Here is a subject that has interested me for a while, yet I haven't really addressed it on this forum. The cracking and brittle Wehrmacht wires and cables. I have cables where the rubber is undamaged, flexible and generally in great condition, and then there are cables that are cracked, brittle and generally are falling apart. Why the difference? Is it a early/late war issue? Real rubber versus "Buna"?
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Same here - I was always wondering about that. I thought the differences were due to different storing conditions: room temperature, humidity etc. but then again: some items were dug up with rotted out metal parts but still decent condition connecting cables
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I belive, beside temperature and sunlight and other obvious environmental conditions, there are also factors we miss at first sight such as contact with other materials. For example - two modern different plastic cables, in contact with each other, develop chemical reaction in the place of contact - you can see there kind of melt-down result. Where those cables don't touch each other - they are OK.Comment
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I think it will be difficult to answer definately without in depth chemical analysis. I also noticed that "rotting" cables have a particular smell....
regards,
FunksammlerComment
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Just wondering but what does it smell like? Sulfur is added to natural rubber to process it into a usable form. Also ozone is very destructive to synthetic rubber so a cable exposed to ozone producing sparks and arcs will break down faster. From my understanding the natural rubber is less stable over time due to the natural impurities that are inside the polymer chains.Originally posted by Funksammler View PostComment
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It's a rubbery smell with a hint of old socks ;-) Honoustly, I wouldn't know how to describe the aroma; I don't think it is sulpher, it is more an organic smell.Originally posted by Evans C. View Post
regards,
FunksammlerComment
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I think eventually all original rubber cables will become like this. Sometimes it's a challenge to find new cables that look and feel the same. I was lucky to find a German store that sold a 5-conductor cable that perfectly resembled and felt like the original with my Torn.Fu.b1 remote control unit. Can anyone guess which one has the new cable?Comment
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Left one? It`s all shinyComment
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Left one is too shiny, i believe this is a trick question for usOriginally posted by cTapocTa View Post
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It's the left one.Comment
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Lol, Val, I think you`re complicating too much
Check out this connecting cable for panzer radios. Is there anything I can do with "that", like melt it into a new rubber?
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Note another same type connector: same rotted out screws but cable in perfect condition:
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Talking about rotted screws: what`s the best way loosen them up? I used Ballistol, I used W40, I bended my screw driver but still nothing. Or is drilling them though is the only option?
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There is. If you can get a deep enough "Schlitz" (slot) on the screw, heat it for 5 minutes with a soldering iron at the highest setting. This allows me to safely unscrew a bad screw in 10 minutes, that would otherwise take 6 months. When you put penetrating oil on these screws first, the rust absorbs this oil, and the intense heat turns the oil+rust into a semi-liquid paste, which allows you to unscrew it without damaging the screw.
For this you MUST have a screwdriver that fits very snugly and deeply into the Schlitz. After the 5 minutes of direct soldering iron application, attempt to unscrew the screw by applying significant (yet not overwhelming) pressure to the screw. If he 1st 5 minutes does not do it, then try for another 5 minutes, etc., Don't worry, that screw will come out intact that same day.
YuriComment
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