| If you have a mica condenser that is causing trouble (small bakelite unit with colored dots), sometimes you can carefully split it open with a new razor blade. Remove the guts. Purchase a ceramic condenser in the value and voltage that you need, with the smallest physical size available. If it fits, good. If not, carefully hollow out the inside of the old mica condenser shell. You can use a knife or a drill bit or anything. Be careful and patient. Insert the new ceramic condenser and glue the two bakelite halves together with super glue. If a white residue forms on the outside from the super glue, remove large pieces of super glue with a knife. Polish the bakelite, then, with Brasso. When you see bakelite units with colored dots, not all of these are condensers. Micamold made resistors in this form. The resistors will have three colored dots which are the resistance value. They may have a silver or gold dot in the corner, corresponding to the tolerance. If you find a unit with colored dots and the leakage tests out to be the same resistance as the numbers given by the colored dots, consult your schematic to see if it is in fact a resistor instead of a condenser. These resistors aren't too common, but you find them from time to time. Zenith used them a lot. Thomas |
Terry 
Norm Leal