jad...@vwtype3.org  wrote:   
   > On Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 7:03:10 AM UTC-5, Wu Ming wrote:   
   >   
   >> On multiple accounts a simple turning of the selector forth and back   
   >> repeatedly for few minutes should fix the issue. It did few years back but   
   >> the trick doesn’t work anymore.   
   >   
   >> Anyone with direct experience of it? Thanks for sharing.   
   >   
   > If you look at the tuning capacitor in any older radio, you'll see that   
   > it consists of a bunch of interleaved plates, half of which are mounted   
   > on a shaft that rotates to let them mesh more or less. The more they are   
   > intermeshed, the higher the capacitance and the lower the tuned   
   > frequency. Taking a more careful look, you'll notice that the stationary   
   > plates are insulated from the frame of the capacitor while the rotatable   
   > plates are mounted directly on the shaft which is in contact with that   
   > frame. The electrical connection between the shaft and the frame is thru   
   > a ball bearing on one end and usually a brass spring on the other end.   
   > Both ends were lubricated at the factory, but, with time, that   
   > lubrication dries out and oxidation occurs. Metal oxides tend to be   
   > insulators. Once the contact between the shaft and the frame, where the   
   > radio makes its connection, becomes unreliable or intermittent, you'll   
   > stop getting reception or there will be a lot of noise as the shaft is   
   turned.   
   >   
   > Moving the shaft back and forth can break thru those insulating films.   
   > You can try Deoxit to remove the oxides and follow up with Shield to   
   > provide some longer term conductivity. I like to also add a bit of high   
   > quality corrosion preventive grease at the same time, for the longest term   
   benefit.   
   >   
      
   Thank you for the details. Interesting. Will try.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)