[TenTec] Activating equipment from long-term storage

[Stuart Rohre]

David, like bringing up any long dormant hardware, it is best to not try 
to do 'top speed' right out of the storage box.  Turn on a long dormant 
power supply and let it run all day to reform the electrolytic 
capacitors.  Then load it with its normal loads.

If you have a supply running a receiver, you might let it be online and 
that gives you a way to evaluate if the supply has excessive hum from 
long storage.  As the capacitors reform, the hum should reduce.  Hooked 
up as an AM receiver, this would be easy to judge.

If you have a transmitter, run it awhile to warm up (reform), and then 
don't load up to maximum power until you are sure the supply is 
producing correct voltage, and the load current is not excessive.
Capacitors internal to the receiver will need to reform just as those in 
the external supplies will.

It is good practice to open up equipment long stored and make sure there 
really has been no critters working inside.  Use a high intensity light 
to look for any dormant problems in the making.  It is not unusual to 
have coupling capacitors start to fail, by bulging their contents out 
the ends, or have electrolyte spill from vents of an electrolytic and 
such a pre-operation inspection could save you from having a more 
serious problem trying to run hot right out of the the box.  Things like 
insulating sleeving could become brittle with age and have started to 
disintegrate just sitting in storage.

-Stuart Rohre
K5KVH