. It may or may not be relevant if the cap is leaky, but good to write it down anyway, and keep track of the old part.

the cheap digital meters won’t really tell you if the cap is leaky, but you could try to check if it is completely shorted by measuring resistance.

I am not sure about the numbers you gave, which was the original question.

careful with the electrolytic caps , discharge them with a screwdriver before you zap yourself or the meter.
Are these electrolytic caps you are referring to? If they are , keep track of their polarity, else they blow up, and note that some may be isolated from the chassis.

ok , that’s about all I know 🙂

Phil