12-03-2016, 12:39 PM
If you read through a lot of the forum threads you will find that folks with less experience worry about tolerances far too much. Old components were never made to close tolerances, it cost the set makers too much brass. Rarely did they use any resistors better then 20%, paper/wax caps were possibly worse, hard to tell as they are mostly duff now, and what few electrolytics they used were as bad as +100%/-50% and they were expensive then.
Things were a bit better when transistors came in but the cost cutting got worse if anything and component quality suffered, look at the Hunts caps problems in the late 50s sets and the poor electrolytics in in many tranny portables.
Sets were designed to be less critical of deviations, that's why so many still work "off the bat" today. I always advise folk just to get it working first rather than chase around swapping parts that are probably still acceptable and get into all sorts of mess.
Sam.
Things were a bit better when transistors came in but the cost cutting got worse if anything and component quality suffered, look at the Hunts caps problems in the late 50s sets and the poor electrolytics in in many tranny portables.
Sets were designed to be less critical of deviations, that's why so many still work "off the bat" today. I always advise folk just to get it working first rather than chase around swapping parts that are probably still acceptable and get into all sorts of mess.
Sam.
Boater Sam.
