Cramolin "Entfetter" (degreaser) sells here for about $10 for a spray can
with 400 ml.
Like Bob said, one can lasts a lifetime for most people.
73
Rick, DJ0IP
-----Original Message-----
From: tentec-bounces@contesting.com [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com]
On Behalf Of Geoffrey S. Mendelson
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2012 4:57 PM
To: Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment
Subject: Re: [TenTec] Cramolin, etc.
On 8/26/12 5:03 PM, Mike Hyder -N4NT- wrote:
> Cramolin was manufactured by Caig Laboratories. Ten-Tec used two
> iterations, the Red can was the contact cleaner and the Blue can was
> the lubricant/preservative. They still make similar stuff.
The official story is a little different. I'm not saying you are wrong, just
that what's on the website disagrees. :-)
Cramolin was made in Germany and sold in the US by Caig. There are many
versions of what happened on the web, some say it was prohibited from being
sold in the US, some say it was prohibited from being shipped by air after
9/11 and therefore became too expensive to import, some say Caig and the
manufacturer "went different ways".
It really does not matter in the end Cramolin is still sold (and I assume
made) in Germany and you can get small amounts at ridiculous prices shipped
to you. I think you can find it on eBay.
Caig produces something close called DeOxit. They have a whole line of
products and it confuses me, so I'll stock with the ones I do.
The red stuff is called Deoxit, and it's sold in little tubes for around
$6 and bottles. It is conductive and really does clean contacts. There has
been a lot of speculation of what is in it, probably mostly oxalic acid,
which is if I remember correctly refined peanut oil.
A tiny amount on the end of a toothpick or cotton swab works well and you
need to dry it after using it.
They also make other forms of it I have never used it. I doubt that a bottle
will last a really long time, I'm almost out of my first tube and it was
bought 2 years ago. YMMV.
I like the tubes because a vendor can pop 3 of them in a regular envelope
and they will arrive here in Israel in a week for about $5 in postage. If
you have ever bought anything from the US in the last few years and had it
shipped overseas you know what a bargain that is.
They also make a green liquid called "fader lube" which is a fancy term for
pot(entiomiter) grease. It works great on sticky controls, but I have found
a combination of a drop of the red deoxit and then the green fix a lot more
controls than either alone. Sometimes I have had to repeat it but I would
not put on more than a drop each at a time.
There are also contact stabilizers, one gold and one another color. I use
the gold (yellow) one occasionally. Usually to make tight RCA plugs go in
and out better. It's supposed to be used AFTER cleaning and is claimed to
prevent further oxidation.
While I am at it, I should mention there are competing products from the UK
called Servicsol (or something like it) and one from Canada call
Stabilant-22.
Stabilant-22 is (or was) sold by Motorola to fix contact problems in the
Maxtrac and later radios. It comes in a very small bottle for about $80, but
you dilute it with a lot of isopropal (sp?) alcohol.
I've never used it, I could not see buying it based on my needs and the
DeOxit red worked so well, partially because of the cost and the cost of the
alcohol.
Note that I don't use the spray. This has forced me to take some things
partially apart I would not have had to if I did, but to me it's like using
a garden hose to wash something I only wanted to dampen.
Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379
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